To all the man-made machinations, war is the most mischievous and dangerous. It is said, “Man proposes, God disposes.” But in case of war, God proposes, man disposes. War is not a natural calamity. Hence the entire responsibility for war falls on man.
Sometimes, one is apt to doubt that if man is in any way different from wild animals. Ever since two men appeared on the earth, they have been quarrelling with each other. According to WEB Yeats, men fight with each other like weasels in a ditch, why is it so?
The earliest wars were fought with bows and arrows. Later man began to use swords, spears and daggers. But in modern times, man has invented and amassed heaps of weapons of mass destruction. There are the nuclear weapons of numerous kinds, rockets, missiles, sub-marines, poisonous chemical and bacterial weapons. It is difficult to believe that man has become more civilized in any way.
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The modern century has witnessed two great world wars. Man still remembers the catastrophic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the twinkling of an eye. But it is a pity man has not learnt much from this diabolical devastation. After the Vietnam War there has been terrible Gulf War.
Whereas in the olden wars, only the kings and their armies were affected, in modern wars the civilians have to bear the brunt of destruction. Green, waving crops are completely destroyed; the lofty sky-scrapers are razed to the ground in the twinkling of an eye. The bombs and guns do not spare even the hospitals and religious places. The schools, colleges, factories and hospitals are closed. The loss caused to industry, commerce and agriculture is tremendous. The prices are sky-rocketed. There is shortage of every commodity. The poor are doubly hit – on the one hand, they get no employment and on the other they cannot afford to purchase commodities at high rates. The most distressing condition is that of women who lose husbands and children who lose their fathers
War is the result of greed, lust for power and chauvinism. Man should learn how to live in peace with his neighbors. To redress grievances of different nations, we have the United Nations. The latter should be given more powers to become more effective in ensuring world peace. The world government maybe an appropriate answer to the question of war.