Devkota on Conflict Management Guidelines.

Atindra Dahal

[Published in Devkota Studies, No 14. Kathamndu: Devkota Studies and Research Centre, April, 2013] Conflict is an integral aspect of present day society, nationally and internationally. Despites various ways to perceive it, we have come to realize that no society exists without conflict in its horizon- in the past, present and future. Once the civilization has marched ahead and human development has surpassed the imaginations, various ideas and responses take route among social groups. Because of diversities in the feelings and growing plural interests together with constitutional and legal assurances to cultivate and promote such multiplicities or poly-awareness, inculcation of conflict is ineluctable and indelible. Various individuals, organizations, countries and institutions are having this or that type of conflict with members within or any of the hosts outside. On the ground of differences in understanding, harboring doubts, picking up various arguments and making different stand points are some common sights these days. Because of ageing, scientific advancements, paradigmatic shift in living style, unmatching socio-political ideology and extensively standard level of education, gardening of conflict of interest and mismatched feelings is quite admissible and normal. People should develop an art of negotiating it and managing that positively; but escaping is neither possible nor practicable. Vastly growing civilization and advancing modernities are generating the conflict among people. So conflict is unavoidable feature of present and modern society. Uncertainties, competitions and changes are watering the conflict to keep it ever flourishing. We can only imagine a complete absence of conflict where humans dont reside. Hence, assuming the conflict as indispensible feature of dynamic and vibrant society, theoreticians have toiled to propound the maxims to mitigate and transform the conflict for positive outputs than negating it. Negotiating with it and making a U turn to block prospective devastation is said to be appreciative tackling over the conflict. But, till recently, only the Political Science and literature were regarded as founding sources in this case and only politics is supposed to be a genuine agent. Conflict and its studies too are assumed as a branch of politics. Besides politics, even literatures embody the guidelines in this regard and can present the characters with creative art of handling conflict in progressive way. A short story by great poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Remoralisation of Conjugal Life strongly reflects such trends. Conflict should be tackled to make positive changes, and avoid negative possibilities. People regard conflict as base to transform and cause progress. In absence of conflict, society remains stand still. Often the rival agents surrender or avoid the rigidity; and sometimes create mediator or use the force to manage the conflict. And strategic applications of these ideas are not only can be seen in real social setting or discourses of Political Science. Since literatures always embody the social set up, there too we can find a society and presence of such tools of conflict management. Uses of these techniques

are well seen in story, Remoralisation of Conjugal life. Hence, even Devkota, though he is a literary figure, irrespective of not being an active political practitioner, seems to have fully acknowledged the phases and practices of conflict management. That can be proved with close reading of the story. This story holds very aggressive conflict between Shete and his silent wife in regard of her dubious bearing of child in his absence and many of other minor disputes among other characters. In it Devkota has also produced a persona, who has been able to deal them properly and make society function well. Correlating Devkota with Conflict Management Guidelines. Talking about conflict management art and dispute resolutions skills; Watts, says, Talking about the third partys involvement in conflict resolution, the parties to the contract each select a person to be a member of the Board and then either those two people select a third or the facilitating organization nominates a third person, who acts as chairperson or major role player (33). The statements further let people develop an understanding that soliciting a help form others is not objectionable in process of resolving conflict. Sometimes such steps may be more fruitful to take people into common points between two arch rivals. The dye heart boycotting to each other of the chief conflicting parties may often elongate the obnoxious outcomes of conflict. In order to enervate such detrimental situation, appointing third party as facilitator or moderator may be good step to collect trust from the both. That may make considerable progress in dealing conflict and in brining both parties into acceptable alternatives. Even Zarmaton, saying, A third element in the life cycle of a conflict has to do with its goals (176) further assists the message which intones the necessity of third partys active acting role to resolve or manage conflicts. Devkota well realizes such strategic technique of conflict management. And in order to resolve the conflict between Shete and his wife, the narrator requested his one of the friends to disguise as Sadhoo and create a constructive role to mitigate ongoing debate. I ventured to tell him that love was independent of flesh for the unknown errors of which there was the court divine. Creating arguments to convince people and make them adhere, that evening I want to my friend into whose ears I whispered the whole tale. That evening a grey bearded Sadhoo with a pupil came up for alms and asked for a nights shelter (Devkota: 274) substantively endorses the authors interest of creating a new party to manage the conflict. Even his motif behind doing this role modeling was to make Shete assume as if the Sadhoo is divine creation, above human, and knows all the truth. Once Sadhoo said that love is independent of flesh, people should not care about other things, Shete agreed to accept the child as his own. But on the same, the narrator had constant and consistent failures out of his enormous endeavors earlier. The persona had done his level the best to make Shete not to grow disgruntled, doubtful upon his wife and entreated to honor her service, devotion and dedication at her by accepting her. But Shete was indomitably growing suspicious over the requests and had started to plan making of horrendous penalty for the then supposed illegal job she did. But once an external force or third party mediator was created, he felt enlightened and accepted it normally. Thus, creating a third party facilitator to resolve the conflict, as one of meaningful and result bearing inputs, Devkota seems to attitudinize and implement conflict management tool in the society of his text as well. The personas effort was not to make any experiment and taste how would that result. As Zarmton says, he was sure into his goal and had envisioned the prospective outcome that he wanted from successful landing of the case. Only for the deep down concentration of not devastating the life of

Shete and evacuating his brides and the prospective childs lives from pond of possible pangs and pathos, he ventured a step. As the moderator in conflict always comes with clear goal of setting disputes, the Sadhoo, narrators creation, came with sound point to locate the conflict and transform it. That would be for benefit of all people. Or such goal would make justice for next philosophy of conflict management which is win/win theory and going from destructive to constructive changes. Conflict always takes places on the basis of some vested interests or causes, which are tangible or intangible. The way how a case appears in front of us is episode and the real causes what are making the case exist and grow more complex are epicenters. Hence healing a case comes to be only possible once its agents are able to acknowledge the root causes and make the robust inputs to surge them or epicenters. Even in text, Devkota creates a narrator, who understands the real nature and underlying causes that is the suspicious and arrogant mindset of Shete. He refuses to admit his negligence of making his young wife suffer his absence for long as well as negates the immense possibility having some unprecedented pitfall over her in his absenteeism. Or, it unlike the author writes, Cant woman claim child bearing as her natural right, in long absence from her legal partner? (273), Shete denies to fault find in himself. To defeat his prejudiced nature and adamant but condescending feelings, narrator, creatively makes an input of creating a Sadhoo and solves the case very systematically. While dealing a case and working to resolve a conflict, beside ethics and justice, humanitarian approach should never be gainsaid. While making full swing honour to laws and system, some explanations may lead many of people or both of conflicting parties into greater loss. Fight should never intend to finish. Mostly resolving the conflicts should take the welfare of maximum number of people in account than simply being so crystal clear on what is in blind law and what is not. If it is to retaliate self or to combat against of evils, even killing people and causing some destructions are normalized, sometimes. So, minimization of loss and maximization of welfare for maximum number of people has to be in chief objective of conflict management. Dynamism of changing human nature and need of humanity should be prioritized than making literal meaning of sentences and illiterate contextualization of such lines. To theorize the same feelings, Eggert and Wendy say, Here the stakeholders agree on an option or line of action which hopefully, for the most part, is acceptable to both sides and felt to be fair. In an ideal situation, it is a win/win outcome (63). Similar type of win/win approach of conflict management tool is applied in text as well. Provided the persona had taken not any corrective measures, Shete could thrash his wife out of home. That would be a great loss for her and the prospective child. The complex and unfamiliar city, uneasy time of pregnancy, unaffordable expensiveness for lives and complete helplessness could cover both of them into ever unimagined disgust. The side effect of mutual misunderstanding could equally hamper to Shete as well with loneliness, anxiety and probably of legal action as well on the charge of maltreatment to his wives. That could take both of them into loss. But the idea that was applied to heal conflict was so tactful that it made both of them safe from irreparable loss and awarded win/win result. But Shete was often thinking of using force, a bad option for conflict resolution, to settle the case and manage the conflict, if other way solution had not preceded. Explaining the ultimate direction of conflict management, Wallensteen and Swanstrm have added to many other definitions and argue as conflict management should imply a change, from destructive to constructive, in the mode of interaction (50). They urge conflict management has to drive society into constructive mode and bid adieu to the possible destructions. Conflict management shouldnt be further costly and detrimental. Something positive, which can harmonize conflicting parties, should be considered the prime focus. Adhering ethics and evaluating ground evidences may not cement

such conditions every time. Even in the text, the wife of Shete is grossly responsible because she cheated Shete and conceived child of some other man. Consulting existing legal practices and social phenomenon too, Shete has upper hand to decide to disown her and send away. But that could not be of any positive outcome. Rather, that seems to be further destructive for both and even to upcoming child. Insecurity, vulnerability and many of social and financial follies could swath them profoundly. If Shete was set free to do as he wished, that could saw the seed of anxiety or enmity and that could reap making them harvest ever going confrontations. But the way, which Devkotas narrator applied, blocked all possible destructive drives and made constructive chains of outcomes. Once, Sadhoo was created and the inventory Sadhoo enlightened Shete, the couple continued having very much friendly and lovely relationship. Such efforts rightly adheres the norm of constructive outcome through conflict management. Like Dhiel says, for example, humanitarian assistance may be achieved through several different actions (e.g., enforcement, peacekeeping) (42), the attempt used in this text too cares humanitarian aspects. If not, the social reality and just a just truth would empower Shete take action and shun over his wife for her immoral debauchery. But that would ignite the risk and let spark of complete devastation to abound in her life. So persona is careful of applying the humanitarian assistance, to help needy than interpreting the laws for straight action. More than Shete, the wife, who was really foul, was in need of justice and help. Author made narrator do it correctly. As, Murphy, realizes the role of friendship in conflict management and says, Research has proven the power and importance of friendship. Friendship helps people develop in many ways. Friends support each other as they learn to cope with stress and emotions. They help one another solve problems (38), the narrator seems to have correctly adopted it. He whispered the whole tale of Shete to his friend and expressed desire for constructive reciprocation as being Sadhoo, from him. Provided the person was stranger; he would even not feel any obligation and present voluntary readiness for it. Such mode of conflict management tool came to function properly only since they had good friendship and they desired to cope in each others problem. Besides Shete and his suspiciously pregnant wife, there are many of other minor conflicts among many characters in the text. Shete, when said to narrator about his plan of going home, had conflict of interest with persona as well. Shete seemed staying longer. Narrator demanded come him early. And the warning, which is one of the five chain strategies of conflict management, is applied. The statement, I handed him a rhino (a Nepali hundred rupee note) and bade him god speed, warning him, however, against staying back for more than a month exactly (269) clearly admits the fact. Narrator thought that threatening him to come early would be a way of getting a solution point as if that would have reinforced him come on time. Many times, conflicting parties even surrender to pacify and diffuse the worse situation. Compromising with and accepting to other with complete acknowledgment of doing so is a way to bypass conflict to manage it. Out of many points, Shete used high words, made complaints; my wife increased the daily allowance; but all in vain (269) is an example how did the narrators wife compromised and did as per Shetes demand to manage the possible conflict in kitchen between Shete and cook maid. Making a minute reading of text gets with many of such encounters where, very carefully, prospective conflicts are addressed. Conclusion Thus Devkota appreciatively uses multifold features of conflicting management. While managing conflicts between Shete and his wife, he comes to create a narrator, who adheres to almost strategic

guidelines and principles of conflict management. Hence the author can be claimed to have possessed very good information and ideas about conflict management practice and praxis. Works Cited: Watts, Vicky. Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in Construction: Australia Edt. Peter Fenn, Michael OShea and Edward Davies. Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in Construction. London and New York: Routledge; 1998. Zartman, William. Negotiation and Conflict Management: Essays on theory and practice. USA: Routledge; 2008. Eggert, Max A. and Wendy Falzon. The Resolving Conflict: Pocketbook. UK: Management pocketbooks Ltd.; 2004. Wallensteen, Peter and Niklas Swanstrm. Regional Cooperation and Conflict Management: Lessons from the Pacific Rim. Uppsala: Department of Peace and Conflict Research; 2002. Diehl, Paul. F. Regional Conflict Management: Strategies, Necessary Conditions, and Comparative Effectiveness Edited by Paul F. Diehl and Joseph Lepgold. Regional Conflict Management. USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; p+41-80. Murphy, Madonna M. Managing Conflict Resolution. USA: Chelsa House, 2009. Devkota, Laxmi Prasad. Remoralisation of Conjugal Life. Edit. Padma P. Devkota. Nepali Writers in English: IACER Course Packet for M. Phil. 2007. Nepal. IACER; 2007.