Religion Practice and Science of Non Violence

Author(s): O P Jaggi
Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd

Page 96

Religion, Practice and Science of Non-Violence
A threat to the survival of the human race and civilization everywhere, which had not been foreseen by those who drew up the Charter, was suddenly thrust into the picture, when a few months after the signing of the Charter, atomic bombs were hurled on Japan 'in order to hasten the end of the war against her.' This led to a race in nuclear weapons between the two giant powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Gradually some other nations also acquired, atomic bombs or the capability to make them. The United Nations has so far succeeded in avoiding a major conflict, but it could not avoid hundreds of local or regional battles and wars since its inception. So far it has neither been a total success nor a total failure. Yet its very existance is a source of courage and inspiration. Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary General of the United Nations, during the critical days of the Korean armistice talks, aptly said: "Those are lost who dare not face the basic facts of international inter-dependence. Those are lost who permit defeats to scare them back to a starting point of narrow nationalism. Those are lost who are so scared by a defeat as to despair about the future. For all those, the dark prophecies may be justified. But not for those who do not permit themselves to be scared, nor for the organization (U.N.) which is the instrument at their disposal in the fight-an instrument which may be wrecked, but, if that happens, would have to be, and certainly would be, recreated again and again." The United Nations is important not only for what it has achieved, but perhaps even more, for what it symbolises. It symbolises the will and the resolve of the peoples and the nations to solve their conflicts through non-violence rather than violence. Persistent faith in the concept of the United Nations, in spite of its many failures, indicates clearly that the human race will and must go forward towards a single world government so as to end the state of anarchy that exists now between the nations of the world.
86
Ideal World Organization
Confederations like the League of Nations and the United Nations Organization have served a useful purpose. A confederation, however, by its very nature is not an ideal system to preserve peace. The failure of the League of Nations and