This year marks the 100th anniversary of the First World War. In Europe, governments, universities, intellectual forums, the print media and television networks have constantly been discussing the war. So much attention is understandable because World War I (WWI) brought out the worst features of western civilisation and wreaked havoc upon its people on a scale only exceeded ever once more: during World War II. Some outstanding documentaries, including rare footage of official as well as amateur still photography and movie films, were also shown. The BBC in particular devoted considerable attention to this and some excellent fictional serials based closely on how life was during that time were also shown.
WWI was originally called the “Great War”. The only thing great about it was that it broke all past records of human ingenuity to inflict pain, death and destruction on fellow human beings. The exact number of fatalities and injuries is still a matter of dispute. In the western media, 10 million dead in combat and nine million through other means including disease, starvation and dislocation have been mentioned. WW I made the distinction between combatants and civilians increasingly difficult to maintain and, in World War II, that distinction lost all meaning. WWI exposed in a very forceful and shocking manner the darker side of science, technology and modernity.
However, documentaries and fictional series were also testimony to the amazing human ability to endure the worst type of suffering while retaining a modicum of sanity and humanity. There were many instances of enemies fraternising with one another. For example, on one occasion on Christmas Day, German and French-British soldiers got out of their trenches and sang songs and danced together. The next day they were ordered to shoot and kill and that too was done!
WWI broke out in the summer of 1914 between two rival blocs of empires: the allies included the UK, France and Russia and the central powers comprised the German and Austro-Hungarian empires. Ottoman Turkey joined later in November. In April 1917, the US entered the war on the side of the allies while Russia withdrew from the war after the Bolshevik Revolution in October. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel were mobilised for the war. Some four million troops were recruited from Asian and African colonies by the UK and France. Nationalist rhetoric invoking loyalty to the king and nation was very successful in goading on millions of men to volunteer to fight. Sometimes whole neighbourhood communities joined en bloc. Later, the war dragged on, information about its horrors began to emerge and desertions began to take place but, by and large, the men fought on and on.
A century later people are beginning to call into question the role of the generals and governments who took the key decisions in fighting that war. In a most callous and criminal manner, the high commands of all militaries ordered their troops to charge at the enemy knowing fully well that they would be cut down in a hail of bullets and artillery fire without any major gain being achieved. Trench warfare especially brought out in sharp relief the worst type of human slaughter. Life in the trenches for years amid disease, severe winters, lack of basic sanitation and other such appalling circumstances contrasted with the generals living in comfort, and even luxury. The senior commanders were themselves never anywhere close to the actual battlefields. In many parts of Europe, graveyards and monuments to the dead remind us of that tragic ordeal. This also happened at sea. Winston Churchill famously expressed glee at the navies clashing on the high seas while admitting that such a grand spectacle was being created at the expense of thousands of lives that would inevitably be lost.
I was surprised to note that, although more than one million Indian troops were mobilised and deployed in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, they were not committed to any major battles except at Gallipoli. Some 62,000 were killed and another 67,000 were wounded. This is a very small number when compared to the casualties suffered by European troops. For example, 700,000 to 800,000 British troops were killed. I wonder if this was because Indian troops were considered inferior stuff. If true then racism inadvertently proved to be a blessing in disguise. The so-called Martial Race Theory had its own hierarchy in which the Indian castes identified as martial were nevertheless inferior to the white soldier. Also, hardly any Indian achieved the officer rank at that time. Perhaps some experts can throw light on this.
Prussian General Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) famously remarked that, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” In hardcore defence and security discussions this statement is often quoted as matter-of-fact realism but in political science we are taught that politics is the art of solving conflicts peacefully and war is the failure of the political process. Firing on the Line of Control (LoC) is always a sure recipe for the outburst of irresponsible rhetoric in the name of patriotism. Indian hawks lashed out with calls to teach Pakistan a lesson. In response to an Indian news channel, General Pervez Musharraf, facing serious charges of having allegedly violated the Pakistan Constitution, in true Clausewitzian style flaunted the nuclear option in case of a war with India. That sent a shudder down my spine.
The way hawkish generals and jingoistic defence experts, including talk show charlatans, in India and Pakistan glorify war reminds us that stupidity is universal, eternal and, in our case, it could cost us our right to exist. President Bill Clinton once estimated that 500 million Indians or half the Indian population and 120 million Pakistanis out of its 170 million population would be wiped out in case of an all-out India-Pakistan nuclear war. We need to banish the merchants of death from the Indian subcontinent or otherwise, as the Urdu saying goes, “Na rehay ga baans aur na bajey gee baansri,” which in English should mean that we will all be wiped out and it would be the end of it all.
The writer is a visiting professor, LUMS, Pakistan, professor emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University, and honorary senior fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Latest publications: Winner of the Best Non-Fiction Book award at the Karachi Literature Festival: The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed, Oxford, 2012; and Pakistan: The Garrison State, Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947-2011), Oxford, 2013. He can be reached at: [email protected]