Why political initiatives matter

Mankind has faced three most dangerous things throughout its history that threatened its mere survival: Famines, Plagues, and Wars. The revolution in medicine, agriculture, and a phenomenal technological transformation changed the scenario. Even now we have health challenges, but we know how to manage it. Just in the recent past we have had scary outbreaks of disease that sounded like medieval plagues, but thanks to our present medicine it was all checked in at minimum possible damage to human life. Similarly, we have no shortage of food, though we have poverty. But the last thing in the deadly trio – war – is still lingering in different ways. Though it is a known fact that a thing like great wars is a thing of past; even a full scale military clash between any two standing armies of nation-states is very unlikely these days. The non lethal ways of dispute resolution, and an immensely interconnected world acts as a formidable defence against the outbreak of a war. But the problem still lurks in the shape of different conflicts littered around the world of nation-states. The border disputes, ethnic clashes, and competing irredentist claims have resulted in bloody violence in different parts of the globe. This violence is becoming the most challenging thing to face. At the international level there are institutions, conventions, laws, and treaties that emphasise a peaceful resolution of conflicts, but unfortunately violence is not leaving the ground. This must end. And for this to end, a global conflict resolution movement must be envisaged, and this should start from the saner elements world over. At the same time the political leadership around the globe should join hands to make sure that political initiatives, and not the military strategies, should take precedence. It is only through a comprehensive political initiative that such conflicts can be resolved in a peaceful manner, saving lives of innocents people. Otherwise places like Middle East and South Asia will keep paying the price of militarised minds that hold the reins of power. Kashmir is one such place where we are losing lives day in day out. A meaningful political initiative, not a hollow rhetoric, can stop the flow of this blood.