“Peace”, in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s words “is a
precious commodity, necessary for any progress”. The problem of
maintaining peace in the modern world is a baffling one. Wars and rumors
of wars have cast black shadows on the lives of twenty first century men
and women. If wars become a permanent feature of international life, if we
are to live in this tense atmosphere of constant dread and preparedness,
civilization will suffer a permanent blackout. War does not offer solution
to our wants. On the contrary, it brings in its train unspeakable human
tragedy and suffering.
Some nations are apt to believe that war is an inevitable evil, like acts
of God, occurrences
in accordance with laws of Nature, something utterly impersonal. But this
certainly is not so.
War, by no means, is a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake.
Very many centuries ago,
in the beginning of civilization war was necessary to overcome the
barbarians who came upon a
nation like a horde of locusts. Later on, in the Middle Ages, it was
fashionable for the knights
to take up arms and to take part in war for the sake of prestige and
chivalry. War was the sport of
kings and the game of the upper classes. Their objectives were wealth and
honors. This love for
excitement is deeply embedded in the social system. The adventure for war
still continues to be
attractive. When we find that an institution, for which we have acquired a
taste, is no longer
necessary, we do not like to give it up and so we invent fictitious
reasons for following it.
Hunting is just another such institution. Man before he learnt cultivation
of land, hunted the
animals for his livelihood as well as for his protection. But hunting had
been such a firmly
rooted custom, that men could not stop hunting, even after agriculture
came into existence and the
animals were domesticated; so we began to pursue it as a sport.
Similarly when war became unnecessary man’s nature stood against the
uprooting of such an
ingrained basic idea. He tried to seek reasons for prolonging his fixed
mental habit. He began to
worship this military tradition and craved for power and success. Since
human nature is essentially
plastic, we can hope to shake off this seemingly necessary evil from our
social system. Just as
cannibalism, head-hunting, witch-burning and duels are regarded as
anti-social, war should also be
considered as a monstrous evil.
Modern warfare will certainly not settle the differences of opinion among
different
nations. It will only end in the destruction of the whole of mankind. Once
this is constantly
remembered by the powerful nations of the world we can move more steadily
towards our goal of a
warless world. Already civilized nations are beginning to recognize war as
an obsolete method of
obtaining solutions. The destruction resulting from modern warfare is so
much out of proportion
to the ends, that arguments and sentiments used in the past to justify
wars are no more tenable.
This is clearly brought out in Ernest Hemingway’s words:
“They wrote in
the old days that it is
sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But in a modern war there is
nothing sweet nor fitting
in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason”.
Thus war now
in the twenty first
century does not settle any problem, except which side is the stronger.
The values of justice and
tolerance should not be subordinated to the power objective. Peace can be
maintained when we shun
war as a pestilence and resort to negotiation, discussion and arbitration.
Our beloved leader Nehruji
has said in “Glimpses”: “Peace cannot suddenly descend from the heavens.
It can only come when
the root causes of trouble are removed.” Let us look into the root causes.
Aggression is a grave enemy to peace. The aggressive tendencies in the
growing nations
should be nipped in the bud. The unjust acts of any country must be
promptly checked if peace
should last. The chief evils we have got to remove in order to ensure
peace are political
subjection, racial inequality, economic inequality and misery.
Another major cause of wars in modern times is the accumulation of capital
in the great
centers of capitalism and its urgent demand for exclusive domination of
fields for foreign
investment, exploitation, raw materials and strategic bases.
The existence of armament firms is also a grave menace to peace. They can
incite any nation
to raise munitions above the others, causing a vicious spiral of
increasing armaments, bringing
ruin to all countries. The very existence of armies is a great menace of
war. The powerful
nations should not misuse their strength. While speaking of strength it is
only appropriate to
quote Shakespeare’s words:
“O. it is excellent
To have a giant’s strength; but it is tyrannous
To use it like a giant.”
So it is very easy for the strong nations to become tyrannical. Strength
without prudence and
consideration may prove very dangerous. This idea is reflected in these
words of Milton:
“But what is strength without a double share of wisdom?”
Let us now consider how wars can be avoided so that the foundations of an
enduring peace
may be laid. In the first place, there must be created among the peoples
of the world the temper
of peace. In spite of serious differences, nations should approach their
problems with the basic
temper of peace and not in a threatening and hectoring mood. No reasonable
settlement is possible in
the mood engendered by war because war inflames passions and makes men
delirious.
India has always been advocating the cause of peace and non-violence. Our
war of Independence
itself is a clear proof to this. Afterwards, the settlement of the
Indo-Pak war by the Tashkent
Pact is another magnificent example set up by India. This is the only
civilized approach to
problems and leaves no ill-will or bitterness behind. On the other hand
settlement and compromise
arrived at after a victory on the battlefield create tense situations,
bring frustration and
despair to the defeated nation, exciting it to attack again. In such
circumstances lasting peace
is not at all possible. To surrender to evil is bad, even in resisting
evil, the nations should
always maintain the temper of peace and hold out the hand of friendship to
those who may be opposed
to them.
The present conditions and circumstances we are living in today are very
much in need of
reform. But as Nehruji, the Light of Asia observed, “we cannot take the
world on our shoulders and
remodel it according to our heart’s desire; but we can help in creating a
climate of peace which
is so essential for the realization of our objectives.” In order to
produce this atmosphere of
peace among the people of the world there must be a regular campaign of
educating the masses in
such a manner as to inculcate in them the will to peace, and bring home to
them the irrationality
of war. The agents of education are by no means few. The home educates,
conditions of living and
work educate, books, newspapers, films and advertisements educate.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “If we are to reach the real peace in this world and
if we are to carry
on a real war, we shall have to begin with children; and if they grow up
in their natural
innocence, we won’t have to struggle, we won’t have to pass idle
resolutions, but we shall go
from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the
world are covered with
that peace for which, consciously or unconsciously the whole world is
hungering.” So we must
undertake a regular campaign of bringing up children of a society in such
a way as to instill a
deep love for peace in them.
The family, the school, the church, the state, the press and theatre all
have an equal share
in moulding the character of the individuals of the society. Character
thus formed determines
action. The better the units, the better will be the mass. “The better the
people of this
century,” as Viscount Samuel remarks “the finer will be the heritage of
the next”. It is true
that thoughts determine action. Actions by mere force of repetition grow
into habits. If a man
has acquired good habits he does good only, that too, subconsciously
through a psychological
mechanism without the aid of the conscious will. There is literal truth in
the proverb that habit
is second nature. William James who calls men “mere walking bundles of
habits” also describes
habit as “the enormous fly-wheel of society, its most precious
conservative agent”. Thus the
habits of the units of a society affect the standard and the creative
energy of that society and
ensure the smooth running of the machine – the society without any
friction.
So in such a society where the individuals in their very impressionable,
plastic stage are
taught to appreciate and stand for peace, non-violence and good-will, they
will grow up to be great
peace-lovers and peace-makers and will instinctively abhor anything that
is of a brutal or savage
nature. We must always remember the veracity of this epigram- “Habit is
capitalized action” and
start our campaign of educating the younger generation with all vigor and
earnestness. We cannot
fail to reach our goal when our children grow up in a healthy atmosphere,
surrounded by love and
good-will, see, hear, talk and listen to nothing but what is good and
enlightening. Let us hope and
pray that the agents of education will realize the great responsibility
they have in moulding the
future citizens of the world, so that our progress towards the achievement
of our ideal will be
accelerated.
The nations of the world, after the first world war, realized the pressing
necessity for a
world peace organization. As a result the League of Nations was born.
Before this organization
could gain a firm standing the second world war broke out and the League
of Nations dissolved.
After seeing the horror and the havoc wrought by the second world war,
people felt more than ever
that a strong world peace organization is imperative for the security of
the whole world. Then
the United Nations Organization came into existence. This has proved to be
a boon in all ways to
suffering mankind. Maintenance of peace alone is not its aim. It is
interested in the welfare of
all the various departments of the life of man. It stands for the growth
of education, science,
culture, health and so many other things.
Great as its service to humanity is, it can prove to be a more effective
instrument of peace
if certain changes are made in its working. It ought to be improved so as
to make the United
Nations Organization, representing world public opinion as a whole,
relatively more powerful and
the member states representing only the opinion of particular nations less
powerful. The security
council could take the measures necessary to maintain international peace
and security only if it
is provided with collective self-defence, backed by preponderant power
over most of the earth’s
surface. Also the veto power should be restricted in order to ensure its
effective functioning.
Referring to the United Nations Organization as a force for peace in the
world, our
president and great thinker Dr. Radhakrishnan has said: “While it should
not interfere with the
internal affairs of nations, it should protect all nations against
lawlessness and aggression from
outside. No single nation has the right to police the world, but all
nations can contribute their
equitable share to the U.N. Force.”
The problem of peace in the modern world is nothing less than the problem
of creating a
world community. It is only by an enlargement of the communal
consciousness that durable peace
can be attained. Some modern thinkers assume that since the nation is but
a higher rung in the
ladder of man’s social cohesion from the family upwards, and as men have
successfully outgrown the
earlier stage of the tribe, the clan, and the race, the transition from
the national to the
international community would be easy. When we see how our ancient clans
with their patriarchal
heads have gradually enlarged and reached the stage of national community
with a government to
administer it, we are induced to believe that the idea of a world
community no more belongs to
the realm of fantasy. Already the silicon revolution of this era of
communication has shrunk the
world to a global village. Let us persevere diligently in our efforts to
promote international
understanding and cooperation so that our advancement towards that One
world of Tomorrow where
peace and comradeship shall dominate will be swifter.
The most powerful and influential of all the agents of education is public
opinion – the
accepted standards of good and evil, of right and wrong. If this
perennial, motivating force were
properly used, this world would be a much more pleasant place to live in.
there should be an
international ban on newspaper calumny, anti-propaganda and abuse of other
countries; all
warmongering should be repressed. On the other hand everything that tends
towards mutual
understanding must be encouraged. Our interests must be as wide as
possible and our reactions to
other nations must be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile. As
far as possible we must
not interfere with the internal affairs of another country. The delegates
of foreign countries
should be treated with due respect. There must be free intercourse among
the artists, students,
scientists, doctors, engineers and sportsmen of different nations.
Some of the greatest minds have deeply thought about ways of attaining
peace. Dr.Rajendra
Prasad considered that the peace of the world is imperiled by the gross
neglect of spiritual
values. He observed: “It is a saddening thought that though during the
last few centuries
humanity has made considerable progress materially on account of the
progress of science, our
spiritual progress has not been able to keep pace with our worldly
prosperity. We could even say
that spiritual values have lately suffered woeful neglect. Establishment
of peace in the world
will be possible only if every individual irrespective of his nationality,
faith and leanings,
imbibes the spirit of friendship and acts upto it in his daily life”. When
we fail to recognize
spiritual values our standards go down and our ideals cease to be noble.
Nehruji attributed the
root cause of all our troubles and the absence of peace to the neglect of
the life of the mind, for
he feared that the modern world is getting completely out of tune with the
life of the mind.
Dr. Radhakrishnan, one of the greatest philosophers of the modern world, in
one of his
speeches has considered, “If we want to secure enduring peace, pacts and
treaties are not enough.
Peace is not the result of an armed truce or a cold war. It is possible
only if the nations
spontaneously accept the ideals of justice, freedom and decency.” Coming
back to our beloved leader
Nehruji, he echoes the ideas of Dr. Radhakrishnan adding, however, the
virtue of love in these
words: “The present troubles of the world will not disappear with
patchwork agreements and
compromise, unless the idea of violence is removed from the hearts of the
people and they look for
friendly cooperation. I have no doubt that the approach of affection and
love brings out affection
and love from the other country.”
Much of the disorder and confusion and agitation found in the world today
is caused by the
utter lack of sufficient faith in the Almighty. The youth of the present
generation is wandering
aimlessly without any fixity of purpose. It finds no peace inside or
outside. It tries to satisfy
its inner craving by indulging in licentious acts. It lamentably fails to
realize that the cause
for the emptiness and worthlessness of life is nothing but its lack of
confidence in a Supreme
Power reigning above. This is a regrettable cause brought along by the
progress of science. The
young intelligentsia refuse to place implicit faith in God and begin to
ask why and wherefore. Our
great task now is to remove the scales from their eyes and enlighten their
obscure souls. The youth
shall have peace. And once youth peps up and its energies properly
channeled the world may attain
peace.
While recalling Nehruji’s words on pursuit of peace, that “Peace is always
an ideal worth
pursuing, however tired we may get in the process,” we might as well
remember Milton’s words on
the glory of peace:
“Peace hath her victories
No less renowned than war.”
Boloji.com is owned and managed by
Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
