New Delhi: Conflict resolution is again a pivotal theme of author Sudeep Chakravarti's new book, but this time he is seeking "engagement" of business conglomerates on "developmental projects" that need not create conflict-like situations, but are built on ideas that benefit both the sides.
Having dealt with the issue of conflict in most of his books, it was almost expected from the journalist-turned-author to toy around the same theme. He has done exactly that in "Clear.Hold.Build: Hard Lessons of Business and Human Rights in India" (Collins Business) but with a clear perspective of seeing it through the dimension of human rights.
"Conflict resolution, that is the direction I have taken with the hope of finding some solution because I don't buy the fact that we can move ahead and be the next superpower by ignoring four-fifth of our population," Chakravarti told IANS in an interview.
"This is a delusional aspect that makes me truly angry. This willful illusion we embark upon on and has become so much a part of our lives and that makes me upset," he added.
Chakravarti has spent much time in the capital during his journalistic days, but it was in 2004 he decided to surprise everyone and leave "Delhi for good" to channelise his creative energies into something meaningful like research.
The outcome of this has been fruitful so far for the Goa-based writer, whose non-fiction books "Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country" and "Highway 39: Journeys through a Fractured Land" were analytical as well as telling tales of Maoist conflict.
Chakravarti admits that while writing on such sensitive issues, his role is only of a storyteller whose objective is to disassociate his personal beliefs and views while reporting on subjects that have led to conflicts between various communities and business honchos for new developmental project.
"I might have a personal view, but I will deal with it later. If you inject too much of yourself then you are not telling your story," he said.
"The way I see it through this book is that conflict arises due to economic policies and how government and business go together," he added.
Citing examples of how Korean steelmaker POSCO and Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills backfired because communities felt disenchanted and cheated and hence they resisted.
"Nobody is saying that they don't want to be part of the progress, nobody is saying they don't want to be educated and earn money, no body is saying they don't want jobs. They want their children to do better," he said.
"Through this book, I want to tell people to review what you are doing. There is no need to create more trouble for yourself. There is time for ranting and there is time for engagement. This is the time to resolve conflicts, lost time opportunities and revenue," he said.
"This book is not addressed to the villagers but to those from the management, corporates, banks and students of business," he concluded.
