Eliminating the causes of war

By M. R. Srinivasan

THE PUGWASH movement is holding its 50th annual meeting at Cambridge, United Kingdom, on the subject of eliminating the causes of war. In this article, I propose to explore one of the Indian perspectives on this complex but important question. First we have the historical consequences of colonial exploitation whereby the imperialist powers drained the wealth of older civilisations. Largescale loss of livelihood occurred as a result of the destruction productive enterprises, once mass production techniques were ushered in by the industrial revolution.

Conflict between religions continues; the world has yet to come to terms with the existence of many religions. It is no longer possible to think in terms of ``nations with all people of one religion, one race and one language''. Nations must evolve to become ``multireligious, multiethnic and multilingual societies''. This is a real challenge for all societies and all countries.

Memories of past ethnic divisions survive and conflicts persist. The notion of ethnic cleansing is still popular among many groups around the world. Population explosion and continuing poverty among large sections of the global population increase the competition for available resources. Unequal terms of trade, lack of access to modern technology and absence of skills and training are preventing the developing countries' march to progress. Even those economies which grew rapidly in the last couple of decades have all features of satellite economics subject to uncertainties arising from currency or stock market manipulations set in motion in the advanced countries.

Recent trends in globalisation seem to indicate that benefits have gone mostly to the developed countries. The impression that ``the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer'' persists. Development assistance from the rich to poor countries is being replaced with commercial loans and credits and hence social welfare expectations remain unaddressed.

Far too much of the global resources is being diverted to development and production of modern weaponry. The initial estimate of the National Missile Defence by the U.S. was put at $60 billion. This is probably only the first instalment. The military industrial complex continues to be influential in deciding government budgets. The poorer countries are also persuaded to acquire modern weaponry by the global arms industry working purely in self-interest.

Spread of education, democracy and transparent governance needs to be speeded up. Modern communication is raising expectations globally but without a corresponding increase in opportunities to `get rich soon', frustration will build up among large sections of society, especially the youth. Organised crime mafias are operating in many parts of the world involving themselves in smuggling, narcotics, flesh trade and other illegal activities. There is a growing nexus between political leaders and criminal elements in many societies.

The retreat of religion as part of the people's lives is also a cause for loss of moral values. At the same time, religion is being used to fan fundamentalism, intolerance and hatred of other faiths. Mass conversions amongst traditional societies are generating new tensions.

Where does mankind go from here? A time-bound international effort at the removal of acute poverty is a matter of great urgency. Concerted action must be taken in assisting faster progress among developing countries by way of access to markets, financial credits and upgradation of technology. Developing countries must not be treated as just sources of raw materials but they must be enabled to achieve value addition in a competitive global market. Active steps must be taken to curb terrorist activities around the world through cooperation among governments.

Similarly, international efforts need to be taken to tackle promptly economic crimes across national boundaries. We must contain conflicts of an ethnic and religious nature wherever they occur. Drastic changes in ethnic or religious compositions must be avoided. Organised efforts at changing historic situations through immigration or conversion will lead to conflicts. Spreading education and increasing employment opportunities will have a positive impact even under conditions of insurrection and civil war. The global community must promote societies practising democracy as opposed to those ruled by dictators or a single party.

The arms industry is heavily state-supported in nearly all industrialised countries. Exports are actively supported to capture overseas markets. A change in this mindset is required. Arms imports will only lead to the importing country de- emphasising social services. We must revive development assistance from the rich to developing countries. This is not an area where budget-cutting should enter the picture.

Where conflicts arise, credible international initiatives must be taken to resolve them promptly. The United Nations Security Council needs to be more representative of the present world realities for it to effectively discharge this function. All efforts must be made to work towards a more equitable world where global prosperity is more evenly shared. All claims being made about the wonders of modern science and technology will mean nothing until a massive attack on global poverty is mounted. Experience has shown that certain conflicts may have quenched themselves, due to inevitable compromises based on ground realities. They are sometimes kept simmering because of intervention by outside parties, either interested or supposedly neutral ones. It is, therefore, good to be selective in taking up interventionist initiatives.

Many of the international fora, under the U.N. aegis or otherwise, are dominated by the concerns of the rich societies. Far too little time or thought is bestowed on solving problems afflicting the large majority of the global population. A retreat of the state, after the collapse of communist and socialist states, is a negative development as the market cannot seriously address problems of poverty and conflict resolution.

The role of the media is often a mixed one. In democratic societies with a free press, a critical press usually deplores military responses to conflicts - supporting negotiated settlements. But appeals to patriotic sentiment can soon generate jingoism. In totalitarian states, the media plays an active part in creating and perpetuating hatred against the opponent, thus making conflict-resolution difficult.

Citizens groups have an important role in moderating stridency and in appealing for reasonable compromises - either to avoid wars or where they have broken out, in working for restoration of peace. Claims that mankind has registered undreamt of prosperity and extended its power of knowledge to spread happiness will remain cynical ones as long as a vast majority of the global population remains mired in poverty and hunger.

The real challenge, therefore, is not winning wars but eliminating poverty and hunger from the face of the earth. It is even more cynical for the nuclear weapon powers to claim that they are ensuring the peace of the world while what they should be doing is to speed up universal disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.

(The writer is a former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.)

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