Essay on Horrors of War:
War is a mean, beastly and inhuman thing. It destroys lush green crops, orphans thousands of children, widows thousands of young women and sends thousands of young men to a violent death. All the laws of civilized behavior are abandoned and the beast in man comes into the open. Even those who call themselves civilized and cultured behave in a brutal way and engage in large-scale destruction.
Although war is often described as a virtue of the brave and the courageous, it is actually a virtue or evil of the brutal and the cunning in man. History teaches us that most wars were won because the cause was right or the winners were men of great courage but simply by those who were more cunning and treacherous than their victims. The war of Troy was won by the Greeks not because they were just, but simply because they entered Troy like thieves. The Mahabharata tells us of the frauds that were practiced during the war to defeat the otherwise powerful Kauravas. It is, therefore, erroneous to think that war is a fair fight or that the winner is morally right. On the contrary, war is human and beastly.
Wars were destructive in the past too. But with the invention of deadly weapons such as nuclear bombs of different kinds, biological and chemical weapons, and short to long-range missiles, modern wars have become awfully destructive. During the Second World War two flourishing, populous, and prosperous cities of Japan- Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, were reduced to ashes and millions of people were killed in minutes. The trail of suffering that the bombs left behind are visible in these places even now.
In addition, modern wars cause a lot of diseases and suffering among the survivors. The use of chemical and biological weapons has the potential to spread epidemics in populous cities. Many diseases grow out of the pollution that war machinery causes. Industry, trade, business, and agriculture suffer heavy losses. The economy of the fighting countries is shattered. As all the countries of the world are now dependent on each other for one thing or another, the modern war between two countries disturbs the economy of all the countries. The war in the Gulf led to the rise in the prices of oil and virtually shattered the fragile economy of uninvolved countries such as India. Today two countries fight but the whole world suffers the consequences of such a war in one way or the other.
Modern war is a serious threat to the environment. When millions of tons of explosives are used in a battle, the environment is adversely affected. Then the strategic or vengeful steps taken by the fighting countries cause damage to even innocent creatures. The oil slick caused in the Gulf led to the death of millions of sea creatures. The burning of Kuwaiti oil wells affected the environment even in neighboring countries and caused black and harmful rain.
During a modern war, it is not only the soldiers of the two or more fitting countries who lose their lives. Attacks on hospitals and civilian areas cause widespread death of the civilian population. The civilians also suffer because of the scarcity of things and the famine that war brings in its wake. Commodities become unavailable or their prices become so high that many poor people have to starve to death.
Modern war is thus the most horrible thing imaginable. The loss of life, or property and the human values caused by war, leave deep scars on the human mind. It reminds them of the bestiality of man and takes away faith in God or any benign power. It is, therefore, necessary to avoid war at all costs. There is no dispute which cannot be settled through peaceful negotiations and mutual give-and-take. The people of the world should unite to condemn war, no matter wherever it occurs and who is responsible for initiating it. We must remember that peace has its own victories which are more glorious than those of war.
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