War or Survival?

“We won’t wait for you to act. We will lead even if you don’t. We will act even if you delay. We will build the future even if you are still stuck in the past. Please accept my invitation. I assure you won’t regret it.” Vinisha Umashanker, a fourteen-year-old finalist of the inaugural Earth shot Prize, Prince Williams’s ambitious global environment award, during her address at COP26 World Leaders’ Summit, held in Glasgow, England.

If the current developments across the world are anything to go by, all the world leaders are blithely ignoring the writing on the wall, still stuck in the time warp, searing innocent citizens into the unholy flames of war or ready to wage another of potentially catastrophic consequences. Be it Russia – Ukraine and Nato conflict or China -Taiwan and the South China Sea conflict. These unfortunate developments are taking place when the world is still trying to come out of the pandemic induced crisis.

It’s utter callousness on the part of world leaders of not exploring the common ground of peaceful co- existence and common good of humanity. They are resorting to bombing and razing the cities into ground just for the shake of expanding their power and influence, entirely disregarding the writing in the wall in the form of climate change and the increasings bouts of natural disasters. What is the use of expanded borders when the entire earth is racing towards becoming inhabitable?

Vinisha Umashanker

today I listened to the speech given by a teenage girl, Vinisha Umashanker from Tamil Nadu, India and got mightily impressed by her words and strong resolve to bring about a positive change in the environment. She is a 10th Grade student and introduced herself as an artist, innovator, entrepreneur and environmentalist. She won the prize for her innovation of solar ironing cart which could replace coal-fueled ironing carts across the towns and cities of India.

The young Vinisha affirmed, “I am not talking about the future, I am the future.” She also reminded that in the matter of climate change, there is no stop button, not a pause or rewind. Her confident and convincing attitude made everyone take notice. But are the people in power heeding to her clarion call?

When the young generation is asking for our(grown-ups) time, effort and money to back their innovation for a better and more sustainable future, the countries are hell bent on decimating each other even threatening to use their nuclear and biological arsenal for furthering their selfish agendas.

I wonder when the saner reasons would prevail. When we would be able to think and work unitedly to make the earth a better place to live for our young generation? Only giving lofty speeches about saving the environment, and then forgetting all about it, has become the norm. It is the time to think and act progressively instead of the regressive path of war and amassing more military power and expansionism.

Hopefully, the leaders would retrace their steps and stop walking on the path of destruction and work unitedly and constructively towards the common goal of safeguarding the humankind from the wrath of nature. The walfare of citizens should be the priority, instead of killing and displacing them.

Featured photo courtesy: Aditya Mukherjee.

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