WAR can only aggravate, it cannot solve problems, observed the noted economist and public intellectual Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University while delivering the inaugural lecture of the Haryana unit of AIPSO at Karnal.  The focal theme of his lecture was "War Versus Peace".

Prabhat Patnaik advocated a serious dialogue in a conciliatory spirit to resolve the problem of persistent cross border terrorism carried out by our next door neighbour, Pakistan.  He opined that Pakistan had to be convinced that they were more a sufferer than a beneficiary of terrorism, for the terrorists are nobody's friends. 

Patnaik presented the thesis that wars are an outcome of imperialism.  Nationalism - a response to imperialism - could be both inclusive and exclusive.  To begin with, Indian nationalism was anti-colonial in character.  The Indian freedom movement also helped other anti-colonial movements like in Indonesia and China.  He reminded the audience of the legendary Kotnis (Doctor) who led a medical mission to China in the mid-1930's.  The inclusive spirit of Indian freedom movement hurt the colonial interests of the British imperialists who used divisive tactics such as the proposal for separate electorates and encouragement to the ‘two Nation theory’. 

The inclusive nationalism is recognised in the Preamble to our Constitution.  It begins with the words: "We, the people...." It thus lays stress on the necessity of the unity of the people. The constitution further declares that India does not have aggressive designs and that we would not attack others. 

The constitution also grants fundamental rights to the people.  The speaker told the audience that in his last speech to the Constituent Assembly, B R Ambedkar had stated, "political empowerment, although not to be underestimated, was not sufficient without socio-economic empowerment.  Without socio-economic empowerment, political empowerment would not last for long."

Prabhat Patnaik deeply regretted the unfortunate reality that a vast majority of the people in the country have been denied their due socio-economic rights.  As a result, their standard of living has been going down rather than improving.  According to him, even after 70 years of independence more than 200 million people are still living below the poverty line which is drawn at 2,200 calories of nourishment a day in rural areas and 2,100 calories in the urban ones.  The ever increasing all-round disparity has weakened the national unity. To safeguard equal political rights, not just on paper but in actual practice, concrete steps need to be taken.

Patnaik observed that the main threat to national unity is posed by the growing economic disparity. The top 1 per cent have come to control 60 per cent of national wealth which is higher than any other country in the world. He argued that the cause of strengthening national unity would be better served by reducing this huge disparity.  As an important first step he advocated that the following five economic rights be granted immediately: “the right to food, the right to employment, national health care service, the right to quality education and the right to old age pension”,  which is a meagre Rs 200 per month at present.  He said that he was not asking for the stars to be plucked from the sky as the money needed to provide these rights – Rs 15 lakh crores - was just 15 to 18 per cent of the GDP.  Prabhat  Patnaik suggested that resources would not be a problem if just 1 per cent tax was levied on those who owned wealth worth 100 crore American dollars or more.  It was his firm belief that national unity would be strengthened not by waging costly wars but by granting these economic rights to all people.

Having said that, Prabhat Patnaik conceded that economic decolonisation was not easy to achieve.  He reminded the audience that when the then Egyptian President Colonel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in the late 1950s', the imperialist England and France had immediately rushed their forces to militarily prevent the nationalisation.  The Belgian colonialists had murdered the hugely popular young President Patrice Lumumba of Congo in 1962.  The latest instance of imperialist intervention in the affairs of sovereign countries is that of Venezuela - a country rich in mineral oil deposits and other natural resources.  American imperialists had first tried to oust the popular Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez by having a coup staged against him in the 1990s but Chavez thwarted their designs by staging a comeback on the back of a popular upsurge.  Now they are trying the same tactics against Maduro.  Imperialist forces are desperately striving to prevent him from using the national resources for the betterment of the poor of his country.  Prabhat asserted that the unity of the people is the only way to safeguard national sovereignty from the imperialist designs of economic colonisation.  Reminding the audience of how the British colonisation divided the Indian people and state,  Patnaik said that India and Pakistan flying at each other's throats only served the interests of the imperialist forces.  We can ignore this fact only at our own cost.  We must realize that our national interest lies in not having a military conflict with our neighbours but in solving our disputes peacefully.  The more the ‘third world’ countries fight, the more the imperialists benefit.

Prabhat Patnaik summed up his engaging presentation by again emphasising that our own national interest demands that we do not press for a military solution to our issues with our neighbour.  It is unfortunate that those who talk of peace today are dubbed anti-national. It may not be intentional but the fact is that instead of an inclusive nationalism, a divisive nationalism is being practised and that can only damage our national interests rather than serve them.

Replying to  half-hour long lively discussion Prabhat Patnaik said that we need to be clear that our neighbour is not a truly democratic country. The real power in Pakistan is wielded by the Pakistani Army.  India should not try to emulate that model.  He asked the audience to appreciate that the ‘Army’ and the ‘Nation’ are not above the people. He also informed them that there are very strong democratic elements in Pakistan.  It should be our endeavour to increase our contact with them and strengthen them whereas a war will only strengthen the Army there.  Our own national interest demands that we engage the political leadership of Pakistan in a dialogue.  Of course the people will decide the fate of the Army in Pakistan but we can at least make an effort to wean them off.

To expose the nefarious nature of imperialism, Prabhat Patnaik reminded the audience that it was the American imperialism that encouraged the Taliban in Afghanistan to weaken and isolate the progressive national leadership of Najibullah.  Again, it was the American forces determined to eliminate Saddam Hussein that created the monster ISIS(Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Syria).  The lesson these experiences should teach us is that the policy of trying to crush dissent in Kashmir by using force will be counterproductive and only strengthen terrorism there that will perpetually bleed us.  So we must try to convince the people of Kashmir in a friendly dialogue that terrorism is a mistaken solution of their problem.  It cannot, does not and will not solve any problems.  It will only cause them more suffering.  Prabhat Patnaik urged the use of democratic dialogue rather than attempt to crush the spirit of ‘Kashmiris’ by the use of force.  He concluded that is the movement we need to build up to solve not only the Kashmir problem but all national problems.

V N Rai, former Director General of National Police Academy, Hyderabad presided over the lecture.