Every war is fought to protect some political and economic interests, gain some hegemonic designs, impose  politico-economic or  religious ideology,  instigate people to sacrifice everything, including their lives, families and properties etc at the altar of nationalism, commit massacre in the name of religion , capitalism, democracy, human rights, peace and divert attention of people from the real issues like poverty, illiteracy, famine etc. War is used to prolong the ruling period of the ruling elite, including political parties, businessmen, multi-national companies etc. Many countries, like America and Israel etc, and weapon-producing companies love to ignite wars among different countries of the world for selling their weapons and boosting their business.

History also teaches us that war is a natural phenomenon as it is in the instinct of man, a reality which cannot be stopped in the world. However, Marxists are of the views that war can be ended from the world by a workers’ revolution.  On May 14, 1917, Lenin wrote: “All wars are inseparable from the political systems that engender them. The policy which a given state, a given class within that state, pursued for a long time before the war is inevitably continued by that same class during the war, the form of action alone being changed… Nothing but a workers’ revolution in several countries can defeat this war. The war is not a game, it is an appalling thing taking toll of millions of lives, and it is not to be ended easily.”

There is an impending threat of a full-fledged war between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack in India-occupied Kashmir, the Indian Air Force’s cross-border strikes in Balakot, a retaliatory strike by Pakistan across the LoC and shooting down two Indian fighter jets by the PAF.

Although Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership has shown exemplary prudence by handing the Indian pilot back to India for de-escalating the situation, yet Narender Modi, the PM of India, is igniting jingoism among the Indian people through his speeches and actions. The Indian media is also inciting people and the government for a war against Pakistan in the name of nationalism.  Artillery guns are still blazing along the Line of Control. There are reports that India and Israel were about to attack Pakistan’s two cities, Karachi and Bahawalpur. Their plan was foiled by the ISI by taking timely precautionary measures and informing other countries about the plot and befitting response from Pakistan. Then, the Pakistan Navy detected an Indian submarine trying to enter Pakistani waters and successfully thwarted the attempt. “The submarine was detected and localised in Pakistan’s maritime zone on March 4,” said a statement by the director general of Navy’s public relations. “The submarine could have been easily engaged and destroyed had it not been Pakistan’s policy to exercise restraint in the face of Indian aggression and to give peace a chance to prevail. However, the submarine was kept under watch along with monitoring of other Indian navy units. The detected submarine was one of the latest submarines of the Indian navy,” added the statement. These developments clearly show that the situation remains still volatile and even a minor incident could trigger a full-blown war of unparalleled consequences between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. If war breaks out, it might kill more than 1.6 billion people within no time. In spite of thies threatening and doomsday scenario, there are many Indian politicians and international players that want to see a full-scale war between India and Pakistan for protecting their own partisan interests.

It is tragic that the world is not willing to settle the Kashmir dispute which is not only bringing the two nuclear-armed neighbours at the verge of war but also putting the peace of entire region in jeopardy.  On January 18, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced: “I’ve been offering my good offices in relation to the dialogue between the two countries that, until now, had no conditions of success.” India is not willing to give the Kashmiris their right to self -determination under the UN resolution. India’s 7,50,000 troops are trying to crush the movement of Kashmiris with bullets. So far, the Indian forces have killed thousands of Kashmiris. But, the world is silent because most world powers, like America and England, have their political, diplomatic and economic interests with India. Due to these interest, the superpowers have not even condemned the Indian strikes inside Pakistan’s territory. However, by this strike, the Modi administration has once again internationalised the Kashmir issue.  Arundhati Roy, a famous Indian writer, has written: “By goading Pakistan into a counter-strike, and so making India and Pakistan the only two nuclear powers in history to have bombed each other, Modi has internationalised the Kashmir dispute. He has demonstrated to the world that Kashmir is potentially the most dangerous place on earth, the flashpoint for nuclear war”.

Modi wants to win the coming elections by creating Hindutva chauvinist hysteria. So, he is using the war-like situation with Pakistan for acquiring his political interests.  Arundhati Roy further writes: “The country might be poised on the edge of a war with Pakistan or more likely against the people of Kashmir…the Modi government was making moves to push the country into a war-like situation to make the people forget the myriad oppressions the current regime had inflicted on them. The Modi government had promised to create two crore jobs every year. But unemployment was skyrocketing. One per cent of rich Indians had wealth equivalent to the combined wealth of 71% of the population.”

Politicians of both countries want to use the threat of war for preserving their own partisan interests. Some corrupt leaders of the PPP and the PML-N would like to see the threat of war lingering on. They want to use the precarious situation for getting an NRO and protecting their looted and ill-gotten wealth.  

A lasting peace between India and Pakistan would put financial benefits of both countries’ ruling elite in danger. They need hatred, threat and a war-like situation to buy costly military arsenals. In the situation, many countries and their military-industrial complexes earn huge profits from their arms sales to India and Pakistan. The recent statement of Modi for having French-made Rafale fighter jets prove the naked reality. Modi is concealing his corruption and defeat from Pakistan in these words: “Today there is talk that India is missing the Rafale jets. The entire nation is saying that if India had Rafale jets today, the outcome of the recent incidents would have been different”.

 The Indian media, electronic, print and social, has  created sensationalism and emotionalism among its people by giving false news, publishing anti-Pakistani reports, conducting pro-Hindu programmes at various channels and supporting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s anti- Pakistani, anti- Muslim policy. In fact, the Indian media  is successfully earning more money from the Modi government by spreading fear, hatred, emotionalism and sensationalism among the people. 

The RSS magazine’s latest issue has urged the government for an all-out war with Pakistan. A few years ago, K. Sudarshan, the erstwhile head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, announced that nuclear war with Pakistan is a possible way to “end the sway of evil in the world”. Many Indian thinkers openly stress the government for attacking Pakistan.

All leading newspapers, like the New York Times, BBC, the Guardian etc have exposed the lies and yellow journalism of the Indian media. On the other hand, Pakistan’s media has shown some maturity and responsibility in covering and dealing with the situation. But, it is a fact, both countries’ media houses wish to linger on the situation for earning more money. 

There are some religious scholars and people, like Orya Maqbool Jan and Dr Shahid Masood, who believe that war between India and Pakistan cannot be stopped. After Israel’s help to India against Pakistan, as Robert Fisk has written in his latest article, it becomes clear that it has also religious significance. According to Orya Maqbool Jan, war between India and Pakistan is inevitable because it will lead to Ghazwa-e-Hind about which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has already told. Interestingly, Vikram Sood, former RAW chief, has also said Pakistan could unleash “Ghazwa-e-Hind” against India, If the US troops exit Kabul.  All the above-mentioned facts suggest that the threat of war is still looming over the horizon of South Asia. With the help of Israel, the Modi administration will undertake some venture against Pakistan which could ignite a full- fledged war between the two countries. The coming days are very important, not only for India and Pakistan, but also for the entire world.