Horrors of War


Of all the man-made machinations, war is the most mischievous and dangerous. It is said. "Man proposes, God disposes.” But in case of war, God proposes, man disposes. War is not a natural calamity. Hence the entire responsibility for war falls on the man.

Sometimes one is apt to doubt if a man is in any way different from wild animals. Ever since two men appeared on the earth, they have been quarreling with each other. According to W.B. Yeats, men fight with each other like weasels in a ditch. Why is it so?

The earliest wars were fought with bows and arrows. The later man began to use swords, spears, and daggers. But in modern times, man has invented and amassed heaps of weapons of mass destruction. There are nuclear weapons of numerous kinds, rockets, missiles, submarines, poisonous chemicals, and bacterial weapons. It is difficult to believe that man has become more civilized in any way.

The modern century has witnessed two great world wars. Man still remembers the catastrophic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the twinkling of an eye. But it is a pity man has not learned much from this diabolical devastation. After the Vietnam War, there has been a terrible Gulf War.

Whereas in the olden wars, only the kings and their armies were affected, in modern wars the civilians have to bear the brunt of the destruction. Green, waving crops are completely destroyed, the lofty sky-scrapers are razed to the ground in the twinkling of an eye. The bombs and guns do not spare even the hospitals and religious places. The schools, colleges, factories, and hospitals are closed. The loss caused to industry commerce and agriculture is tremendous. The prices are sky-rocketed. There is a shortage of every commodity. The poor are doubly hit-on the one hand they get no employment and on the other, they cannot afford to purchase commodities at high rates. The most distressing condition is that of women who lose their husbands and children who lose their fathers.

War is the result of greed, lust for power, and chauvinism. A man should learn how to live in peace with his neighbors. To redress the grievances of different nations, we have the United Nations. The latter should be given more powers to become more effective in ensuring world peace. The world government may be an appropriate answer to the question of war.