By Promod Puri
Let me speak out of the box—and from the heart—about a word we rarely associate with strength: SURRENDER
Not the kind found in treaties or headlines, but a deeper, nobler surrender—one that overpowers ego and pride. It is in this humility, this peace-spirited submission, that a sane and livable world can emerge. It is here that suffering can stop—not someday, but immediately.
From Ukraine to Gaza, from known war zones to forgotten ones, the carnage continues. Cities are levelled. Futures erased. And for what? If war were truly a path to peace, then history would’ve been a utopia by now.
But let’s get real.
In today’s wars, the decision-makers—the ones who fan the flames—rarely step into the fire. Leaders call for blood while staying miles away from battlefields. They walk away unscathed. The people do not. Mothers do not. Children do not.
The truth is, modern war has no frontlines.
The battlegrounds are cities. Missiles hit high-rises, not bunkers. Bombs find schools, not soldiers. Power plants, not platoons. Water supplies, not weapons. In these urban infernos, nationalism, patriotism, martyrdom, and heroism become hollow slogans—distorted projections that glorify horror and dress death in medals.
And then comes the cost.
Not just lives lost, but generations scarred. Not just homes destroyed, but hope. And in a world armed with nuclear stockpiles, chemical arsenals, and cyber weapons, the aftermath may not even leave us with a world to rebuild.
So let’s not wait for another war to realize what we already know.
War is not a necessary evil—it is an unnecessary catastrophe. A manufactured tragedy. A crime against humanity, camouflaged in flags and anthems.
Let us not glorify it.
Let us not normalize it.
Let us call it what it is—a collective failure.
And let us surrender—our egos, our pride, our delusions of military glory—for the sake of peace, for the sake of our planet, and for the generations who deserve better.
War must end.
Promod Puri.com 