The war in Ukraine and how the time of Gandhi became the time of Putin

They say Mahatma Gandhi once said that “the only devils are the ones inside our souls, and that’s where the real battle needs to be fought”. Beautiful words. After all, haven’t nations of the world shed enough blood fighting the devils in other nation’s souls for the sake of their own? A truly Christian thing spoken by a Hindu – what could be more symbolic and unifying for the 21st century, the time that was supposed to be different from all the bloody centuries before? The time of peace, self-reflection and reconciliation. The time of Mahatma. 

If only all nations had arrived in the 21st century. Sadly, some of them got stuck in the past, with all its insanities: imperialist wars, the sense of being superior to others, authoritarianism and Stalinism. Mentally and politically, they are still in the 20th century: carving up their smaller neighbours, killing thousands in their wars of conquest. Dragging the world into the past instead of building a better future. 

On one horrible night in February 2022 Vladimir Putin gave orders to kick in the doors of his neighbouring country and said: from now on what was yours is mine. Ever since his soldiers have been killing, raping and torturing thousands in Ukraine. They were not “the devils inside our souls”. They were real humans. They had faces. They had first and last names, very often the same as their innocent victims. 

And so, what was supposed to be the time of Gandhi became the time of Putin: ruthless, bloody and deeply imperialist. Moreover, as shown by Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the 21st century can be even worse than the 20th. For instance, last winter, Russia tried to literally freeze to death millions of Ukrainians by shutting down their winter heating. Chances are, they will give it another try in the coming winter, too. Freezing whole European nations to death or starving millions of Africans by cutting off the grain supply in the Black Sea – will this be the scale of mass murder of the 21st century?

In 2022, Ukraine had the choice: to fight or to surrender (like most of the world expected). It chose to fight. And has been fighting ever since. Not because someone tells Ukraine to, but because Ukrainians want the same things in life as the majority of other nations: freedom, democracy, respect.

They are not ready to sacrifice their language and culture. Or to see the same old man run their country for three decades in a row. They are not willing to bask in the delusion of “imperial greatness” – as they simply do not need this delusion. Yes, they might have the same last names as Russians, but they are not Russian. And they will never be.

Some say that the war was Ukraine’s choice because it chose to fight for its freedom instead of surrender. Another hypocritical thing to claim. Aggression is a crime, while defence of your home and freedom is a noble thing to do. Defending your home is not tantamount to choosing war. Attacking someone’s home is. And isn’t it sad that we live in a time where such elementary things need a reminder?

But the most important thing to remember is this: the reality of the 21st century still can be turned around. Ukraine’s proposal is on the table: let us stop where we stand and talk peace. 

Why is Russia not agreeing to it? Maybe because too many countries are not clear enough about rejecting this war. You cannot be neutral in a situation like this. Either you support President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal to stop – or you silently put up with President Putin’s demand to give him Ukrainian land that he could not conquer in these four years. The choice between freedom and greedy imperialism in its purest form could not be clearer. 

What is needed now is for the nations of the world to take a stand against war. Let us not attribute all troubles of the world to the “West’s hypocrisy” and its disregard of Russia’s “security concerns”.  A war of aggression against your smaller neighbour cannot be rationalised with “security concerns” of the aggressor. It is not pragmatism but nonsense. Attacking a neighbour, killing thousands, razing cities and villages to the ground cannot be rationalised, explained or understood. These are all forms of acceptance – and a war of aggression cannot become acceptable. 

At the end of the day, Gandhi was right. Devils do torment the soul of mankind. The devils who start wars. The devils who drag mankind back into its dark past. The devils that need to be confronted, not put up with or rationalised. DM