Votary Of Peace
| Date :24-Mar-2019 |
“India has been the worst sufferer of terrorism for decades and no one knows better than us how damaging it is for humanity. It is unfortunate that despite terrorism spreading its wings, countries are not on the same page and they quarrel on insignificant issues, forgetting larger goal.”
an “Many countries calculate their petty interests and short-term gains which is why they are not that forthcoming in action against terrorism, nor are they as vocal. This approach is only an abetment of terrorism. Unless democracies and Governments of the world unite in fight against terrorism, terrorism will always find a way to strengthen itself. It must be remembered that terrorism is above religious affiliations and geographical boundaries.”
“India has been the worst sufferer of terrorism for decades and no one knows better than us how damaging it is for humanity. It is unfortunate that despite terrorism spreading its wings, countries are not on the same page and they quarrel on insignificant issues, forgetting larger goal.” INDIA has been the worst sufferer of terrorism for decades and no one knows better than us how damaging it is for humanity. It is unfortunate that despite terrorism spreading its wings in all parts of the world, countries are not on the same page and they quarrel about insignificant issues, forgetting the larger goal. Many countries calculate their petty interests and short-term gains which is why they are not that forthcoming in action against terrorism, nor are they as vocal.
This approach is only an abetment of terrorism. Unless democracies and civilian Governments of the world unite in their fight against terrorism, terrorism will always find a way to strengthen itself. It must be remembered that terrorism is above religious affiliations and geographical boundaries. Meeting President of the Congress of the Republic of Costa Rica Carolina Herrera recently, Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu stressed the value of democracy, pluralism, multiculturalism, freedom of Press and equitable human rights that India stands for. Naidu also highlighted India’s areas of strength that Costa Rica can benefit from, including information technology, biotechnology, space technology, pharmaceuticals, hydroelectric generators, power plant , and railway construction. The Vice President said that India had been a votary of peace and non-violence from time immemorial. He strongly condemned the destructive forces of terrorism that continued to be a festering challenge, distracting our attention from development. ‘Peace will not thrive if the forces of terror continue their unchecked run’, he asserted.
He opined that the battle for peace included, in the current context, the battle against terror, corruption, climate change, illicit money and arms flows, and drugs menace. He said the United Nations should evolve a common strategy to combat these forces and that countries supporting terror must be named, shamed and isolated. Reflecting on the current violent incident at Pulwama and India’s pre-emptive strikes on a terrorist camp run by UN proscribed terror organisation, the VP called for a united, global response to the pervasive menace of terror. He expressed hope that if all the countries in all of the world could speak with one voice against terrorism, “…we would be successful in creating a more peaceful world in which we lead meaningful, peaceful, happy lives free from fear and violence. The fight against terrorism is a fight that has to be fought collectively. It is a fight that must be fought to the finish,” he added. India has been the worst sufferer of terrorism for decades and no one knows better than us how damaging it is for humanity. It is unfortunate that despite terrorism spreading its wings in all parts of the world, countries are not on the same page and they quarrel about insignificant issues, forgetting the larger goal.
Many countries calculate their petty interests and short-term gains which is why they are not that forthcoming in action against terrorism, nor are they as vocal. This approach is only an abetment of terrorism. Unless democracies and civilian Governments of the world unite in their fight against terrorism, terrorism will always find a way to strengthen itself. It must be remembered that terrorism is above religious affiliations and geographical boundaries. Terrorists are simply anti-religious and anti-civilization, no matter what they profess to be and those on the right side of sanity must never allow such disruptive forces to gain strength from our lack of action. Today it is not just a question of India or Pakistan but the whole world is in danger. Terror attacks have gripped countries from East to West and there is hardly any major country left which has not seen at least one terror attack in recent years. Thousands of lives are lost every year and so is money in billions of dollar to terrorism, when on the other hand we need resources – both man and material – to fight more pressing concerns like poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, and injustice. Terrorism is a lost cause and doesn’t make any logical progression except satiating the temporal whims of a bunch of bigots, no matter how much ‘religion’ and religious grandeur is mixed with the perverted narrative.
No religion teaches killing of mankind and those who proclaim to be the saviours of their religion are often the most ignorant of the tenets of the religion. They concoct, twist and convolute the meaning of religion and mix it with rampant violence, bloodshed, and destruction, peddling it as a necessary way to ‘save’ religion and humanity. Not that many people endorse this stupidity but just disassociating is not the solution— the solution lies in giving it a tough fight and rooting it out. Terrorism is a cancerous growth that we have no choice but to throw out. Countries like China and Pakistan must understand this reality. There was a time when the US too helped groom disruptive factions to achieve certain power goals in the geopolitical game. Later as these factions grew more and more powerful and became dreaded terrorists, the US itself faced the brunt, something that it is still nursing and frantically exploring ways to come out of. Terrorism is a dangerous province which burns even its patrons and promoters. Any country that today thinks that sheltering and supporting terrorism is a religious need or a social cause is going to pay for it. The war against terrorism is a global war where no one Government or country can do it alone.
Leaders need to unite and discuss ways to eliminate terrorism by joint action and sharing of resources, intelligence, and technology. We all have a common cause and a common enemy. There is no reason why we cannot join hands for larger interests of humanity and destroy terrorism before it destroys us. There is no temporary solution to it – the war should be intense, final and decisive. We simply cannot afford to let it continue. Peace is the basic condiment for prosperity and development. If peace is not given to us rightfully, we will have to snatch it, because it is our right and also our duty – we are answerable to our children. By the way, our leaders must rise above their political affiliations or religious bondage and think like statesmen, because if terrorism spreads and penetrates further, their children will also be affected because where terrorism exists, the whole ecosystem gets devastated and there are cascading effects on society, education, healthcare, culture, trade, and prosperity – a wound that is not healed in decades. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and even Pakistan – everywhere we have the specter of devastation because of prolonged armed conflicts and violence. And this happens mostly due to indecisive and powerless Governments and the lack of consensus and unity in the voices of sanity. If those who can act, won’t do so, we are bound to be doomed, because power is not just about maintaining peace but also to fight it out when peace is in peril.