Amid echoes of wartime hysteria, the daughter of an Indian diplomat became the target of collective vulgarity - not amid gunfire, but amid hashtags and headlines. She was cyberbullied, her personal details were leaked, and slurs were hurled - all because her father, on behalf of the government, announced a ceasefire, which infuriated some fanatics.
This incident urges us to look inward. It's not an exception, but part of a long-standing pattern where women bear the cost of wars started by men. The question doesn't ask for a reaction-it calls for honest introspection.
Power, Not Principles: The True Face of War
Modern man may be smart and tech-savvy, but inwardly, he remains a creature of the jungle. His brain has evolved-but not his consciousness. He still marks territory, manipulates, and deceives-only more cleverly. After all, we lived in the wild for over 99.8% of human existence. Civilization, though recent, hasn't yet refined the instinct beneath.
The urge to dominate territory and possess women stems from the same primal core. History shows women were often not collateral but deliberate targets-seen in the Partition of India, the Nanking massacre, and the Bangladesh War. Soldiers were promised not just land or loot but also the prospect of women. Mythology echoes this too - whether in the Mahabharata or with Shumbh-Nishumbh in the Durga Saptashati, who, though powerful, still sought the goddess, as if riches without the woman remain incomplete. However, at least in scripture if not in history, this impulse to dominate women destroys the demons.
War Doesn't Change Man - It Unveils the Beast
Wars may seem rooted in pride, land, or ideology, but beneath them all lies a primal urge to dominate and possess. Women, though rarely warriors, have often been central targets. Usually, to hurt a man, his woman is attacked-not as an equal, but merely as a fragile symbol of his pride.
In the Pahalgam attack, the men were deliberately killed, while the women were spared-not out of mercy, but as a calculated message. To the terrorists, these women weren't seen as individuals, but as extensions of the men they accompanied and were left behind as symbols of helplessness.
Similarly, on social media, trolls employ the same tactic by targeting women associated with their intended victims, like the diplomat's daughter.
This isn't random hate, but a calculated strike aimed at the man through the woman associated with him. She is too often reduced to a symbol of his honor. This isn't just misogyny; it reveals a psyche where the woman is seen as the final prize to be claimed and consumed.
Arjun, too, in the Bhagavad Gita, voices concern over women after the war, not out of care, but to safeguard lineage and caste. For ages, the control of women has worn the guise of tradition, morality, or protection, yet at its core, it's about ownership. It's a deeply rooted, culturally accepted norm that often goes unquestioned. War doesn't turn men into beasts-it exposes the one already within.
Culture or Cover-Up?
The need to dominate isn't limited to war-it hides beneath daily customs. We glorify festivals and traditions, yet many serve primal instincts dressed in culture. Can a gathering steeped in indulgence and intoxication truly be called elevated, or is it merely primal instinct cloaked in tradition? We call it heritage, but changing the name doesn't change its nature.
War strips away the mask of tradition, laying bare the same urges-power, possession, lust. From Genghis Khan's invasions to the 1971 Bengal genocide, from religious crusades to today's political intimidation, women have long been collateral-and often, the primary targets.
The Roots of Our Disappointment
The real shock isn't the brutality, it's that we're shocked at all. We expect awareness from others, but most act from conditioning. Pain arises when we seek light where there's still shadow.
This disillusionment often stems from misplaced expectations. We usually expect kindness and awareness from others, but that hope is rooted in our need for safety, a sense of belonging, or care. Unless awakened, people act from the center of habit, not from consciousness. Clarity begins with seeing things as they are. If we cling to familiar expectations, we miss the Krishnas and Buddhas, mistaking truth for the familiar. Because truth rarely arrives gently, it disturbs, provokes, and demands transformation.
Smarter, Not Wiser
We call ourselves civilized-creating, innovating, advancing-but does that make us conscious? Intellect is just another evolutionary tool, no different from claws or fangs. Many brilliant minds have used their intellect to rationalize cruelty. Without awareness, intellect only sharpens old instincts.
Consciousness is rare-like a meteor in the dark. We glimpse it in Buddhas and Krishnas. But society is shaped not by awareness but by desire, deceit, and control. Still, even in the dark, light remains possible.
Truth, Not Conquest, Made India Great
To me, India represents a civilization that has always aspired beyond primal intellect. Its strength lay not in power or conquest, but in its rare alignment with truth-reflected in timeless philosophies and echoed in its constitution. But such greatness isn't inherited - it must be reclaimed by each generation. It demands conscious choice, constant renewal, and the courage to live by clarity.
The true battle isn't between nations or ideologies-it begins within. When intellect outpaces awareness, it becomes a weapon in the hands of unconscious tendencies. For India to hold its
dignity, it must transcend primal instincts. If it seeks pride, it must awaken. That is the revolution that matters.
Unless the inner beast is transformed, institutions like family, nation, and religion remain stages for unconsciousness. A society becomes sacred only when the beast within is transcended.
(Acharya Prashant, a modern Vedanta exegete and philosopher, is a national bestselling author, columnist, and founder of the PrashantAdvait Foundation. An IIT-IIM alumnus, he is a recipient of the OCND Award from the IIT Delhi Alumni Association for outstanding contribution to national development.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
