War & pieces by Leo toys

Free Thinker *

Just like children playing with Leo Toys guns India and Pakistan are hitting one another using drones, missiles and fighterjets etc., It is a futile exercise in the name of patriotism and nationalism. Let us have an honorable exit from this trap. Some powers are trying to drag us into a war with a rogue-State.

Beware! War is like love, easy to begin but hard to stop. We are still not at war with our neighbor. But it is almost a war like situation. We all know the uselessness of war — but what to do — we have to prove the world that we are right. Ironically war does not determine who is right — only who is left.

Lord Krishna inspires Mahabharata to annihilate the evil forces and today the situation looks similar. But we are bound by "no first use (nuke)" doctrine initiated by Great VrOpayee ji. All is fair in love and war.

So, the 'no first use' doctrine may be ignored in case of exigency. India can pulverize Pak within hours but the radioactive will play havoc for the entire sub-continent except the Kuld-Zo areas ( far away). In such a fragile situation if you talk about love and live-ins it will sound ridiculous.

And if you insist on de-escalation — you will be spurned as unpatriotic. But in reality it is the most logical reply to all the warmongers. We may remind ourselves about disaster, disorder, confusion and sufferings caused by war as reflected in "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy.

It narrated the stories about people's miseries for about 5 decades during the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon's in-vasion of Russia in 1812, in particular. Tolstoy tried to go into the theme of love, war and peace while searching the meaning of life - giving a series of human existential issues. It focused on three families of different backgrounds.

Each family had different ways of living and experiences during those days. Beyond the war the author also explores the idea of family, love, marriage and their dynamics. The question of faith and morality is also ingrained in the narration. Gandhiji had gone through the book umpteen times — deeply influenced by the author.

For me, I can't read the entire book — very bulky, like 'Gone with the Wind'. Its relevance today is directly linked with the impacts of unending conflicts .At this juncture we are having a war-like situation with Pakistan (a proxy war probably run by China and Turkey).

The ethnic strife in Manipur is also conspicuously patronized by hidden hands. However troubles are more or less the same — the aristocrats as well as the peasants (common people) suffer. Though both are impacted, consequences of war are more drastic on the laity than the elites. Searching for a solution sounds like a mad man talking to the wall.

Most of the time the right thinking rational intellectuals remain silent — because they feel that their voices are not heard or made redundant by the powerful power-brokers. But sometimes the power greedy masters want to hear the sane voices coming from the madding crowd. So, keep talking — they may listen — simply a whisper will do.

How to live with our neighbors peacefully inside and out-side is an art. Living peacefully with the neighbors is a product of successful diplomacy. And living peacefully with the neighbors inside the country is the reflection of good govern-ance. We can't lag behind in both. Tolstoy tries to find a divine footing in a traumatized world destroyed by war and socio-political topsy-turvy.

He inspires a search for peace and stability in spirituality. In a way the message is that peace and happiness are found within the self and not through material achievements. That was perhaps the reason why Gandhiji was roaming around with a shawl and loin-clothing — spreading the message of love and peaceful co-existence; but he miserably failed to convince those power-hungers of undivided India of 1946-47.

According to the 'apostle of peace' love includes a profound understanding that love is life itself; and true love requires sacrifice and a selfless focus on the loved ones. It also explores the notion of divine love through which a person can love even his/her enemy, appreciating nature and the world around you.

Today we still have such personalities moving around us spreading the message of love and peaceful co-existence. Yesterday through the media I saw Shri Pradeep Joshi a Pracharak in the strife-torn Churachandpur (Lamka) interacting with community leaders. It appears he is truly committed to the task of bridging the gap among the ethnic communities of Manipur.

Such activities certainly convince the country-men that they work for the nation without fear. It is better to wind up the conflict in our own interest We know who is behind the scene. Once we have a proper dialogue with Xi, the trouble will vanish.

Dragging us into a war — the global powers and war-marketeers will have the last laugh. We should not be entangled in this proxy war sponsored by a super-power aiming at slowing down our steady march towards Viksit Bharat and becoming a global power.

For Mark Twain, it is better to have an inglorious peace than having a dishonorable glorious war.