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Society
At Peace in Conflict Zone
November 20, 2005
 Maya John Ingty (born in 1932) plays a unique role in the
conflict-ridden Northeast region, bringing together powerful Christian
and secular organizations to work for peace.
Several states in the Northeast have been torn by conflict and strife,
both internal and with the security forces. This conflict has left the
economy and society in a shambles. The region has a high number of
school and college dropouts and there are a number of young widows who
have to fend for themselves and their young children.
Ingty, the first woman from the Karbi tribe to complete a Masters
degree, has been involved in social work right from her college days. In
1956, she was appointed Special Officer (Social Welfare) through an
application and interview in undivided Assam, when Shillong was the
capital of Assam. Meghalaya was formed as a separate state only in 1972.
Although Ingty continued with her government job for some time, her
heart was in grassroots activities. So, in 1958, she quit her job and
joined the Union Christian College (UCC), where she mobilized a group of
women and formed a women's association. The association conducted
several health programs and started a primary school in the village.
It continues to do very good work in the area.
Ingty has conducted many workshops and discussions on topics related to
women's development. Much of this work has been conducted with people
who work in the midst of conflict. She regularly visits conflict-ridden
areas of the Northeast region and attempts to support women and women's
groups who are struggling to bring peace to their villages.
Ingty is strongly driven by her conviction that working for social
justice issues should not be determined or limited by caste, creed or
religious divisions.
She is also involved with mobilizing the youth and women towards
education and employment as a means of drawing people away from the
culture of the gun. Towards this end, she uses group discussions,
skill-building and alternative ideas for sustainable development.
Ingty, now 73, is well-known in the region and is often sought out for
good counsel by people from various communities. Her genuine warmth and
outgoing personality make it easy for people to connect with her. In
1967, Ingty chanced upon a young boy at the UCC school. The boy had a
bleeding nose. Ingty promptly went and fetched leaves of a plant
(locally called Nephuga), which she then crushed and applied to the
boy's bleeding nose. Years later, a young paratrooper came up to Ingty
when she was visiting the local bank at Shillong. He introduced himself
as the young boy who she cured with the "wonder plant" and that he would
always remember her as a friend of the village people.
Ingty is also a respected member of the Church and plays an important
role in critiquing the regressive positions of the Church. She has been
instrumental in pushing for greater commitment to social issues by the
Church and for involvement with other secular and non-Christian
organizations to work for peace. As Secretary of the Diocesan Board of
Participatory Development, she has undertaken several programs to help
young people develop self-employment skills. She firmly believes that
this will lead them away from the gun culture.
She has initiated programs for young people in natural resource
management; weaving and tailoring; vermicomposting; fishery; and helped
train people to be barefoot veterinary doctors, automobile drivers and
electricians.
With no training, and often times, without the support of a forum behind
her, Ingty has been working in the villages with marginalized people
since 1956.
She has also been active in ecological and conservation programs. It
was through her initiative that vermicomposting training was imparted in
Tinsukia (Upper Assam) under an eco-friendly waste control programme.
Since then, a good number of young people have been trained in this
process and have taken up organic farming.
In her individual capacity as well, Ingty has been a member of important
peace missions and committees in the strife-torn Northeastern region.
By arrangement with
Women's Feature Service
and Sangat
Top
| Society
The Week of November 20, 2005
Law of Karma by Dr. Anil K. Rajvanshi
Why Am I Here? by Shefali Burns
Global Threats,
Local Responses by Rajinder Puri
When will India get over Its Awe of White Skin?
by Kusum Choppra
The PM who
Placed India on Fast Trace to Global Power Status by Dr. Subhash Kapila
All You Who Seek Sleep Tonight by
Susan Philip
Gender Equality or Encashment of the Last Human
Resource by Kusum Choppra
Credibility of University Courses:
Uniform
Evaluation is the Answer by Prof. Raja Mutthirulandi
Caste System in Hinduism: A Historical and
Analytical Approach by Dr. RK Lahiri, PhD
India's African Past by Fatima Chowdhury
Goa and Garbage by Lionel Messias
Peace via Technology by Anat Cohen
Poet, Poetry and the Native Land by Alipta Jena
Footsoldiers Ask for a Better Deal by
Kathyayini Chamaraj
Brazil: Waiting for Their Land of Freedom by
Marlinelza B de Oliveira
At Peace in Conflict Zone
Child Warriors of Kashmir by Prakriiti Gupta
Shedding Light on the Dark Continent by Aparna
Sharma
Main, Meri Patni aur Woh by Kusum Choppra
A Second Lesson by NS Murty
Insanity by Anu Chopra
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