The Paris attacks that have mirrored the
2008 Mumbai attacks are acts of extreme inhumanity perpetrated against unarmed
and innocent civilians. They cannot be justified by any arguments, and there
can be no mercy for their perpetrators. There is great urgency for the nation states
of the world, none of which is immune to terrorism, to unite honestly to put
out this menace, without any selective tolerance for terror depending on where
it occurs and without regard to differences in their own competing ideologies. There should be zero tolerance towards
terrorists and those who harbor and help them.
Passions are running high, with print media
and airwaves filled with war cries demanding all types of widespread
retaliation that may only shower violence and misery on even a larger number of
innocents. Caught in the middle are also many helpless refugees driven away
from their homes by poorly thought out deeds of some nations and their short-sightedness.
Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “An eye for an
eye turns the whole world blind” takes an even greater significance today than
ever.
Words of humanitarians like Father
Jonathan Miller of the Archdiocese of New York ring a bell of reason that needs
to get louder a lot more. As correctly stated by him, the immediate menace may
need to be bombed out, but ideologies, good or bad, cannot be bombed out. When
they are misguided, one needs to understand and acknowledge the underlying pathology
and find lasting and stable solutions.
It is obvious that religion and justice are
invoked as an alibi by sociopaths. But part of the blame for the increasing
level of terrorism and escalation of repeated violence does lie in the deafness
shown by powerful nations in proportion to their own quest for world domination
and ability to destroy. No longer can
the world afford the hypocrisy, arrogance, or unchecked avarice of large
powers. History has seen much harm done
to peoples of the world through Western colonialism, imposition of despots, and
economic exploitation. Much of it may
well be water under the bridge, but there is definitely a need to repair some
of the serious ills of the past to let the victims gain some semblance of
economic and political stability and hope. No
longer is this a mere act of altruism; even self-interest of rich nations would
dictate that.
It cannot be denied that a fundamental
source of the problems is world poverty and inequality. Yes, there are
aberrations among the rich like Bin Laden who become extremists. It is also
obvious that the terrorists are helped by many who have had much schooling (not
education, mind you). But by and large, people who are educated and have
something to lose do not indulge in violence. The fundamental cravings of
humans are the same irrespective of their color, nationality, or avowed
religion.
A long term and sustainable control of what
is now dubbed Islamic terrorism by a minority of Muslims cannot be achieved
without addressing the root causes of poverty and injustice all around. This is
a time when all nation states should introspect their own contributions to the
instability of the world by their mindless exploitation and political
machinations of all sorts. The so-called leaders of the world have an
obligation to be human and humane first, even more than just being leaders of their own nations. Even as they put out the
terrorists, they need to win over the hearts of large sections of peoples who
can serve as the first line of defense for humanity. Therein lies the long term security of their
peoples and the whole world.
This is a time when there is much heat. Let
us hope some light does emerge, and that light does not get obliterated in the
smoke and dust of greater indiscriminate destruction.
