Part 2

The rise of nations, the fall of fiefdoms, man on the moon and women's right to vote - among a lot of other developments, the rise of the human civilization in the last few centuries has been marked by these successes on the march towards perfection. The march to civilization has invariably been preceded by uncivilized behaviour!

Apart from close room wheeling and dealings, some active, some passive, mostly bloody developments have always been a part of any change - in ideas, in boundaries, in evolution. Note that here I am referring to the evolution of the human race and not Darwin's conception of the origins of man.

In a lot of literature then, evolution is marked by revolution - aka the shedding of some token blood at least, even if its just an assassination!

Early this week, I got a chance to be witness to some bigger, greater and more powerful at work than what has passed so far - I saw 'Soldiers of peace'...

In an era that is marked by hate and discord, by bombings and madmen posing as leaders, where caste/class/religion-based politics are the norm, or ethnic cleansing a part of a nation-state's identity itself, where nuclear knowledge is used as insurance and kickbacks by the armaments industry are vital to any government's survival, in a world where a lot seems to be topsy turvy, somewhere, suddenly, this came as a glimmer of hope and I hung on...

Agreed, the film is a simplistic look at definition of violence itself. Agreed, it puts too much faith in the individual himself and seemingly absolves governments of their responsibility to ensure, nurture, and sustain peace. But the film works. Watch it to believe me!

This part of the evolution of the human race is about a journey, a mindset, a "hate the sin and not the sinner", and sustainability of the planet is critical to sustainability of the human race itself, a literal "put yourself in the other's shoes", challenging the existence of the notion of the "other" itself!

Is this an evolution in the true sense of the word? Does it even make sense to be so naive, so simplistic? Are we really heading for a crisis otherwise? Can violence be replaced by constructive criticism and acceptance? Or by humane and imminently less bloody means of negotiation and reconciliation? Are we evolved enough to be able to play to rationality and not silly "I you" identities when it comes to issues of national and international importance?

I don’t know.

But I hope. And that, my dear friend, is good enough to start with!