On Feb 6 1968 in Washington D.C, Martin Luther King jr was delivering a speech on "A proper sense of priorities". In his closing remarks, he said "On some positions cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right." Surely, this speech was delivered to express his opposition to the Vietnam war, which ravaged Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam very badly. But his emphasis on the word "Conscience" was relevant then and relevant now. A global institution like United Nations was set up in 1945 in the backdrop of the second world war, to maintain and promote international peace and security, develop cordial relationships among nations, address issues and achieve international coordination, and many other things. Basically, global institutions were established to make this world a utopian world. But our conscience should ask, whether global institutions like, UN, UNSC, WHO, etc have done their duty or not? Have they achieved everything, for what they were established decades ago? I would argue, no. The larger question is not about trust or confidence in these institutions but about the working and operationalization of these institutions. Democratic but not democratic nature has made these global institutions prone to blunders. When it comes to the democratization of global institutions, they don't follow democratic principles at all. One of the biggest examples of this is UNSC. UNSC is one of the six main organs of the UN. But the irony is that all the powers are vested in only 5 countries, who were part of allied powers in the Second world war. Many a time, global institutions have tried to encroach upon the sovereignty of many countries. UN portrays itself as the torchbearer of democratic principles and free speech and expressions, but since its inception in 1945, it never acted as a prudent body. When these institutions sway away from their spirit, the role of sovereign nations becomes more important. The onus falls on independent nations to act strongly with or without any prejudice. In this pandemic, the role of WHO and its authenticity and credibility is getting questioned day by day. When the whole of humanity is ravaged by the pandemic, and in this grave time, if the role of WHO is getting questionable for defending China every time, then nothing could be more grave than this. The recent coup in Myanmar exposes the role of all the global institutions across the world. All the global institutions have to understand that all the powers cannot be vested in few countries. It's time for countries to stand up together and challenge these global institutions for their biases and prejudices. It's always important to know about another side of the coin, but it seems, for global institutions, only one side of the coin fulfills their bag of decisions. There can't be another example other than the Israel-Palestine conflict. Probe against only Israel signifies the mindset, that many countries and global institutions possess against Israel. It's like saying, I am anti-zionist but not anti-semitic. We all know, how easily terrorism is spreading across the world. After a neverending war in Afghanistan, the powers are again getting transferred to the Taliban, a terrorist group. Unfortunately, a ray of hope or peace doesn't exist in Afghanistan or any other country, where terrorist groups are spreading their web day by day. Sooner or later, we all have to agree that Global institutions have failed to fulfill their promise and duty. It's better to get away with the membership of the global institutions. Change is constant.
Poonch in Jammu: The Overlooked Front
Peace, war, and conflict are all measured terms. The enemy state across the border is averse to the term 'peace'. Why was the two nation theory propagated and accepted by the then leadership is the thing of the past now. What remains the reality is that Pakistan is a threat to peace in India. It is true that when a part of the nation bleeds, the whole nation bleeds. When the Pakistan sponsored terrorists carried out ghastly and cowardly attack on tourists in Pahalgam on 22nd April, it shook the conscience of the nation. 26 people were killed out of which 25 were Indians and 1 was from Nepal. The fact is that the attack carried out by the terrorists was not indiscriminate. Hindus were targeted and killed. Why? Because they were Hindus. Because they could not recite Kalma. The motive behind this killing was as clear as the daylight. Every Indian was pained, angry, and was looking upto the government that we will avenge the killing of innocent civilians. Indian response was eagerly awaited by every Indian that how are we going to avenge the killing of innocent civilians who were killed by terrorists in Pahalgam. On 7th May, 2025, the Indian Armed Forces carried out 'Operation Sindoor', the objective of which was to hit 9 terrorists infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. These terror sites acted as an ideological and training base for planning, preparation, and commission of terror activities in India. After India successfully hit all the 9 terror infrastructures, the Indian Armed Forced maintained the position that only terror infrastructures were targeted and that too, in focused, measured, precise, and calibrated manner. What it basically means is that no collateral damage in the form of civilians deaths were caused. We targeted only and only terror infrastructures. As the result, more than 100 terrorists were eliminated. Since the Pakistani Military backs the terrorists in Pakistan, they decided to respond on their behalf and from the evening of 7th May to 10th May, the Pakistani Military violated ceasefire violations and indulged in indiscriminate firing and artillery shelling across Indian side of Border. As the result, civilians particularly in Pooch district of Jammu region were targeted, injured and killed. The actual number is not yet available as to how many civilians have actually been killed or injured as the result of ceasefire violations from Pakistan side. As the result of repeated ceasefire violations and incessant and indiscriminate firing and artillery shelling from Pakistan side, the worst hit area has been Poonch of Jammu Division. So far the government has not provided any official numbers as to how many civilians have been killed or injured, but from Poonch itself, more than 20 people have reportedly been killed. What is more unfortunate is that the plight of people of Jammu, particularly of Border areas such as Poonch, remains underreported. Media houses have shown indifferent attitude towards the people of poonch and border areas who were worst affected as the result of firing and artillery shelling from Pakistan side. Jist, a media portal, served as an exception when it did ground reporting and put in all the efforts to bring before the world the plight of people of Poonch who were killed or injured, whose houses were destroyed as the result of artillery shelling, and who were forced to flee. Following links can be accessed to know the reality from ground and to what extent people have suffered.1) https://youtu.be/kxQcCE3Zon8?si=xfO8fQqufasgnVS6 2) https://youtu.be/zdoC6qdDD8E?si=Go0M0PFvkCmgOV2S 3) https://youtu.be/0hXJQMjV10g?si=SlnuUl5OeiXOJHrD 4) https://youtu.be/uatFVAryue8?si=Sq6eTjwfG88KlPqX 5) https://youtu.be/twsh3_B3dyU?si=8syLI8eGPWY8uo-rThe team of Jist have done a commendable job. This is something that was expected from Indian Media, in general, but unfortunately, they have failed the nation and the people of Poonch. It raises certain questions. People of Poonch are asking if they will always have to pay the price. People of Poonch are asking are their plight not worthy enough of getting reported by National Media. People of Poonch are asking if Pakistan will ever pay the price for killing the innocent civilians in India. Amidst all this, we, as a nation, and our armed forces maintained the position that our enemy are terrorists and we have hit them. We have no grudge against the people of Pakistan. But what did we get in return? Every time Pakistan tried to attack us, the targets were civilians, public infrastructures, and our airbases. They are clear in their ideational or foundational precepts of attack that leave no one, be it civilians in India. We have always been at war. The pause, in any form, is a call for war. India must end it, once and for all. A country the very existence of which is a threat to stability, normalcy, and peace in India or any part of the world for that matter, should cease to exist. We have hit them hard this time but it's not enough. We must be sympathetic towards people living in border states, particularly the people living in Poonch and the places near to the border. We must feel the pain when one life is lost there. We must be equally anguished when there houses are destroyed. We must make sure that Pakistan pay the heavy price for every lives lost. Pakistan is like a half beaten snake. And it's in our backyard which is very close to our Jammu and Kashmir. Given its inherent nature, it will attack again. We have to make sure next time that civilians lives are not lost. Peace comes at a price and people of poonch must not pay the price for it.
Write a comment ...