TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible. A SOLUTION-ORIENTED APPROACH PROBABLY the most important event of the year 1988 was the inception of a new spirit of accommodation between the USSR and the USA. Time magazine (May 30, 1988) aptly termed it a ‘grand compromise.’ Reckoned as superpowers, the USSR and the USA were rivals of 70 years standing, with a long history of repeated confrontations. The media of both blocs, in keeping up a steady flow of reciprocal condemnation, played a significant role in aggravating the situation. After this marathon of accusation and counteraccusation, both powers— miraculously—began to talk of peace. Instead of relentlessly pursuing the arms race, they started at last giving their much-needed attention to what appeared to be fruitful negotiations on the de-escalation of international tensions. A Soviet official described this new policy as ‘solution-oriented’. Where, hitherto, each bloc had been out to paint the iniquities of the other in the blackest of hues, both were now glossing them over in their new fervour of finding solutions to mutual problems. This thaw, which took place in the long-standing cold war between the USSR and the USA, has a great lesson in it for other nations. Surely, if the policy of headlong confrontation has become such a costly procedure that even the superpowers can no longer afford it, it should be obvious that the smaller nations are even less well-equipped to pursue so ultimately destructive a course.