According to international news outlets like ‘The Economist’, Russia has suffered a million casualties, with around 2,50,000 deaths, in its war with Ukraine. Ukraine has suffered about a quarter of that. If there is any entirely senseless war going on anywhere, it is this one, but Russia’s leader, Putin, seems to care little for the harm he has caused his nation. And, strangely, the people of Russia, who have suffered the tragic consequences are unable to influence their leader’s decision to continue with the mayhem.
Similarly, the people of Palestine are the victims of Israel’s daily assault but cannot do anything to persuade Hamas in any way to reach an understanding that can end the conflict. It is they who are suffering the consequences of Hamas’ actions on 7 October 2023. Yet, they are unable to dissociate themselves from the criminal act in a manner that would convince the Israelis to spare their lives.
Even as we see the consequences of war in the present day, there are actually people criticising India’s Prime Minister for ceasing hostilities with Pakistan once the objective of Operation Sindoor was achieved, in accordance with his belief that ‘this is not an era of war’. Even the adversary, Pakistan, saw sense in the ‘ceasefire’ and is now asking for peace talks to be held. The lesson it has hopefully learned is that the guns will remain silent for as long as there are no cross-border terror attacks.
It is not just the economies of India and Pakistan that would have taken a hit in a continued pointless conflict, but attention must also be paid – on World Environment Day – to the fact that the continued use of military explosives is definitely a factor in harming the planet’s atmosphere. While all kinds of calculations are made regarding industrial activity contributing to global warming, for which developing nations are mostly blamed, there is little attention paid at global forums on how the military operations undertaken by the ‘developed’ countries have caused lasting damage. In the long term, it is not just the people directly affected by war who will suffer. This is why the leaders of countries need to be responsible and mature in their pursuit of national and strategic goals. This does not mean that the perpetrators of injustice and atrocities should be spared, but it must be done in a clinical and effective manner. The peace of the graveyard is not the peace people want!
