VickramBahl.com

Conflict in the twilight

When has war ever been fair, just or necessary ?

Yet, we all wage wars. In my opinion all wars are a result of the breakdown of the rules of society which leads to the polarization of sensibility and reason. The root cause of the problem is usually trivial compared to the consequential disaster. No reason can warrant the taking of precious innocent lives; yet wars take place despite the wisdom and the best efforts of the human race, almost as if they are preordained. I don’t believe they are preordained, but they are certainly bred.

As we are taught right from wrong each one of us builds an ideology based on teachings and experiences. This ideology, which is ideally meant to make one a better human being, becomes the reason for conflict when one is rigid and applies one’s standards onto others. As soon as the first bullet is fired both sides are on a roller coaster and they live off a mixture of ego, righteousness, comradeship, strategies, victories, setbacks and revenge. The situation grows to obsession and desperation and soon the gloves are off - the nastier the better.

During WW II the British were fighting the war as gentlemen but British parliamentarian, Mr. R. T. Bower, said, “when you are fighting for your life against a ruthless opponent you cannot be governed by Queensberry rules”- the code that governs boxing. Speaking about the government policy of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain he is claimed to have said “The government would rather lose the war under Queensberry rules than do anything unbecoming to an absolutely perfect gentleman”. “That kind of thing will not do” he said. Soon after Winston Churchill took over as Prime Minister the policy changed and covert operations were executed to set Europe ablaze by sabotage, assassinations and a host of other irregular warfare. It has happened in every war and on every side. In the twilight the right and the wrong look similar, such are the times that we live in.

The ‘A’ bomb was invented and immediately used. It may have brought an end to the war but the Japanese people have yet to recover from the psychological trauma of the event. They shun violence and their constitution forbids them to send their troops out of Japan, not even for the United Nations, except, recently, as peace keepers. Their constitution was written for them by the Americans after the war but even after all these years of economic development, which has made them an economic super power, they are not willing to change that provision in their constitution.

When the Trojan horse was sent in with soldiers hidden in the belly; was it strategy, treachery or terrorism? It would really depend in which light you see it. Had a US Army General ordered the shooting down of these civilian aircraft prior to their hitting the WTC and the Pentagon, the world would have probably called him a mad man and murderer of innocent lives because people could not imagine the disaster he was averting by his actions.

War is not the solution to problems. Iraq and the Middle East are examples. In the larger arena, The Second World War was promptly followed by the Cold War and now we are in a situation of a long war against a faceless enemy called terrorism.

Even in war there are some ground rules but are they enforceable ? The Geneva convention has not been followed many a times and there is no agency to enforce it – don’t forget that the parties are already at war because there is no agency to arbitrate and bind them to any common rules in the first place !

Then where is the solution ? The pessimists say that conflict will continue and man will go on making deadlier weapons, which will eventually be used to the extinction of the human race. The optimists say that eventually good will overcome evil and all will live happily ever after. I feel that if man is smart he will device a system to resolve conflicts before they escalate to wars. The basis of such a system would have to so that it seems fair and just to all. That is where the solution lies. For example, nobody could have made Dr. J. Jailallita - a convicted fiery Indian politician who has who's party won the elections - step down from the Chief Minister’s chair without a war except the ruling of the Supreme Court. I hope the United Nations works towards such a system thus putting an end to barbaric wars forever.

Our Sun has an estimated life of 5 million years left after which it will cease to be the supporter of life on earth. Scientists are already worried about man’s future after the sun burns out. Don’t you think they are looking in the wrong direction ?

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