Nov 26, 2024
Nov 26, 2024
by T. A. Ramesh
War Not the Solution
War is not the solution for the disputes among the nations of the world. Enmity increases the madness of the mind resulting in the endless wars of the world. Only love and compassion towards the sufferings of the people at large due to the wars can change the worst crisis for the better in the due course of time. So, efforts towards peace among the fighting nations by the interference of other nations are absolutely necessary on many occasions though that may end in success or failure in the beginning stages.
Effects of War
Because of war not only death is sure to occur to many men, women and children but destruction also is sure to the properties, buildings, hospitals and even towns rendering people homeless and bodily disabled too. Death caused to innocent people in war by warring people has to be enquired in the International Court of Justice at The Hague; and unnatural deaths due to war are actually to be considered as premeditated murder and accordingly the responsible people should be penalized by Law. The casualties of war are not only innocent people but also patriotic soldiers, enemy soldiers and mercenaries. But what to do, reason prevails over passion only after a long time and after heavy losses of lives and properties have occurred on both sides.
Death
Natural death comes to one at any age. Those afraid of death are called as cowards; and those not afraid of death are called as courageous persons. So, death is there at six and death is there at hundred also. 'Death is there among six and death is there among hundred too,' says Mahabharata, the legendary Epic of India. Death never sees that there is unity among six or unity among hundred. In war death snatches away the lives of men from both sides. These are all the works of fate that does so to maintain dharma in the world, say the wise men, which is not understood by ordinary men.
Dharma in War
In the golden periods of the past, dharma was followed even in the wars. There was no fight between unequal persons. Soldiers fought against soldiers of their category only in the war. So, it was rare to find fights between asymmetrical armies. Great Kings fought against ordinary kings allowing them enough opportunities and time to show their skills before they were defeated in the war. Also the imprisoned kings were treated according to their skills and nobilities by the emperors. Not only that, the victorious kings became relatives with the defeated kings by way of fixing marriages for their issues, setting aside their enmities once and for all.
Asymmetrical Wars
By the passage of time, dharma has been dragged down to the last rung of the ladder starting from the Kreta Yuga through Treta Yuga and Dwabara Yuga to Kali Yuga now. The world is now reeling under the pressure of violence, terrorism and wars perhaps by the effect of Kali Yuga, in which period the good will look bad and the bad people will be at the helm of affairs in all walks of life taking control of the wheel of the world for the accomplishment of their mad missions in the world. So, asymmetrical wars between small nations and big nation have become a common thing. Wars destroy lives and properties on both sides, yet nations go on spending a lot of money in defence preparations rather than in constructive works to boost their economies for the well being of the people, despite the burden of debts difficult to repay.
War and Love
It is easy to destroy but difficult to create, rebuild and recondition both properties and lives. War is waged out of emotional provocation, intolerance and hatred. War can be avoided by restraint, tolerance and knowledge. Loving or having friendship with neighbors may be difficult, but tolerance or restraint will pave the way for a normalized relationship later on. It is foolish to destroy and rebuild harnessing precious amount of money, energy and time unnecessarily; instead they could have been utilized in other fields like education, health, agriculture and industries needed for the development of the society. Achieving everything by love is natural, but by force is illogical and meaningless. So, prevention is always better than the cure.
Characters of History
Lovers of war vindicate the view that the end justifies the means, as they believe that offence is the best form of defence. The chief characters of world history had influenced much changes in arts, culture, geography, technology and administration in many nations, whose effects are felt even today whether they are good or bad, leading to the conclusion that they are simply the works of fate for the world which have to be enjoyed or endured by the ensuing generations. In this respect, the deeds of Alexander, Genghiz Khan, Napoleon and Hitler have to be studied and remembered so that the bad things may not be repeated in the future.
Towards One World State to Stop Wars
Great dictators wanted to conquer the world by military means but not by democratic method and bring the world rule under their leaderships, which was selfish, egoistic and against the wish of the people. They wanted to achieve their ambitions by wars. The horrors of two World Wars are still fresh in the minds of the people who read world history. After those major wars, Cold War prolonged for forty years. Still wars are going on between nations here and there. Not conflicts but only dialogues between nations can solve problems paving the way for peace, security, stability, developments and progress in the world. Immediately after the World Wars, it was felt that the formation of One World governed by democratic system, wars could be permanently ended in the world. After the cold war, globalization of economy, politics, technology, culture and society is on the international agenda, which is the prelude for the formation of the World Union or One World. The world summits, conferences and meetings indicate clearly that the world trend is towards cooperation and coordination for developments in various fields based on friendship in pursuance of the policy of globalization of economy now and peaceful coexistence, thereby concretizing the world unity. For the creation of One World, wars were there in the past. Now, for stopping the wars permanently, the creation of One World State has become a necessity.
Necessity of All Round Education
With the total failure of Communism, Cold War also came to an end. Socialism also did not fetch benefits society expected. That does not mean Capitalism has triumphed; rather, it has increased the gap between the rich and the poor. The reason being such that due to competition, materialistically man has very much advanced and is dependent on material aids in all walks of life in the modern world. Culturally man has not developed human spirit or sense of beauty, goodness and truth. Religiously man has not advanced from the human level to the divine level. The cause for all these drawbacks is that there is no link or bridge between science and literature or humanities in the education system or curriculum. From education only all human developments in various fields can be started to make man achieve everything humanely and in a sane manner in the modern world; for that suitable changes in education with the cooperation and coordination of people in all walks of life are needed.
CTBT and NPT
Naturally technological advancements in the military hard wares have gone up to the sophisticated level in such a way that accurate destructions by modern weapons are 100% guaranteed. The competition for stockpiling of Nuclear Weapons went on without a check between America and Russia during the Cold War period followed by Britain, France, later by Israel, North Korea, China, India and Pakistan at the last phase. No one can win in Nuclear World War because the world will be destroyed many times over, with the available Nuclear Weapons in the stocks of the nations that have manufactured them till recently since the Cold War began. Realizing this grim reality, America and Russia came forward to end the Arms Race in the world. Talks on Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are still going on between USA and Russia and also among the Nuclear Power nations of the world. At present it seems the CTBT has been accepted but NPT, because of its discriminatory nature, is still in the pending stage. Anyway, the holocaust of the whole world due to the possible Nuclear War in the future has very well been realized by all the nations of the world.
Resolving problems
The advanced countries in the West and East are afraid of Nuclear War, as it would destabilize the world and destroy the strong economy built up, monitored and controlled by them, which would be unimaginable and unbearable by them. So, they all come forward to stop the chaos, conflicts and wars occurring as a result of problems, disputes between Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea so that peace and stability can be maintained in Asia. Also, in the G8 summit meeting of advanced countries, Canada, America, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan held in Canada in 2002 discussed about international terrorism, world economy and development of Africa and decided to dismantle Nuclear Weapons through Russia in the nations, which were the parts of the former Soviet Union and allot funds to alleviate poverty in African countries and develop the socio-economic life of the people there.
Threat to peace
On the other hand, China, which wants to become a Super Power in Asia, is strengthening its economy and modernizing its army; and is posing as a big threat to peace in the world, as envisaged by the US analysis of the world situation today. Even after the defeat in the Gulf War of 1991 for its aggression on Kuwait, Iraq's confrontationist attitude on USA did not change. So, Iraq was posing as a great threat to peace in the West Asia region because of its unchangeable leader, President Saddam Hussein. As that was so, US was planning to oust the Iraqi President by military coup or opposition parties' upheaval or by direct military invasion. So, another Gulf War became inevitable. Another nation considered to be one of the Axis of Evil as per USA is North Korea, which looks to be softened after the ASEAN meeting of 2002 held in Brunei, is ready to have dialogue with USA regarding the suspension of its Nuclear programs. Finally, Libya branded as a sponsor of terrorism, is ready to relinquish that title and normalize its ties with other nations.
Pen against War
Now terrorism has become a big hurdle to the progress of many nations and everyone is ready to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. Further, as nations are fed up with wars with weapons, prefer to have wars with words to settle their scores in the world. Newspapers, magazines and TV media are ever ready to expose the madness of the war minded nations in such a way that wars of the old type especially with the Nuclear Weapons is an impossible dream to come true in the near future. So, the service of the pen only can bring many to senses before the worse situation prevailing now becomes worst. Hence the service of the pen has to be pursued effectively to propagate healthy message to mankind for its better living in the future relying upon the faith or fact that the Pen is Mightier than the Gun and the reality of this kind lies in the hands of the able intellectuals of the world.
16-Apr-2006
More by : T. A. Ramesh