IN victory and defeat, war is a drama which most historians, poets and writers like to narrate with passion and vigour. It is such a powerful and moving topic that when they describe scenes of battlefields, killing and bloodshed, and dialogues between victors and the vanquished, they make them into great epics that sensationalize and thrill generations that read the account.
In case of victory or defeat, both sides eulogize their warriors, and transform them as heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend the honour and dignity of their country. In Greek history, the ‘fallen heroes of Thermopylae’ who fought against the Iranians in defending the pass and were finally killed one by one, are immortalized in the history of Greece. Thucydides devoted the whole of his historical narrative to the Peloponnesian war fought between Athenians and Spartans.
The drama of war becomes more moving and absorbing when some poet writes it. Poetical language mingling with emotions and sentiments makes it a classic. For example, in the Mahabharata, Arjuna asks Krishna how he could fight against his own kith and kin: “How, Krishna, shall I fight Bhimsa and Drona with arrow on the battlefield? They are both objects of reverence, O destroyer of foes. It is better to live on alms in this world without slaying these noble elders, because even after killing them, we shall enjoy only blood-stained clothes in the form of wealth and sense of enjoyment.”
At this, Krishna encourages him by arguing: “The soul is never born nor dies; it exists on coming into being. For it is unborn, eternal, everlasting and primeval; even though the body is slain, the soul is not.” It convened Arjuna and he fought and won the battle that resulted in creating the great epic of the Mahabharta.
There are thinkers and historians who regard war as an essential force to keep a nation active and alive. Their argument is that war is natural. It is in the psyche of human beings and therefore it cannot be avoided. In the words of Heraclitus: “War is the father of all things.” Another writer, Lasaulx, believes that war is divine in character, and we find its presence in nature. That is why, there is reason that the Indian worship Shiva, the god of destruction. He further writes that a warrior is filled with the joy of destruction: “Wars clear the air like a thunderstorm, they steel the nerves and restore the heroic virtues upon which states were originally founded, in place of indolence, double-dealing and cowardice.”
According to Burckhardt, a Swiss historian, long duration of peace “leads to enervation; it permits the rise of a mass of precarious, fear- ridden, distressful lives that would not have survived without it and that nevertheless clamour for “rights”...and degrade the nation. War restores real ability to honour. As for these wretched lives, war may at least reduce them to silence.”
When in any society war is respected and regarded as holy and sacred; in such a society warriors and soldiers are honoured and rewarded for their deeds and achievements. Poets compose elegies to pay tribute to their courage and bravery; artists paint them in glowing colours and sculptors carve their statues in order to immortalize their heroic acts. In such an environment, those who oppose war are dubbed as cowards and traitors. To die fighting in the battlefield becomes an act of honour and pride. Those who flee to save their lives are ridiculed and lose their social status.
History is replete with such incidents. In India, the Rajputs have a tradition which is highly praised by historians. In the event of their defeat, they performed the ritual of Johar — killing their womenfolk and children and, after donning a saffron dress, fighting till the last soldier. During the siege of Chittor (1567), when Akbar witnessed this, he was very much impressed by the bravery of the Rajputs. When a Rajput Raja, Jaswant Singh, fled from the battle against Aurangzeb at Dharmat in 1658 and escaped to Mewar, his queen closed the gates of the fort and did not allow him to enter.
There is another example of Abul Fazl, Akbar’s closest friend. When he was coming back from the Deccan, he was informed that under the order of Jahangir, the Raja of Bundhela was waiting to kill him. He was advised to change the route. He refused because he regarded it as an act of cowardice. He followed the same route, fought against his enemy and died in the battlefield. It is evidence that when a society develops such traditions in which warriors and conquerors assume high status, peace-loving people find little space to live a honourable life. Bravery becomes a virtue while peace, cowardice and sin. In such a society, scholars and people of knowledge lose all respect and become subservient to the warrior class.
Conquerors are heroes nearly in every society. In the words of a writer, if a person kills one man he is murderer, but if he kills thousands he is conqueror. On this criterion, Alexander and Cyrus and other murderers became “the Great.” There is another story that in his encounter with Alexander, a pirate bluntly told him that they were both bandits; the only difference was in the size of the killing and looting. According to Burckhardt, when conquerors, after devastating cities and massacring people, returned to their homeland along with the war booty, they were cheered and welcomed by their people, and honoured as the chosen people of God.
Machiavelli, the man of Renaissance, believes that war is essential for rulers. He advises them that they should keep their people in war hysteria, as it is the only way to divert their attention from their problems and prevent them from uniting against them. He argues that a nation always needs an enemy. Its presence keeps people united and loyal to their rulers.
What Machiavelli said in the 15th century is true today, as far as our country is concerned. We are in a constant warring situation after the creation of our country. We are demanded all the time to sacrifice our fundamental rights, resources, honour and dignity to defend our country. But there is a question: Can a poor, sick and illiterate nation defend itself? Or is a time coming when there would be nothing left to defend?
