Lessons in Hatred from School Days
Rome ruled Britain from 43 to 410, much longer than the British ruled India. The Romans were merciless with those who opposed them. But the British were quick in shedding the memories of Roman cruelties. They were happy to have been introduced to the wider world through their Roman connection. They remained proud of the Roman period of their history. British textbooks greatly appreciate the progress they made during the Roman era in the areas of communication, trade, social organisation, art, and advanced thinking, which laid the foundations for their later greatness.

See the difference: our NCERT textbooks for class VIII teach how Britain plundered India, how Babur was ruthless and how Akbar was brutal. That Hindu rulers acted in a worse manner is not said. Our present regime in India wishes to introduce children to 'hatred' from their school days. We should not wonder then that our neighbouring states may be teaching their children another list of falsehoods: that Christians are harsh and unprincipled, Jews tricky profit-makers and wealth accumulators; Hindus double-dealers, cowards, betrayers and opportunists. Thus, prejudices are planted into young hearts from their youngest years. A child resolves from a tender age, "We will teach them a lesson!" Anger is born, and conflicts proliferate. Today, the world scenario appears like war preparations.

More People Spend More on Arms
Trump has added vigour to the drive. He believes that peace is promoted through muscle power. His threat to let down NATO brought European nations together. His insistence that they spend 5% of GDP on defence may raise the total to 14 trillion Euros! Thus, he has unwittingly contributed to European unification and war readiness, oddly, to Iran's nuclear determination. He has been pressing Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, too, to spend more on arms. His "One Big Beautiful Bill" is as much about military expenditure as immigration and welfare trimming.

Is Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again" an announcement of American imperialism with a new face? Is he getting people ready for World War III? Big powers keep no rules. The rule-based political order is a myth today. The UN has become a toothless tiger. Israel, a western proxy in the Middle East, has become a law unto itself, acting as though it is above international law ... keeping the nation in a state of perpetual war. Over 56,000 have been killed in Gaza. The other day, 21 people died of starvation, including children. Relief workers are in permanent peril.

Society trembles. Humanity weeps.

"Mud, Blood and Futility"
The Ukrainian war has been going on for over a decade. It is calculated that one million soldiers have been killed or wounded on both sides, apart from civilian casualties. In addition, Ukraine has lost 20% of its territory since 2014. Where is the war leading? Senseless human loss. Women and children suffer most. The Crimean War (1853-56) killed one lakh Western soldiers and nearly ten lakh Ottoman and Russian men. The Egos of leaders were satisfied. Tennyson, glorifying British soldiers in his "The Charge of the Light Brigade," quietly whispers: "Someone had blundered." Today's leaders clearly move from blunder to blunder!

Leo Tolstoy was on the battlefield. He saw brave young Russians rolling to death amidst heaps of filth. When the self-importance of bosses clash, underdogs pay the price, whether in Ukraine, Ladakh, or Myanmar. War-mongering VHP leaders place patriotic young men on the battlefield. We have soldiers on the frontlines and workers in factories who grew up as under-nourished children, whose diet was controlled by Yogi-Himanta type of 'super-fervent cow devotees' and vegetarians!

When Rajnath Singh says, "Peace time is nothing but an illusion" and boasts "Defence production is all time high," he should foresee how a war concludes. Lloyd George describes the 'glorious' Battle of Somme (WW I), which carried away a million lives for six miles of wasteland: "Mud, blood, and futility."

Boasters, Be Silent!
Perceptive people have described the conflicts going on in dozens of places today as World War III. They are not impressed by the precision with which America hit the Iranian nuclear site. They are worried about the anger provoked in Iran, Russia and China, and the fear planted into the hearts of millions about their future. Where are we all moving? From hope-filled effort for growth to the silence of the grave?

Pete Seeger sang, "Where have all the young men gone?" No answer! "Gone to graveyards, everyone." He wonders, "When will they ever learn?" Will the chauvinistic section in our society ever learn? Will Sindoor boasters ever develop human sensitivity? Defend your nation, but don't boast about the pain you have inflicted. Is it not blasphemy to give destructive weapons divine names like Brahmos and Vishnus?

Who Owns the Indus, the Brahmaputra?
Our leaders were vociferous in denying Pakistan access to the Indus water. The Indus Water Treaty has been held in abeyance as though the Indus River is India's private property. If every river belongs to the nation of origin only, what about Yarlung Tsangpo, which gives life to the Brahmaputra? What is our attitude to the dam that the Chinese plan to construct on the Tsangpo? Why has it evoked protests from India? Why this difference? Why this invocation of human rights and international justice in one case and not in the other? The Tibetan dam on Yarlung Tsangpo near Nyingchi will cost China $167 billion. She needs to generate power and promises security for India and Bangladesh.

Our overreaction proves the Chinese saying true: one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers! Is it true that Asia cannot accommodate two or more great powers? Historically, it did. India and China thrived on the continent for centuries side by side. One in no way weakened or overshadowed the other. Nehru was convinced that China and India had big roles to play together for the future of Asia. It is true, Mao betrayed that trust. But Gandhi and Tagore also believed in a shared future for the two nations. Even if the leaders in the two countries act immaturely, Asian instincts in both societies urge collaborative action. We belong together. Lincoln used to say, "Behind the cloud, the sun is still shining." The cloud will shift.

Distrust between mighty nations is merely a symbol of emotional distances between hundreds of neighbouring communities and millions of neighbouring individuals. The Shiite Druze community in the Sweida area of Syria were hit by Sunni Bedouins. About 321 of the Druze community were killed. Islamist Sunnis are in power in Syria. Hundreds of Alawites were killed earlier. The Druze number no more than a million in the world, mostly in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The UN is worried about its future in a chaotic Syria.

Beware of Frenzied Democracy 
Was India forgetting the law-based international order when hitting with drones ULFA(I) camps of Assamese rebels in Myanmar? Their number could be anywhere between 250 and 400, with the PLAs and RPF from Manipur. They have promised retaliation.

Pro-democratic rebel groups in Myanmar themselves are in conflict. Otto Hermann Kahn says, "The deadliest foe of democracy is not autocracy, but liberty frenzied." A combination of disorderly democracy and violence does not advance their cause.

Anti-immigrant right-wingers in the West, too, must remember that hate alone does not strengthen their cause for the defence of indigenous cultures. An Indian has been beaten up in Dublin by racist teenagers. Similar things have been happening in the EU and Australia. A Hindu temple in Australia has been vandalised. Hate crimes cost host countries economically. Violence generates distrust. Distrust disrupts relationships. A fractured relationship dampens brisk exchange. Production falls; sales sink; growth slows down.

Immigrants, too, have their obligations. They must respect indigenous cultures. They must learn to integrate, and not build up ghettos of aliens, nor import hatred or politics of their own homeland, as Indians have done in California and Pakistanis in the UK. They must understand the sensitivities of the indigenous people and their fears, whether in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Ireland, or the UK. Of late, a mass grave has been discovered in Jaffna with 65 skeletons.

Demography Is Destiny
When outsiders begin to outnumber the natives or move to dominant positions, indigenous communities grow anxious. Hindus from the Hindi belt have moved into Assam in a big way; these control the local economy and over-influence indigenous politics. The Assamese and other indigenous communities are growing anxious.

Similarly, Kashmiris feel the economic and political weight of outsiders. Migrants from the Hindi belt appear to be a threat to them. War with Pakistan over issues related to Kashmir alienates the Kashmiris further. Emotional alienation can be fatal. "The world understands power," thunders the chauvinistic RSS master, Mohan Bhagwat. But take care! Be wise! George Bush's erratic "War against Terrorism" left America bankrupt and exhausted. Terrorism reappeared in a hundred new forms.

War-mongering Can Cripple
Militarism is not merely a matter of technology but of psychology—a passion for fighting. Napoleon, in retirement in St. Helena, described war as an 'interesting' occupation. He made France pay the price, leaving it in shambles. Aggressive sections in Indian society must remember how Hitler led Germany to destruction. Bent on world conquest, he left his nation in the dust. Trump's Tariff Terror should be addressed by 'realistic talks,' neither with 'Namaste' Trump type roadshows nor boorish boasts!

Hindutva pedagogy of 'harshness to others' can harden the determination on the other side. Pakistan's resolve has hardened like Iran's. Emotions count, whether in Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, Manipur, or Nagaland. Nagas want an open door to fellow-tribals in Myanmar. Be sensitive to border people. Listen to them. Accommodate a little to local feelings. Or else what you do not wish begins to happen. Seneca says, "Whatever has overstepped its due limits is always in a state of instability." Thai and Cambodian forces have clashed at the border recently. The other day, Bangladesh arrested 34 Indian fishermen.

Chief Minister's Army
Border disputes are not only between nations, but between states as well. Assam's border disputes with Meghalaya have only grown stronger, so with Arunachal, Nagaland and Mizoram. Himanta Biswa Sarma's all-saving pose has not helped. He claims to be the guardian of indigenous interests against immigrants from Bangladesh. He is planning to give guns to "vulnerable indigenous people" to guard themselves against the so-called Bangladeshis.

This is the beginning of the creation of a private army at the Chief Minister's disposal. Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun were built up by the Chief Minister of Manipur and a BJP MP to harass minorities and dissenters, to influence political movements, and regulate election results. That is why Amit Shah used to say that Biren Singh was doing just what the Centre wanted. Himanta is preparing himself for an "explosive" situation!

Violence Has a Thousand Faces
Harassment of the harmless is the most frequent in India. Landless agricultural labourers are exploited, and jobless urbanites are taken advantage of. Dalits are hunted down over their diet, Muslims over the sale of cattle, and tribals over their cultural identities. Cow vigilantes beat to death those who refuse to bribe them ... and emerge as heroes in Hindutva circles. Moral police impose sanctions as they choose.

Every year, 7,000 dowry deaths take place in the country. Domestic violence seems to be the most common form of violence in our society.

But, We Need Each Other
Dialogue is possible. Compromise meets the opponent halfway. While the Tibetan Youth Congress insists on total independence for Tibet, the Dalai Lama proposes a Middle Way: autonomy within China.

Similarly, Kurdish rebels in Turkey have begun to lay down arms, promising that their struggle for freedom, democracy and socialism will be through democratic ways.

If we Indians insist that minorities should not be persecuted in Bangladesh or Pakistan, they should not be persecuted in India either.

Alert people discover that the trouble is not with "Hindi," but with its imposition. There is no objection to the use of the word "Bharat," but an over-insistence reminds people that the Bharatas were an aggressive Aryan tribe, hard on the natives. There is no problem with "Sanatana Dharma," but it remains unwanted if it is controlled by a caste-laden hierarchy with a superiority complex. Buddha found that friendly explanations between people solve all problems.

Most of all, peace comes when we realise that we need each other. Russia will need 3.1 million workers by 2030. India promises to supply 1 million. By 2035, Germany will be short of seven million workers. Meghalaya is giving German lessons to applicants for health services. Some 3,000 in Dibrugarh are learning Japanese in view of possible jobs in Japan. Himanta is exploring South Korean prospects.

Leaders, remember: "Those who lead others in harmony with Righteousness, do not use force to subdue others, or attempt to dominate the world through force of arms. For every force there is a counterforce. Violence, even when well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself" (Chinese classic, Tao Te Ching 30).