Crossing Thresholds: Nonviolence Became My Resistance: Calling for a New Social Contract with Binalakshmi Nepram (Episode 3)

In this episode of Crossing Thresholds, Maurice Bloem speaks with Binalakshmi Nepram, an Indigenous scholar, poet, and peacebuilder from Manipur in Northeast India. Bina’s life and work sit at the intersection of climate disruption, armed conflict, and Indigenous spirituality — a place where survival is not abstract, but lived every day. Bina reflects on growing up in a deeply land-connected Indigenous community under martial law, where rituals, food, and shared spiritual practices have long sustained resilience. She speaks powerfully about Indigenous knowledge as living science, about women who patrol the streets at night to protect their communities, and about the meaning of staying rooted to land even amid violence and climate stress. Throughout the conversation, Bina reminds us that resilience does not begin with institutions — it begins with people, memory, and care. This episode weaves lived experience with insights from the Climate, Faith & Migration research, highlighting how Indigenous and faith-based knowledge systems are often the first to respond to crisis, yet remain overlooked by external actors. It is a conversation about peace, dignity, and the right to survive as a people — and an invitation to listen more closely to those who have been holding the line for generations. Listener Engagement:

• Learn more about Bina via her LinkedIn, and her organization's website.
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