Anupam- The Dreamer

Over the centuries of history of mankind, there have been numerous wars. The history is replete with examples of deadly wars fought from time to time, some of them well-documented in the history books. From the wars fought by Roman Empires, to the wars fought by Alexander the Great, to the wars waged by the Mongols to Mughals, and then colonial powers, the World War-I and II, and numerous other regional wars, there is not a single century in the history, wherein the humans have been spared from the scourge of wars. Infact, it seems like it is the innate nature of the powerful people to fight wars, expand their empires, have ballads written in the praise of the victorious kings, build monuments in the commemoration of victory and boast of themselves being the “greatest of all time”.

The kings and the queens (basically the aristocracy) have their own self-interest to fight wars. If they win, they leave behind a rich legacy and their name is ingrained in the history. But if they lose, then also what’s the harm? Atleast they died in the pursuit of their own ambitions!

In this whole scenario, nowhere we talk of the common man who lives in the empire of the king or the queen or the soldiers who fought the war. We never discuss what do they want. Whenever there is a war, the soldiers are the first to risk their own lives to make the king win. If there is a win, it belongs to the king. If there is a loss, it belongs to the king again. And what do the soldiers receive in return? Death, and if spared, loss of limbs and a life of helplessness.  In the scenario even when the king wins, the conditions of the common men hardly improved as ultimately it is them who have to bear the final cost of the war in terms of foodgrains diverted to fill the stomach of the army, more taxes, loss of homes, loss of livelihood etc.

Even in the present times whenever there is a war between any two nations, it is the common people who bear the maximum brunt. See the pictures of Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc., everywhere we find the head of humanity hangs in shame. The people don’t have two square meals a day, there is acute shortage of clean drinking water, lack of basic amenities, wide prevalence of diseases, increasing number of homeless people, lack of basic facilities of schools, hospitals etc. It seems that sometimes death is a better option to end their misery.

But does the common man really want a war? The answer is a big NO!!!! The common man wants a good quality of life, that’s it! He/she wants security of life and property, basic facilities of food, shelter and clothing, a peaceful environment to pursue his/her own goals, and avenues of leisure to lead a happy and fulfilling life. The common man does not have an ambition of waging wars and to get their names entrenched as the biggest conquerors of all times.

Then, who wants the war? It is actually the elitist class or the aristocrat class who wants wars. And why do they want that? Because it serves their purpose, which is selfish at times, and to fulfill their personal aspirations of being remembered as great leaders. Take for example, the example of Israel-Palestine. Do you think the common people really want to fight wars and bask in the glory of defeating the other side? It is hardly of any concern to the common people. Rather, their concern is to lead a good quality of life in a peaceful environment. Because suppose there is a scenario where the Israel wins after a prolonged battle for several decades, then the cost that its citizens have to bear to fund the war is immense. There will be loss of lives on both the sides. The people will have lesser amenities of food, shelter, etc. than they had before the war.

But, does the leadership really care? No! Because let’s face the harsh truth! Even if there is a war or there isn’t, it is not going to have any shred of impact on the lives of the leaders like the political leaders, the military leaders, the religious leaders. Even if their country loses, they will continue to lead a life of luxury, unruffled by the travesties of wars. They will have adequate food, their property will be intact, their amenities unaffected, and their standard of living as the same. The only risk they face is that in extreme scenario, they will lose their life! But, the risk of that is far lesser than the common man who is bearing the brunt of the missile or drone attacks directly with nowhere to hide! And moreover, it is their own ambition to fight wars, so even if they lose their life, it is out of their own volition. But, what does the common man have to do in all this? They are handed over the lollipop of “national pride” and “old glory” and “self-respect”, so that they don’t oppose the wars waged by the aristocrat class! We can see the numerous videos of common man doing rounds where they can be heard saying that “Destroy the country ABC”, “Death to country XYZ”, “मारो सालों को”, “Nuclear bomb गिरा दो”, “We will die for our self-respect”. In this false pride, they forget that even if they win, the victory will come at a huge cost and there can even be a scenario where the victory is not worth it.

Image credits: Anadolu Agency

Essentially, as I see it, unless there is an impending threat to the common people like in case of terrorist attack or fighting for a just cause, the wars leave the world in a worse scenario than what the world was there before the war begun. War puts everyone behind by some measure, whether you are a winner or a loser. There is dance of death, buildings reduced to rubble, destruction all around, growth and development pushed behind for decades, generations lost in misery, widespread poverty and hunger and what not. Therefore, every effort must be made to save the humanity from the scourge of war, by means of diplomacy, tact, mutual understanding, respect to international laws, and for respect of humanity and human values.

Because if we have to fight wars to prove our superiority, then aren’t the animals better than us humans in that respect? Atleast they don’t have superior weapons like atomic bombs to obliterate each other eternally from the face of this Earth! Also, what is the use of wars, if there is “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) on both the warring sides. And if we still fight wars even after knowing that, then we must be rightfully called MAD species, who wrote their own obituary with their own hands. On the flip side, just imagine a world where instead of putting our energies in fighting, if we all put our energies for a constructive work, then what a wonderful world it would be!