Is war inevitable?

Gurmehar Kaur, this name is currently doing rounds in social media and national newspapers for quite some time, I came across many comments in Facebook most of them ridiculing her. Ms. Kaur, student of Delhi University came under scanner after her controversial video of May 2016, which went viral. She made this statement: “Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him... I fight for peace between India and Pakistan. Because if there was no war between us, my father would still be here.” At the first place, I feel that Ms.Kaur as all other Indians have the freedom to express her thoughts and I believe that there is freedom of speech and expression for Ms.Kaur also as any other citizens of India.

Now I would like to ask a question to my fellow brethren’s’. Is war inevitable? Can war be avoided by reasoned debates and peace-building efforts? Is war a byproduct of the efforts of powerful people who want their power and control to be constantly checked and interrogated? I do recall the scenes from the English film ‘V-for Vendetta’ where a deadly virus was developed by the instruction of a bureaucrat and was used to kill the natives of the same country and blaming the outbreak as an attack by a terrorist organization, thus creating fear in the minds of people. A new party formed under the leadership of the bureaucrat promised security in times of social instability, thus coming to power winning a majority.

This makes us believe that wars sometimes are not the output of undesirable evil thrust upon us by ‘immoral’ outsiders, they can also be used as a political tool to divert our attention from domestic turmoil such as economic slowdown or rising unemployment or can also be used as a tool to win votes for the upcoming elections. Thinking in the business perspective there can be deep-running business interests such as politically connected promoters of the defense industry who stand to benefit from conflict and war. The life of a soldier is worth far more than the monetary compensation or the honor he and his family receives after his death. The talk of martyrdom shall not be means to justify the death of our young soldiers by the ruling class to benefit from wars and conflicts by glorifying wars. Is it better institutions, better leadership, and innovative tools that we require for conflict resolution? Plz comment!

(Inspired by an article in Hindu by Happymon Jacob)