The present world is passing through an era of
unparalleled technological and scientific advancement bringing with it progress
and prosperity. Nevertheless one cannot be blind to the fact that we are living
in a fear-filled world. Individuals as well as nations live in perpetual fear
of mass annihilation as a result of destructive wars
The world has already passed through two world wars
and with them the terrible experience of blood and tears, wider and deeper than
mankind had ever encountered before. It has lived through indescribable
atrocities so that the recollection of their horrors remains stamped in the
memory of people as well as nations. Still it is astonishing and perplexing to
watch’ the nations of the world in a mad race to stock their armouries with all
types of destructive weapons. Unquestionably the progress of scientific and
technological inventions, which have heralded the realization of greater
well-being for all mankind, has b employed instead to destroy all that has been
built up through the ages. The threat of nuclear war hangs over the head of
humanity like Damocles’ sword. Humanity now stands on the brink of
self-destruction through a nuclear holocaust.
For the sake of humanity, for the preservation of
world civilization, it is imperative that individuals and nations should act-
concertedly to stop this drift towards virtual annihilation. There lies on all
states and people the. duty of doing everything within their power to ban wars
of aggression, and to use legitimate means to settle international disputes as
a means of realizing the national aspirations of peace, progress and
prosperity. Thus duty brooks on delay, no procrastination, no subterfuge.
Many attempts in this direction to establish peace
have been made in the past; but they all failed. They will continue to fail unless
the people and the nations come to realize the essential prerequisites for the
establishment of peace.
One of the main prerequisites is the establishment
of an international’ organization vested by common consent with the supreme
authority and power to smother in its germinal stage any threat of isolated or
collective from of aggression. It is heartening to note that we have the embryo
of such an organization in the United Nations. This organization is working
more purposefully and seriously, and with greater enthusiasm than ever before
to preserve world peace. But localized wars still flare up with the inherent
danger of escalating into a major and wider conflagration.
The inability of the United Nations to maintain
lasting peace is because it is not vested with the power and authority to a act
effectively to bring about a cessation of hostilities by direct intervention.
If the nations of the world come to understand that in the event of aggressive
wars, the other nations of the world will intervene and inflict chastisement on
the aggressors, then war will always be subject to the stigma of proscription,
and ‘Mill lie open to prevention by force. To bring about such a situation,
there should be a radical change in the outlook of people and nations as a
whole. This outlook depends on man declaring a “War on War”. Peoples and
nations must come to acknowledge the fact that the idea of wars as an apt pad
legitimate means of solving international conflicts is out of date. They should
subscribe to the theory that conflicts between nations should be referred to an
international body with the overriding authority to give decisions on such
issues. Not only that, the nations in conflict should scrupulously adhere to
the decisions of such a world authority. Such an international body should have
the necessary authority and power to enforce its decisions on any nation that
might attempt to show signs of defiance.
Only when the majority of the nations in the world
agree to this code of international behaviour, can humanity emerge form the dark
night of wars and destruction in which it has long been submerged and hail the
dawn of a new and better era of peace and prosperity.