Peace and non-violence are man’s innate and innermost attributes!” Now, some will impulsively (hence, not necessarily rightly!) infer: the line definitely comes down from a certain guru’s enlightening religious discourse; hence, the pithy phrase is an indirect plagiarism.

However, it’s as simple as this: one need not refer to any guru’s preaching or any scripture’s teaching to ‘feel’ the obvious. Moreover, ‘peace and non-violence’ are no one’s private wordrobe. Human beings should take full pride in the fact they own such magnificent qualities and rejoice their refreshing presence in them.

We see people burst into tears when they brood over gory details of bloody wars - not necessarily because the lot of victims consists of their dear and near ones too - but because their innermost peace-loving disposition is brutally assaulted by such insane wars. One’s basically non-violent and peace-loving nature is his or her most precious wealth; when one is robbed of such wealth, it’s only natural that he or she bursts into tears.

One comforting fact for humanity remains that a vast majority of human beings shun and abhor violence in all its forms. It’s not that uncommon to overhear someone, “Lest I feel guilty, I do not kill even a mosquito; I just let it suck my blood and fly away!” The story sounds tad too far-fetched but there are people - some Jains, for instance - who piously put on a mask so as not to swallow, say, a live mosquito.

Pre-1996 Nepalis had not thought even in their wildest dreams that they would be made, so unjustly, to witness so much killing and bloodshed - from the capital to the remotest nooks and crannies. In a way, the Nepalis then feared killing even ‘mosquitoes’, for fear of feeling guilty.

In the decade that followed, guilt was replaced by gun: the Maoist/Army/Police/Civilian death toll exceeded 13,000 (wonder whether as many mosquitoes were killed in Nepal during that period!)

To date, killings continue unabated with mushrooming gun-tottering armed outfits - some known and some unknown - scattered across the country. Hope the State and these outfits will realize, sooner rather than later, that each life is a treasure and that a negotiating table enriches and shields it more ably than the power of guns and bombs does. Let peace prevail!