The United Nations in a recent report says:
“Currently, one in seven people are exposed to conflict – but even more are suffering its consequences.
The years since 2020 have been one of the most violent periods since the end of the second world war. The war in Ukraine and the escalating violence in the Middle East have dominated global headlines and captured the attention of policymakers and donors. But while the humanitarian toll in both regions is enormous, the fact is that conflicts elsewhere are largely being overlooked.
This is affecting the United Nations’ ability to meet the most basic targets of its 2030 agenda such as ending hunger and extreme poverty. Almost all countries which are the furthest from achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 are affected in some way by violent conflict.
In Sudan alone, the outbreak of a civil war in April 2023 has resulted in more than 15,000 fatalities and exacerbated an already existing displacement crisis. Continued violence in Myanmar since the 2021 military coup has resulted in at least 5,000 civilian casualties and more than 3.3 million displaced. Meanwhile, the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) remains ever-present and has a widening global reach. There have been recent attacks in Turkey, Russia and Iran. The group is expanding operations across Africa.”
The Times of India wrote recently:
“Nov 11 is fittingly commemorated as Remembrance Day across the globe for on that date in 1918, World War I hostilities came to an end. It was then believed that this war would end all wars, but that did not happen. On Remembrance Day, veterans wear their epaulettes and colours, the drums roll, trumpets sound and the valour of war is upheld. We forget completely the cynical cruelty of those who sent young men to die for a worthless cause.
World War I was perhaps the cruellest war in modern times. It saw millions lose their lives for a cause blatantly unjust on both sides. Yet, in the fields of Flanders and Ypres where World War I tombstones stand in rows, we only salute the lost souls. We don’t condemn the evil machinations and ambitions, all clothed in robes of pride, that killed those soldiers.
War seems so distant when looking at the memorials in the calm undulating fields of Flanders. The flowers have come back and the birds too have forgotten that dreadful past. Yet, shouldn’t we remember the waste these grounds once witnessed? The futility of war is written on those inconspicuous mounds, those unremarkable slopes, where thousands died to the ratatat of machine guns for somebody else’s honour.
If there ever was a just war it must have been in a bygone era when miracles happened and Gods adjudicated. In recent centuries there has never been a war where at least one side was not truly evil. Nazi Germany tried to humiliate Europe and the world, US soldiers died and killed in distant Vietnam for a cause that only moved the Pentagon, Pakistanis cited religion to attack India, but it was really for foolish territorial pride.
Closer to real time, Ukraine and Russia are fighting a meaningless war to build a defence against future, imagined wars. This ambition was born in the twisted minds of old men and the young fell for it. People of Gaza and Lebanon have died a thousand deaths a hundred times because their leaders felt strife was politically more rewarding than peace. Once guns begin to thunder, ideologies quickly multiply.
In the past, wars were a way of life. Feudals had to fight to survive. Capturing territory and booty was what monarchies and principalities had to do, or else they’d be overrun by others who were better at the job. The modern equivalent is economic enterprise where, again, the rule is to swallow or be swallowed. The promoter of a company must think of expansion to overwhelm competition or be eaten by another.
Medieval wars had one saving grace that modern wars lack. Rulers in those times fought for wealth and pelf too, but they battled alongside soldiers and died with them. They didn’t just drive young men to war as politicians do today. Examples abound in Europe, from England’s Richard I, to Austria’s Leopold Ill, to King James of Scotland, and many in between.
If there was some glory to medieval wars it was simply because their heroes were not just willing to kill for their cause but also die for it. This is probably why in those days several monarchs were known for their heroism. In warfare today, bravery awards go to soldiers who die in battle, but the spoils of war go to the plotters. They sit behind desks; grey heads bowed, poring over sinister and dark calculations.
The next time we memorialise martyred soldiers let not the drums, the trumpets, and the sharp salutes, distract us from the fact that these young men died needlessly to further other people’s rotten ambitions. A needless death can never be recompensed; a devastated family recompensed; a devastated family can never shake away that grief. This truth must be told, for the hurrah of war comes at a tragic price.”
The above writeups portray the grim and dismal picture of warfare in the present times. It is certainly clear that all wars rise in the minds of men out of tremendous selfishness, greed and lack of tolerance and accommodation. Wars are undertaken without exhausting all attempts to resolve issues equitably and peacefully between nations. United Nations organisation has been rendered into a powerless superfluity. The present day wars are fought on most unequal terms and result in unspeakable human misery and material loss, leading to worsening situation of poverty and destitution. It is extremely saddening that even when the horrifying memories of many wars are fresh in human psyche, not enough sincere efforts are made to maintain peace.
In Mahabharata, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira, while expounding Rajadharma:
“No ruler should desire to conquer earth through Adharma. Having reaped victory through Adharma, which ruler will be honoured?”
“Victory attained through Adharma is impermanent and would not lead to good afterlife. Such victory brings down the king as well as his kingdom.”
Let us pray that Bharat may lead the comity of nations with appropriate lessons in Dharma so that good sense may prevail soon and the world order may move towards peace, prosperity and universal cooperation and wellbeing. ■
