For centuries, the town of Sormat in Chhattisgarh had been plagued by communal tension, as two rival groups had been at loggerheads since 1434 AD. The origin of this ancient conflict dates back to when both groups began venerating a mysterious rock that had fallen from the sky—but on what they believed to be different dates.
The Mongrani tribe insisted the rock fell on January 12, 1432, while the Gremti tribe was adamant that it descended on February 14, 1432. Since the dispute erupted in early 1433, it has sparked over 400 violent skirmishes and claimed 59 lives.
Enter Rinky Goglewala, a 12-year-old boy who lives with his mother on the outskirts of town. While working on an essay titled “Peace Over War” with the help of his local English teacher, Mr. Santosh, Rinky stumbled upon a phrase that would change everything: “Let’s agree to disagree.”
“I was researching conflict resolution strategies when it just hit me,” Rinky explained. “This phrase could transform our whole town!” Armed with his newfound wisdom, Rinky bolted to the village elders, shouting “Let’s agree to disagree!” at the top of his lungs as he sprinted through the streets.
Upon hearing Rinky’s words, the elders were struck by what seemed divine epiphanies. Years of stubbornness and hostility suddenly melted away as they realized there might, after all, be a simple solution to their centuries-long feud. “We can agree to disagree!” they echoed, running around the town with childlike enthusiasm.
Soon, even the town’s political leaders, from both tribes, sat down together and agreed to disagree on the disputed veneration dates. The “agree to disagree” phenomenon spread quickly and has become the magic bullet for almost all communal tension.
