The whole world appears to be balancing itself on the sharp edge of a sword. A fall to any side would end all achievements of man, which took centuries of hard work. Yemen is burning. The hapless Palestinians are suffering untold miseries and Boko Haram is virtually destroying Nigeria. Everywhere, we witness man’s inhumanity towards man. There is not even a shred of humanity or mercy shown by anyone towards anyone else. It is at this sad juncture that one is reminded of the warning given by the illustrious first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who warned the warring nations by saying: “Either cooperate or perish!” Though years have elapsed since he uttered this grim warning, it still holds good and governs international relations. Pope Paul also exhorted all nations on the importance of ‘mercy’. He added that we lack the trait called ‘mercy’ in our day to day affairs and this gradually leads to long-standing disputes between nations, who treat other nations like enemies. Mercy and human relations are totally absent. No nation is ready to accept any compromise and most are just waiting for an opportunity to get into savage fights and are ready to commit any type of massacre to achieve their own selfish end. Self-centred as they are, various nations do not mind committing atrocities even on women and children — the typical example of which we have witnessed in the Gaza Strip as well as in Nigeria and Syria. I honestly feel that if the warring nations just think of the continuance of humanity and peaceful coexistence based on universal brotherhood taught by Mahatma Gandhi, it would be the panacea for the
man-made evils of the modern world. Let us cooperate and allow others too to live in this beautiful universe. Different ideologies, systems and concepts make our otherwise dull world look really beautiful and worth living.
— The reader is an Indian writer based in Kochi, India
