Give peace a chance

If democracy is sustained through wars, destruction, belligerence and mutilation of the face of humanity, the ethical foundation of its raison detre becomes questionable. The political rationale to attain democracy as the ultimate destiny of human society loses its intellectual credence.The stupidity of war maniacs is understandably simple, as all they want is to shore up their political power but one can lament the choice of citizens who cause them to be in power. It does not make much difference whether you live in a democratic country or under a dictatorial regime if your wish for peace as a common citizen is trampled under the boots of jingoism.The events which unfolded in the aftermath of the Indian fighter jets’ intrusion into Pakistani territory and the retaliation by Pakistan Airforce sent a shocking wave across the world. It was a provocative act by the Modi regime whose political agenda of Hindutva knows no bounds to shore up popular support for electoral victory on the anti-Pakistan bandwagon. The Modi government displayed a highly irresponsible political attitude by instigating popular wrath against the secular and pluralistic Indian society guaranteed by its constitution. What was more disgusting about the political melodrama of an undeclared war was the role played by Indian mainstream media not only because of its partisan and biased reporting but also because of the hatemongering to whip up fascist sentiments. Pakistan phobia is the most sellable narrative in India now; here, in Pakistan, our mainstream media presents a similar picture of our invincibility and rigour to defend the country.The physical war being fought on the borders and in the air and the virtual war on conventional and social media are obfuscating the underlying dangers of a looming full-scale war and political madness.With this sad episode of manufactured animosity and concocted story of hitting terrorist camps inside Pakistan, the Modi government has been exposed to the international community as a warmongering regime. It has damaged the diplomatic outlook of India. If war breaks out between the two nuclear powers, it will not be less disastrous than assured mutual destruction to exterminate millions of people from the face of the earth. The escalation of conflict as an election agenda is a dangerous proposition and one which will not easily be diffused regardless of who comes to power as a result of the forthcoming elections.War is not only an instrument of regional political domination of competing neighbours for political hegemony but has also a global dimension which must be taken into account as a potential threat to regional peace in South Asia. The rise of China to global prominence and its westward expansion through its Road and Belt initiative is being seen by the Western powers as a potential threat to their hegemony in southeast and west Asia. Regional instability in South Asia – through manageable conflicts – is seen by most Western powers as a short-term political objective for containing the westward expansion of China. The long-term objective, however, is to create a regional bloc under the political leadership of India to contain China and to isolate Pakistan so it makes alliances with proxies of Western powers.The war hysteria and brinkmanship between India and Pakistan may spiral out of control and beyond the expectations of Western powers. The neoliberal doctrine of the Modi government in India follows the dictates of its Western masters, but in doing so it has created a dangerous political environment of hostility with the potential of escalation of conflict into an all-out nuclear war. Heaven forbid, if this happens one and half billion people will cease to exist and this region will turn into an inferno that would consume the flesh and bones of a whole continent beyond South Asia.The arms race between India and Pakistan makes South Asia one of the most lucrative markets for the arm industries, which also in favour of manageable conflict and hostility to multiply their sales. The manageable conflict and an anti-Pakistan political narrative are also crucial for the electoral victory of Modi in the forthcoming Indian elections.In Pakistan too, the current skirmishes on the LoC, airstrikes and counter-strikes have ended up allowing the government galvanise popular support on nationalistic grounds but these sentiments are short-lived and will soon evaporate under the hardship of the economic crisis. However, the display of diplomatic maturity by the Pakistani government to diffuse the conflict is a commendable act to outmanoeuvre the Modi narrative of waging a war on terrorist hideouts inside Pakistan. From the Gujarat massacre of 2002 till his rise to power as prime minster of the country, Modi has been an unscrupulous political character whose hands are stained with the blood of common Indian citizens. Modi knows the art of whipping up communal sentiments for votes; in doing so, his government has reduced secular India into a fascist state and the pluralistic foundations of Indian democracy are under serious threat.In our global political arena, the interests of existing and emerging economic powers of the world are reshaping South and South East Asia in their quest for political and economic dominance. In the political game of brinkmanship and warmongering, the weaker states will always become submissive to the agendas of global powers for survival and continued external support. This is also about the expansion of the market for warheads, arms and weapons of mass destruction. When the game of brinkmanship is played between two nuclear powers, its results can turn into the destruction of humanity.The Modi government seems to have been successful in turning India into a polarised and divided society on the fault-lines of religious extremism, which can implode giving rise to centrifugal drifts. The marauding forces of darkness have captured the Indian corporate media too to glorify Modi’s fascism. The deadly combination of neoliberal economic agenda and Hindutva branding of India as an emerging land of deities of profitability makes it hard for seculars to live peacefully and expressively.Democracy as the ultimate and most desirable political destiny of humanity does not look much different from the reign of terror of a medieval dynasty when we look at India. If it takes a war to instil patriotism and nationalism on both sides of the divide, it means that the official ideology of a state has lost the public legitimacy. Whatever the reason for waging a mutually destructive war, we the citizens must resist this madness. A new ideology of mutual destruction is being carved out for short-term political gains and it is polluting the minds of the youth and turning a whole generation into a bunch of hate-mongers and fascists.War has never been a sensible choice to attain peace and there is no victory in a war – no matter how strong your army is. It is all about inflicting pain. A war between two impoverished countries like India and Pakistan means diverting the scarce resources of human development to purchase weapons of mass destruction. No person in his/her sobriety would favour war as a source of promoting nationalism and patriotism.From Gujarat to Pulwama, the massacre of common people is just a political game and those who design such acts of brutality must not be defended. It is not the right time to talk about who wins the war or who has invincible defence; it is time to give peace a chance. We have better wars to fight, for example, those against economic and human development woes.The writer is a social development and policy adviser, and a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.Email: ahnihal@yahoo.comTwitter: @AmirHussain76

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