Turbulence Of The Human Race

By Priyanka Rajput

Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 22, 2022, expressed his intention to end the war in Ukraine. He said, "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but on the contrary, to end this war". The Russian President spoke about "some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track" to end the conflict. The truth, however, remains that multiple rounds of talks to persuade Russia to end this treacherous war have come to naught.

It has been 10 months of bloodshed in Ukraine with no sign of an end to this unprovoked war. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has claimed that a total of 6,826 civilians were killed in the war as of December 18, 2022. According to the estimates of the US military, so far at least 200,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed.

Despite such heavy casualties and Ukrainian cities turning into ghost towns Putin's words are not being seen as a serious call to end the conflict. Violence of such grave nature is one of the defining events of the year 2022.

Violent actions have not only inflicted human casualties but also threatened institutions. It is hard to fathom that the United States which is seen as democracy's foremost advocate by analysts in the world, saw its President – the person occupying the highest office in the country – reject the 2020 election mandate and called on supporters to oppose election results — leading to the infamous Capitol Hill riots.

Unrest across nations

There are other nations like China, Israel where leaders occupying top posts in the country have not shied away from resorting to violent means, military aggression to further their political agenda and cement their position as leaders of their country.

India has not been an exception to violence, barring the fact that the Delhi riots, the public lynching of numerous people took place in the backdrop of hate speeches by people occupying constitutional and non-constitutional posts. However, in one case the Army was involved in an operation that killed six civilians in Nagaland.

According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), between the five-year period of 2016 and 2020, the number of cases of communal or religious riots in which convictions took place rose from 21 in 2016 to 119 in 2020 – a rise of over 450 per cent. Of the total 3,399 cases of communal and religious rioting registered, the accused were convicted in 348 cases alone.

Mobocracy has been an often-heard word in India. In 2018, the Supreme Court of India called cases of lynching as a "sweeping phenomenon" of mob violence. In 2021, the Union Home Ministry claimed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) decided to stop collecting data on lynchings and mob violence in 2017.

Since neither the President nor the Prime Minister condemned the acts of violence in no uncertain terms; citizens have perceived this silence to be a tacit approval to such acts by those elected to protect all citizens of the country not just the majoritarian one.

Ire on the streets and in hallowed corners

Personal choices like exerting the freedom to be an independent country, electing a leader, food preferences and religious beliefs, have been at the centre of violence across the globe.

Public ire has also manifested in vandalism, in Sri Lanka citizens torched the Prime Minister's house and destroyed the Presidential palace. In India, both public and private property bore the brunt of irate railway job aspirants and opposers of government's defence recruitment scheme- Agnipath.

Masked students, including women, wielding sticks, iron rods and hammers and brutally assaulting students as well as teachers at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in 2020 and similar riots at Jamia Millia Islamia university evoked horror never seen before in a resurgent India recognised for its talent and economic advancement. Both these institutions, ironically, are famed centres of academic scholarship where such savagery is unthinkable.

Hollywood actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards or Oscars earlier this year is another instance at a stage that is known for recognising excellence.

The point is: violence is not confined to any rung of the society and has infested itself from top to bottom. It has no boundaries, it is not localised, it is not minor, it is not region or country specific in today's times, but it is ruthless and horrific in nature.

Damaging outcomes

Violence has shaken the foundations of democracy, its institutions and ripped apart social harmony. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual", against oneself or a person, group, community that "either results in or has a huge likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation".

Violence spares none and causes suffering and loss that is at times irreparable. Peer-reviewed healthcare journal Health Affairs states in its study "The Effects of Violence on Health" that interpersonal violence is considered not only as a criminal justice problem but also as a public health one. Poor physical and mental health are major consequences of violence, the paper has noted.

Another research by Virginia Commonwealth University, US, finds that negative emotions like anger or fear fuel aggression. However, positive emotions can also trigger aggressive behaviour. "So, aggression can feel good. And that pleasure – and the associated what we call hedonic reward – is a really potent motivating force," it states.

Analysts have attributed mass violence to economic distress, inequality, and social evils prevalent in the society. Countries like India are among the fastest growing economies, but it is not bereft of violence. Economic growth and harmonious society go hand in hand. The culture of violence like vandalising multinational company Amazon's office in Maharashtra or warehouse of tech giant Apple in Karnataka is bound to disrupt economic activity and lead to job losses due to the absence of a safe environment for industry to thrive.

The Economic Value of Peace 2021 report by Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) defines global economic impact of violence as the expenditure and economic effect linked to "containing, preventing and dealing with the consequences of violence". The report mentions that in 2019 the economic impact of violence on the global economy amounted to $14.4 trillion in constant purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. This means $ 1,895 per person was lost, though the economic impact of violence fell by less than a percent to 0.4 per cent in 2019 from the previous year.

Fruitful and timely interventions

Good economics alone cannot guarantee a peaceful and harmonious society. One of the factors that cannot be ignored is that dialogue and connect with the masses is becoming the last resort of governments, public and private officials, not the first and the only one. The Russia example is before us where war overtook dialogue despite the knowledge of its crippling effects. Vandalism became a tool in the hands of Sri Lankan citizens to make themselves heard. Aggrieved citizens lost faith in their top leadership and the ballot for grievance redressal. The farmers protest in India also bears testimony to the lack of substantial engagement with the stakeholders.

The problem of violence requires that "attention be paid to primary prevention, and not just treatment of the victims", states the study published in Health Affairs.

The need to resort to violent means in a society also lays emphasis on citizens to elect a leadership that negates the need for aggressive measures not by suppression but by policies and interventions that uphold the rights of every citizen. Some of the worst incidents of riots have happened during the tenure of leaders who enjoy mass appeal.

Tolerance of others' origins, beliefs, practices, and faiths is also a cornerstone of a peaceful society. One can hail Morocco's feats at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup but at the same time Moroccan people were targeted in some countries owing to their ethnicity.

Freedom enjoyed by all citizens must be equal but not at the expense of others. Pope Francis in his Christmas message called the world "ravenous for money, power and pleasure" and the primary victims of human greed were "the weak and the vulnerable".

"How many wars have we seen! And in how many places, even today, are human dignity and freedom treated with contempt," the pontiff asserted.

When all nations exhibit the same trait (negative or positive) it gives a kind of legitimacy, making it seem like the norm and voices of condemnation get drowned in the clichéd phrase "look into your own backyard". Any condemnable act, therefore, needs to be checked and not allowed to escalate.

Yes, there is a need to stop violence, end the war but more than that to find out the causes which lead to unreasonable conflict and root them out. Where there is no peace there cannot be prosperity.

By Priyanka Rajput