Since 2004 PIC/PIP has been developing a partnership with the Humanistic Studies Group (led by Prof. Nirupam Prakash) at the Birila Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), a leading university in Rajasthan, India. The partnership has included several exchange visits, with trainings for BITS faculty and graduate students in conflict transformation, including a workshop on Hindu-Muslim communal tensions in Gujarat, a course on Women and Caste Conflicts on India at University of Maryland, inauguration of a course in conflict transformation at BITS, a major conference on conflict transformation at BITS in India, a book on the same topic edited by Prof. Prakash, and collaborative research and project development planning.

In 2006, this collaborative relationship expanded to include collaborative work also with the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi, and with the Malaviya Centre for Peace Research at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. These are both highly regarded national universities, who are pioneering the establishment of peace and conflict centers in India, a very important recent step toward building that country's capacity for sustainable peace.

2006 Update

Prof. John Davies of the University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) worked collaboratively with three partner institutions in India, with partial support from CIES-USEFI as a Fulbright Senior Specialist, and with support from friends of the Partners in Conflict/Partners in Peacebuilding and Songs for Peace Projects at CIDCM. The third initiative, focusing on peacebuilding in Kashmir, also links with our work in Pakistan.