'Voices of peace need to be strengthened'

Prof M D Nalapat, UNESCO Peace Chair said that military solution is not the desirable option for resolution of any conflict, so also in the case of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“Geopolitical reasons in the last few years are responsible for the present scene, but, the military option is not the solution,” he asserted.

He was delivering a special talk on ‘Russia, Ukraine, War and Peace’, held under the auspices of Gandhian Centre for Philosophical Arts and Sciences (GCPAS), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

Prof Nalapat said the ‘expansionist’ tendencies of different countries can lead to war.

What is happening between Russia and Ukraine can redefine the geopolitics of our times, he added.

He hoped that the war does not lead to a full-blown nuclear war.

Agreeing with the view that the 'voices of peace' need to be strengthened in the world, he once again hoped that the situation will not lead to the days of the cold war or direct war between the power blocs.

“While I have criticised the Indian Government on other matters, I welcome it in this matter, as it has called for a ceasefire. Even though Unesco has a limited role in such matters as invasion and war, UNO can facilitate negotiation and dialogue for a peaceful solution. A military solution leads only to unnecessary deaths and destruction," he said.

Speaking earlier, GCPAS head Prof Varadesh Hiregange said, "Of late, we don’t hear much about ‘disarmament and denuclearisation’ citing a line ‘we think too much and feel too little’ from Chaplin’s film ‘The Great Dictator’."

Prof Phaniraj stressed the need for a collective global opinion against the destruction.