Years ago, we accidentally bumped into each other in Anantnag. He started narrating his tragic story, saying he was being harassed due to political reasons. He contacted the deputy commissioner with his complaint, but neither the DC nor anyone else was ready to listen to him. Sheer helplessness drove him to tears. Terrorists in military outfits, military men with long beards, would keep knocking at his doors at will. He said they barged into the house without permission and lamented the misfortune that befell him. That encounter kept popping up in my mind yesterday (September 21), which is marked as World Peace Day.

The United Nations designated World Peace Day in 1981, hoping that at least on this day, the world would observe a ceasefire and there would be no terrorist activity. It didn’t turn out that way. Without dwelling too much on history, if we focus on the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, we would find that the former is into its fourth year, while the latter is poised to enter its third year. Both nations are members of the UN: Russia has veto power in the permanent Security Council. Still, both Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, leaders of Russia and Israel, respectively, have ignored the pleas of the UN.

We can’t expect anything from terrorists, but how should one react when nations bound by UN conventions start promoting terrorism?

The Pahalgam........

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