Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease. War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations. The impact on society, economy, environment & civilisation is devastating!
We all know that violence has no justification & communication can solve most misunderstandings! But, wars have almost been a norm in our history, whether it were the world wars in recent history to the great battle of panipat or even the mother of all wars - The Mahabharatha in ancient history.
Even though all thinking & rational human beings despise war & know that a “War never determines who is right, only who is left!”. Wars have always been the time honoured way to settle a conflict!
All the various communities mention some form of battle…The devas always fight the asuras & defeat evil. Whenever we visualise the future…aliens, superheroes & people from far away galaxies, we always visualise a great intergalactic battle… Marvel & DC would go bankrupt if they didn't show our favourite superheroes fight for supremacy! Would JK Rowling have become a billionaire if our beloved Harry Potter spouted mantras of peace instead of his spells? Voldemort wouldn’t have been a dreaded villain & Thanos wouldn't have to wipe out half the world if only everyone gave peace a chance.
So, today, I decided to take the radical & unpopular approach & wonder if there are benefits to war? Do wars help someone? Do wars actually benefit?
Bear with me for the next few minutes while I get into the psychology of warfare…
Most effective, radical & fastest method: Does anyone like going to a Doctor & subjecting their bodies to a surgery? No! but, many a time, it is an absolute necessity! Sure, there are side effects & the 1st week after any surgery is agony, but it is the fastest method to get rid of the disease & start the healing process! War is like that - a surgical strike.
Sometimes the only solution: Imagine if the Pandavas & Kauravas had come to an amicable solution. The Pandavas would have been happy with their 5 villages & Kauravas (The evil, adharmi people) would have ruled the world! If peace was given a chance in this case, evil would have flourished unchecked! Take the recent surgical strike conducted by India on Pakistan after their attack on us in Uri… Sometimes a demonstration of power is necessary to keep our sovereignty intact!
Fastest way to innovation & technological advancement: During World War 2, unheard of innovations for that time like nuclear bombs, airplanes, spy gadgets, mobile bridges, etc. were developed on a war footing & deployed. Space exploration started with Missiles & rockets developed in WW2. The 1st space rocket reused a military missile.
Take the recent war on COVID (WW3 with a biological agent!) Vaccines, antivirals, immunity builders, treatment protocols that would have taken decades of Research and Development during peacetime were developed within months!
Economic Motivation for armed conflict: In the primitive times, tribes fought against each other in order to expand their hunting grounds and increase their procurement of food supply. In the early wars of history, great migratory movements resulted in contests for food and wealth among civilisations.
All those material considerations and incentives that prompt people to resort to the use of force for the attainment of their objectives like access to distant markets and scarce resources, imperialism, concerns about the impact of economic interdependence and population growth have been the most common economic causes of the outbreak of international wars. Greed and the exacerbation of grievances are considered to be the main motivations for internal conflicts.
So, why would anyone glorify & choose the least popular method or the method with the most side effects, casualties, fatalities as the method of settling a dispute?
Choosing peace, choosing amicable settlement & living upto the Vedic motto of ‘Sarve janah sukhino bhavanthu’ seems like the best option. Gandhiji and Nelson Mandela gave their lives to Peace!
However, evolution & mutations & genetic adaptation happens only in adversity! We’ve seen this ever since the ice-age! The dinosaurs were wiped out & humans populated the earth!
There is no construction possible without destruction! According to Karl von Clausewitz in his book 'On War', "War is the continuation of peace policy with means of using force. They are 2 faces of the same coin!"
George Orwell said, “War is evil but often the lesser evil!” However, accepting the judgement that war can be justified is in itself one of the main reasons to make it exceptionally rare! Let's not always operate with an all or none policy… Let's keep war as one of the options, but I hope & pray that our generation has the good sense to always keep it as LAST last option!
