What the world can learn from Ukraine
Images of broken bridges, buildings blown up in missile strikes, hospitals full of injured people and a woman parliamentarian, Kira Rudik, holding a Kalashnikov, challenging Russia. Evocative as these images are, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky knows that wars are not won on emotion, which is why he has appealed to the superpowers to intervene immediately.
At the moment, Zelensky seems helpless in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Almost a week has passed, but the world community has done little. Ukraine is the latest example of the bitter reality of how superpowers take care of their own interests first and leave small countries to their own devices. I recall a statement by the late philosopher-President S Radhakrishnan. When World War II ended, he gave a series of three lectures at Calcutta University and Banaras Hindu University. He said the world is fed up with the bloodshed of the two world wars, and that our future is not going to witness such massacres. Unfortunately, our civilisation is driven by politicians, not philosophers.
Today, we may call Putin a villain, but the United States (US) did the same when it attacked Iraq and Afghanistan. The foundation of the attack on Iraq was built on lies. By the time the US returned from Iraq, the country was pushed into a vicious cycle of poverty and misery. The US did the same in Afghanistan. When President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of his forces, the Afghan people were left once again under the rule of the violent Taliban. In the post-World War II era, the US has bombed about 30 countries.
Who gave the US the right to do all this? Ever since he took office, Putin’s mission has been to restore the lost glory of Russia. He annexed Crimea from Ukraine eight years ago. Earlier in 2008, he attacked Georgia. Then, too, the US did nothing. Russian empress Catherine the Great once said that her country needed a window to the world. By window she meant a port. She destroyed Poland in this pursuit. Is Putin on a similar course? It would seem so given that in his speech announcing action against Ukraine, he mentioned the mighty Russian Empire and the mistakes made by Lenin.
It would be naive to expect that Russia will back down soon. Putin has his arguments to justify the war. By the time the Cold War ended in 1991, there were 16 countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); today it is 30. Russia considers this a violation of mutual consent. The Kremlin feels that Russia is under siege. But is war the answer? After every war, the protagonists have to sit down at the negotiating table. So why not speed up the process of beginning a dialogue? How can this be accomplished? We live in a world that is being run by small-minded politicians. They may be patriotic, but their worldview and insight are governed more by selfish compulsions and not the greater common good.
Those who want peace should put more pressure on their governments. It is noteworthy that Putin is facing resistance in his country. Citizens took part in rallies, facing police batons and arrests. Protests also took place in many other countries. But these are not enough; the same pattern of resistance should emerge all over the world as was witnessed during the Vietnam war. This is not difficult in this age of instant communication.
There is a worrying silence in India on this issue. The day Russia started this war, I was in Prayagraj. I met students and asked them their opinion. I was disappointed to learn that they had no real opinion on this. I remembered my old campus days when we used to agitate on issues ranging from Vietnam to Tibet. Has our collective conscience been paralysed? More than 20,000 Indians are stranded in Ukraine. The government has brought some back so far. The Opposition says that decision to begin evacuation should have been taken earlier but it is a matter of comfort that the process has started.
With this war, Putin has strengthened China. Due to economic sanctions, much of Russia’s trade will now be routed through China. Already, attention is shifting from China to Russia. China is still creating trouble on our border. It has an eye on Taiwan also. Meanwhile, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan went to Moscow despite objections from the US. None of this bodes well for New Delhi. We must increase our vigil and up our diplomatic game.