Shimreingam L Shimray - Negotiating Peace: North East Indian Perspectives on Peace, Justice, and Life in Community

It is a privilege for me to write the foreword for the book Negotiating Peace by Prof. Dr. Shimreingam Shimray. Prof. Shimray is a critical and established scholar. He has been teaching at Eastern Theological College for the last thirty years and is currently serving as vice principal of the college.

All right-thinking people have been concerned with trying to develop a proper response to the crises being faced by every human being in every part of the world. It is also true that there are many people who make systematic critiques from their own theological and professional perspective toward achieving peace in their given context. More efforts should be given until we are able to fully experience the reality of peace.

Today, Prof. Shimray, who having lived through decades of difficult times and having made critical observations, has appropriately specialized in Christian ethics and tirelessly taken initiatives to inspire and evoke the minds of young people so that they take peace initiatives seriously and work with all their capacity and ability toward harmonious living among human beings and with nature.

The present book is an outcome of his deep commitment, sincere research, and his long experience of teaching under the Senate of Serampore College. It is a collection of his articles researched and written over a long period of his teaching profession.

In the history of theological education, one of the most challenging tasks has been engaging and participating in the initiatives and negotiations toward peace. It contributes toward life-changing and life-affirming status in the history of humanity.

Prof. Shimrays interest and contribution toward peace initiatives is well reflected in this book through the different articles. It is my hope that many people will consider it a privilege to go through the pages of this resourceful book.

May this book touch the hearts of the readers to commit and contribute toward the process of peace initiatives and peacemaking. May it also serve as a source of peace and understanding to many people in more aspects than one can comprehend.

Rev. Dr. Prof. Narola Imchen

Principal

Eastern Theological College

Jorhat, Assam, India

I would like to first of all acknowledge God who upholds me and my family and provides me with good health to serve him. I thank the organizers of the program series that I could be part of, for the privilege to listen, discuss ideas, raise questions, and learn in many ways. My special thanks to those who invited me to write and present papers in their programs. I particularly thank the following centers for the partnership in organizing programs. I thank Rev. Prof. Dr. Razouselie Lasetso, then Dean of Institute of Leadership Enhancement Ministry Augmentation (ILEMA) of Eastern Theological College, Rajabari, Jorhat, who invited me to write an article that forms the ninth chapter in this book, Methods and Values of Peacebuilding: A Contribution of Tangkhul Women, and I also acknowledge that this text was published in Tribal Christian TheologyMethods and Sources for Constructing a Relevant Theology for the Indigenous People of North East India, edited by Razouselie Lasetso and Yangkahao Vashum (Tribal Study Series no. 15, Jorhat 2007, pages 122130). I also acknowledge Rev. Prof. Dr. Yangkahao Vashum, then Dean of Tribal Study Centre of Eastern Theological College, for publishing my article Social Analysis and Theology: A Methodological Implication for Doing Tribal Theology in Journal of Tribal Studies Vol. XV, no. 1, JanuaryJune 2010. This article forms the second chapter of this book. I am also grateful to the Tribal Study Centre for inviting me to write and present the paper entitled Biblical Resources of Human Rights in the Tribal Theology Institute Seminar organized by the Centre from November 3-6, 2009. This text forms the third chapter of this book. The text in chapter eleven was initially presented in the Holistic Child Development Seminar jointly organized by Compassionate International, South Asia, and Eastern Theological College, Jorhat, at ETC Conference Hall from November 22-24, 2011. I am equally thankful to the organizers of that program. I thank the program committee of Tangkhul Theological Association (TTA) who asked me to write a paper on Liberation Through Reconciliation for their Annual Gathering at Ramva Baptist Church in April 2012. That text forms the fifth chapter of this book. I am also thankful to Dr. Lovely Awomi James, then Dean of the Women Study Centre of Eastern Theological College, who invited me to write the article Quest For Power Narrative On Gender Issue: Strategizing Feminist Methodology in its Seminar on RadFem to Pro-Women on September 21, 2018.

Another group of people that have deeply influenced me and remain a source of inspiration is the student community of Eastern Theological College, Jorhat. My experiences in the classrooms for the past thirty years have shaped and made me who I am today. Their questions in the classrooms have always inspired me to widen my scholarly readings. I am equally thankful to all my colleagues with whom I have attended programs. Their critique has sharpened my thought and their encouragement has energized me to keep going. I am thankful to many other people whom I cannot list in this section.

Shimreingam L. Shimray