The Age of Alternatives

The Age of Alternatives I n ancient times, ambitious people had only one arena in which to fulfil their ambitions—the battlefield. But the modern age has seen a sea-change in this regard. Now we are living in the age of alternatives. There are many options other than engaging in battle. For an ambitious person, a number of peaceful alternatives are available. Those gains that people expected only from war are now achievable, on a far greater scale, by availing of peaceful alternatives. To illustrate these points, I would like to give here two parallel examples. The Mughal rule in India was a dynastic one. Aurangzeb (1618 – 1707) was the sixth ruler of this dynasty. He and his brother Dara Shikoh (1615 – 1659) had different agendas. At that time there was only one course available to settle the differences—that was battle. Therefore, a battle took place in which Dara Shikoh and his supporters were defeated and killed. In present times, there are two major political parties in the same India—Congress and the BJP. These two parties have different agendas. Since India is now a democratic country, both parties contest elections to decide their fate, and this