Soldiers are
for peace, not war
By K.S. Bajwa
"NO to an arms race" was boldly
emblazoned across the podium behind which sat the
president of the World Peace Council flanked by a few
foreign delegates and the local notables. Some years
back, this was scenario at the Punjab State conference of
the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation at
Chandigarh. Sitting next to the president was General
Gomez, who became President of Portugal when the fascists
were over thrown and later became Vice President of the
Peace Council.
In the audience was a
sprinkling of ex-soldiers, who had come for the cause of
world Peace. To many, this gathering of the once standard
bearers of Mars under the sign of the dove might have
looked incongruous.
Does not military
professionalism seek and find its fulfilment in a clash
of arms? Military reputations are made on the fields of
battle and ever after soldiers proudly wear their medals.
Do soldiers seek and start wars? There are many who
believe that soldiers are only ticking at full tilt
during wars and that they are ever eager for combat. It
is also said that big military establishments provoke
wars. These are fallacies or rather calculated
falsehoods. Soldiers do not make war.
The ruling elite and a
horde of shadowy manipulators do. They in fact, control
wars or peace, not the military. The function of a
soldier is to defend his country when called upon to do
so. He is no more blood-thirsty than a civilian or
innately lustful for combat. In fact, soldiers are often
sickened by war. By being fully combat ready and by
holding out the promise of a costly retribution, they
actually prevent wars.
Man is by nature
combative, covetous and lustful somewhat of a
predator. The most dynamic thrust of his ambition has
always been pursuit of power over the destinies of
fellow-men. His appetite is never ending. Motivations of
self-interest gather rationales and compromises on a
broader canvas. The vantage points of rulers become those
of the nations.
Take the case of India and
Pakistan. A free flow of trade would replace costly
imports with goods produced much cheaper next door. Life
for the people could be made easier. But this does not
serve the purpose of the military-trade-industry combine
in Pakistan, that manipulate the power elite. So a hate
campaign is kept alive and the barriers stay up.
Wars are conspiracies
against people. The conspirators know no ideologies,
race, religion or national boundaries. They are beyond
good and evil. The Caesars they put into power are their
creatures and the people are helpless. It is well known
that the munition barons of Europe and America were
behind World War I. They are still there, stronger and
more callous.
They are no longer alone
a host of multi-national predators have joined
them. While the people suffer, the oil kings make huge
profits out of the conflicts in West Asia. President John
F. Kennedy knew what he was talking about when he spoke
of "The Gnomes of Zurich". Perhaps he knew too
much.
We too have had our gnomes
The Gnomes of Raisina Hill! During the later years
of Indira Gandhis autocratic rule, a policy thrust
to extend military influence in the neighbouring South
Asia, was formulated. Arming and training of LTTE cadres
was a part of this plan. After her assasination, Rajiv
Gandhi continued with this thrust. The culmination came
in 1987, when an ambivalent Jayawardene was cajoled and
browbeaten to sign the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord.
Besides the promises of
financial assistance and a military intervention to
resolve the Tamil problem, the presence of an Indian
warship carrying a special services battalion on board,
provided the clincher. The Indian Peace Keeping Force
(IPKF) was inducted into Sri Lanka without a clearcut
national purpose and an unambiguous mandate. The wily
Premadasa, turned the tables by lining up Prabhakaran of
the LTTE on his side to engineer an early exit of the
IPKF. This hapless force paid for with their blood and
toil. As yet the Gnomes of Raisina Hill did not rest
content.
A war with Pakistan was
always an inviting option, which would not in their
reckoning require a great deal of legitimising.
Brasstacks in Rajasthan was designed to provoke a
conflict and launch an attack. Sunderji, the then Army
Chief invented a plan to advance onto Sukhur,
outstripping Indian Air Force fighter cover from their
existing airfields by nearly a hundred miles. When this
flaw was questioned by Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief,
Western Air Command, he said that the ground forces would
rely on the protection offered by ground to air missile
system.
How odd that an Army Chief
driven by an ambition for military glory would forget the
lessons of Longewala in 1971 when a Pak armoured column
without air cover was practically wiped out and of the
Arab-Israeli war in 1973, when the Egyptians with three
times the number of missile system we could deploy, could
not stop the Israeli Air Force from wrecking havoc upon
them. While we paid heavily for the Sri Lankan folly, we
were saved from the Brasstacks folly in 1987 by Rajiv
Gandhi, who developed cold feet at the last moment.
There has been a change in
the practices of war. The world has become a hostage to
nuclear terror. It is also much more concerned with
liberty and equality. It is becoming increasingly vocal
against blatant use of force by the powerful against the
weak. Yet the powerful nations still consider the world
their chessboard. The USA can unleash missile attacks on
sovereign lands without warning and again the USA and the
UK can thumb their noses upon the UN and bomb Iraq at
will. Even more so the economic assaults with sanctions,
political intrigues to subvert national governments,
surrogate and proxy-conflicts, terrorism and the
manipulation of insurgents and dissidents, have become
the new weapons to bend nations to purpose of power.
This is even a more
dangerous armoury when viewed against the fact that
socio-economic justice has not kept pace with political
advancement. Economic inequalities, rivalries to corner
scarce resources especially the sources of energy and
over consumption by the richer nations,create social
distortions. Exploitation of the under-developed
countries and suppression of minorities within the
states, generate tensions.
This practice of
instability and mistrust, contains germs of relevance,
for powerful war machines and their continuous growth and
sophistication. This is fertile ground for the faceless
men of power and profit, to implant stock piles of
horror.
Is there any hope for
mankind? Will we always live under the shadow of war,
separated by divides of colour, race, religion and narrow
national interests? Will this ruthless exploitation ever
come to an end or at the least, be reduced to manageable
proportions? Fortunately, it is not all darkness. There
have been good omens.
The world has become more
accessible and closer. The essential universality of the
human being is finding greater expression, both in
dialogue and deed. A vast concourse of people has emerged
from colonial subjugation, where freedom and equality
have taken hold over minds of men and human fraternity
cannot be denied. There is an urge for a stable world
order, based on justice and equal opportunity.
World opinion is beginning
to exert powerful constraints on overt hostile
projections and interference in internal affairs of the
people. The governments are becoming increasingly
sensitive to the legitimacy of their decision within the
country and the political and economic costs in the
international forums.
As the awareness of human
dignity and justice spreads, so will increase the power
of the voice of people. Perhaps, the biggest hurdle lies
within the human schizophrenia under which we think,
judge and act on two different planes one for
ourselves and one for others. These double
standards/permeate the conduct of nations and their
dealings with one another. There is a charm between
protestations of promotion of human rights and
compulsions of self-interest. Salvation lies in the
recognition of human consciousness to blend essential
self-interest with universal well being.
The struggle for an
enduring universal peace will not be easy. The people
must recognise the faceless men and make them stand naked
in the dock of the world opinion. But it will be a long
time before the gnomes are buries and the meek inherit
the earth. The soldiers plead not guilty!
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