The ultimate purpose of forgiveness is restoration of relationships and the reestablishment of connections with the community. Public apologies and seeking and granting of forgiveness create a new dimension to repairing fractured relationships. In places like Gujarat where the communal passions have been raised for political advantage, and past violence of genocide proportions have ruptured communal relations, it is only through a process of collective contrition that reconciliation will be possible. It would be appropriate for a person like Narendra Modi, who is now on a politically strong position, to apologise for the state-directed violence that took place in 2002. More recently, there was widespread condemnation of the Sri Lankan Government on the excesses committed by it on the civilian Tamil population in its final battle against the Tigers, one that legitimately demanded an apology. Apologies when carried out at the appropriate time are useful. The sincerity of such apologies also should be felt by the victims. Forgiveness remains the only hope in situations where traditional conflict resolution ideas mainly built on rational choice assumptions are insufficient guides to reconciliation. We need to stir the conscience of the people through reviving their stories and go through a process of social healing. Please find the PDF version of the paper here.
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