It was supposed to be a day to celebrate love; instead, 40 soldiers died. The clouds were supposed to witness sweet couples who were handing roses and rings to each other; instead, flowers were laid on coffins and graves. All over the world, hordes and hordes of people celebrated Valentine’s day; but India mourned its soldiers. And that’s how humanity died.
The anger, the fury, the pain, and the desire for revenge was understandable and for a lot of people, even justified. Sure enough, a mere fortnight was about to pass when the Air Force dropped almost a ton of bombs on a camp of terrorists in Balakot. As politicians celebrated this event, and as social media buzzed with happiness, 26th of February 2019 was the day I mourned; FOR HUMANITY! Not because they bombed the area, but because a moment had come when they had to resort to violence, instead of a peaceful way out.
Death and Dearth of Humanity Everywhere
Every tap of a hashtag related to this situation brings a whole lot of sentiments to light; humor, anger, revenge, joke, sarcasm, and posts comprising of a variegated bouquet of emotions. Almost three quarters of the entire nation is celebrating the attack. Two thirds wants a war. Almost the entire nation is against Kashmiri people and students. At such a delicate time, no one seems to be keeping the end result into mind. No one seems to be able to imagine what war actually is, and what it feels like.
When a soldier fires that first shot, then no matter how right you feel, and how patriotic you imagine yourself to be,¬†you have no idea who’s going to die; you have no idea how many men are going to scream and burn; you don’t know how many children will cry their tears of anguish upon their father’s broken bodies; and you can never imagine the pain you are inflicting just for the sake of your ego.
YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MANY LIVES ARE GOING TO BE SHATTERED!¬†
What simply NO one seems to realize today is that the ends do not justify the means; neither is violence the only resort in any situation one might face. Right now, it is not your place to urge the government for an attack through social media. And it is not your place to celebrate death and destruction and promote war through tweets and stories. Right now, it is not your place to blame any nation or nationalist for something that a terrorist did. RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME TO HOPE FOR PEACE, TO PRAY FOR IT, TO STRIVE TOWARDS IT, AND TO SPREAD ITS MESSAGE EVERYWHERE YOU CAN.
Is there any hope?
Several people are tweeting and posting about the ugly side of war. And yeah, there are some who believe in the idea that “there is nothing uglier than people cheering for war.” And while such humans are limited in number, I still think they matter because we need all the difference we can make.
Remember, the two subcontinental nations of India and Pakistan are actually brothers. They are the child, the progeny, and the legacy of a country united across the borders of caste, colour, creed,  and RELIGION. And this was the country which strove towards independence for almost two centuries, and earned it through extreme heartbreak and immense sacrifice. This was the country from whose unity in diversity we should learn our values. Though the British ruled India before 1947, and we spent a lot many of those years fighting that rule, we should still look up to that time and country. And the reason that is important is because that was the time when we actually stood together and fought the enemy instead of fighting among ourselves.
Today, the enemy isn’t a country. Today, the enemy isn’t a man. Neither is it an organization or group. Today, the enemy is an idea. The disease that we call terrorism. Today, we should cure that disease and not spread it any more.
What needs to be done
The need of the hour is for the public to realise and understand just how terrible and ugly the sides of war are. Theirs is the duty to save their humanity and not let their anger get the better of themselves. The death and destruction that follows immediately from any sort of strike, whether the nations call it war or not, can in no way justify the ends towards which we strive. The very first bullet we fire defeats our purpose, and the very first target it hits is not the enemy, but our own selves right on our morality and ethical values.
The moment needs not your sight fixated on today or the day that has passed. It needs you to see beyond your emotions and desire, and for you to prioritize your humanity before vendettas and fury.
When you choose to believe in peace and prosperity, YOU ARE NOWHERE NEAR BEING ANTI-NATIONAL, AND DEFINITELY FARTHER AWAY FROM IT THAN TWEETERS OF WAR AND HATE. IN THAT MOMENT, YOU ARE MORE HUMAN AND PATRIOTIC THAN PEOPLE URGING FOR WAR THROUGH INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK STORIES.
