The Fate of the People, Strangled by War
Collateral Damage in the Cruel Crossfire of War
How would you be if you had to fear for your life every minute of the hour, every hour of the day, and every day of the week? Well, millions today are living in that fear all across the world — the fear of losing the gift of life to the ego of man.
For millennia, war has been something that is common in all parts of the world. From the first recorded war — the Battle of Meggido in the 15th century BCE — to the Crusades, the Mongol Invasions, the Napoleonic Wars, and of course, the two World Wars. Even our motherland hasn’t been free from this curse — the wars of Hydaspes, Kalinga, Tarain, Panipat, Haldighati, Plassey, Buxar — all echo through the chambers of Indian history.
In the wars mentioned here, there was a collective participation of around 150 million soldiers. And the death toll? Nearly 135 million. Of these, a staggering 90 million deaths were civilians — innocent human beings who just wanted to experience the beautiful phenomenon of life. But what did they get? Death. The kind that made them experience hell while being alive and kicking — starvation, disease, torture, rape, immolation.
And I state my question loud and clear — who is responsible for these atrocities? The perpetrator isn’t a single person. It’s us — the human race. The facts are piling up in stacks as high as Mount Everest that suggest we might be the only intelligent beings in the entire universe to actively pursue activities that could wipe our existence before our time is actually due.
It is evident that these wars arise from the ego of man. A wants to take over B’s kingdom and resources, so he kills B. C takes revenge for B by killing A. D takes revenge for B by killing C, and soon enough, the entirety of the alphabet is here to seek vengeance for the fallen ones. That’s how wars work. Everybody wants to rule the world — that is, everyone wants to hold the kind of power that would allow them to be crowned the king of their land. And for this power, they are ready to kill others to annex land. Someone is crooked enough to kill another crooked person, and all of them are crooked enough to kill each other for it.
But the burning question seethes in rage — who is suffering from all of this? Very simple. That is also us — the human race. It is quite contradictory. We are the perpetrators and the victims — and that’s what makes the human race so peculiar. To remove the nuances and be more specific — the ones truly suffering are civilians — the innocent, mere spectators of war that are strangled by it, dying in its terrible crossfire.
Georg Hegel said “We learn from history that we don’t learn from history,” and it’s terribly true. Remember the wars I mentioned? We’ve seen people die. And we’ve seen “leaders” say “never again” to these atrocities. But are they really practising what they preach? As you read this, children might be losing their lives in Gaza, and people may be dying from Russian missiles in Kyiv. But when it’s time to be held accountable, the same “never again” is sung.
A mountain worth of wars fought — a plethora still left to be fought. The most important lesson we must impart to our children — the leaders of tomorrow — is to genuinely say “never again” to wars. We are running out of time, for we are living in an age where lethal weaponry is evolving by the day — one more war, and we might not have to fight another war, because Earth won’t be the Mother we know anymore.
To me, it is incomprehensible how we, as a civilised society, sit silent as reports of genocide and full-scale invasions unfold right before our very eyes. That’s why we need to talk. The United Nations exists as a forum to convene, deliberate, and resolve matters that affect international peace. It is about time that we all drop our weapons and open our mouths. As the proverb goes, the mouth is mightier than the cannon.
The fate of the people is at the mercy of the Presidents and Generals. I plead to the warring individuals of the human race — think of the civilians, think of the planet, think of the children, and think of the self.