What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy? — Mahatma Gandhi

Today the most developed countries in the world are the biggest spenders on military research as well as the biggest exporters of weapons across the world. The easy availability of weapons in the open and clandestine arms markets has also facilitated the transformation of political and social dissent into terrorism.

Many are wondering if the war that is being waged in the name of justice and freedom from terror, will go out of the hands of the war leaders and snowball into a third world war.

Well you never know, because this is not the first time that war has been waged in the name of liberty and peace. In fact these two values have been invoked numerous times to justify most wars.

History also shows that wars rarely achieve their professed aims, instead they spawn new conflicts or lay the seeds of future wars. And those who wage war soon lose control over it, themselves becoming hostage to the forces of destruction they have unleashed.

Today every country fears nuclear attacks, which can kill millions. Such fears are a direct consequence of the nuclear arms race and proliferation indulge in by nuclear powers. Having created huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons and pursued nuclear weapons research for decades in line with their policy of a nuclear deterrence, these countries are now afraid that terrorists may have acquired some of their nuclear material or expertise. What they don’t acknowledge is that the biggest threat to mankind comes not from terrorists armed with nuclear weapons but from the thousands of nuclear warheads they have accumulated. A terrorist nuclear attack will at most wipe out a city or render it uninhabitable, but a nuclear war among the nations can destroy entire mankind.

Such a war, ironically, will also end all wars. So, is this the only way to rid the world of wars? Not exactly. There is a simpler, better way too and it is  by waging an inner war within to rid our minds of evil, because wars begin in the minds of men first. Hence by removing anger, greed and pride from our minds and fostering the positive values of peace, love and harmony, we can create a world without a clash of interests, where individual good and the common good are one and the same.

So what are you waiting for? Start waging this war within, cleanse the evil and be the torch bearer for all those who are struggling for a better world to live a life of contentment.