A Geographic Search for Global Peace
* Prof. M. G. Bhasin
Born on 31 Dec, 1928, at Malkhani ( Punjab ) Educated in Punjab. Joined
Dayanand College, Solapur in 1951. As Head, Dept. of Geography became
Chairman, B. O; S. in Geography, Geology, Meteorology, member, B. U. T.
R. and Academic Council for three consecutive terms. Member, Courses
Committee in Geography, Pune Divil. Borad of Maharashtra Secondary
School Examination, Pune For a year Recognised as a post graduate
Teacher Ph. D. Guide.
Completed three research papers, contributed six chapters in Six Books,
presented more than 50 papers at Seminars/Symposia / Workshops/
conferences at National/ Regional and International level.
Presently working as Principal Vision Education Society�s Mahila
Mahavidyalaya, Solapur. On visiting faculty for M. A./M. B. A. and M. S.
W., was made honorary member, Rotary Club of Solapur East in 1991.
�Map me, no maps, Sir, my head is a map, a map of the whole world �
-Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape.
As the ecological crisis grows, as distances shrink, we are finally
becoming aware of :-
i) We are all inhabitants of the single world, what Barbara Ward has
termed as the � Spaceship Earth �. Whereas others fondly may express it
as �Cradle Earth �, � Mother Earth �, � Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam � The
world is one family.
ii) Places continue to converge upon one another in both cost and time.
This is best reflected in acceleration of change-a mind-boggling
phenomena; and
iii) �Political crisis�, �Energy crisis�, � Personal crisis �, �Economic
crisis� �� I believe they have one common element-mismanagement.
Obviously, many people do not manage well;
Mankind to-day, is confronted with problem-ridden situations, conflicts
and chaos. Curiously enough, their intensity, and magnitude is
increasing in al I walks of life. Of course, humorists may say that man
himself is a problem; In simple words, the problems that keep each one
worrying today are :
1) Are we safe?
2) Are we happy ?
3) Do we leave behind a good, noble heritage ?
Geographic Elements:
Geography does not speak, it is. In the past, it has experienced many
waves of marked expansion that generated many questions and endless
debates; questions rotating and revolving round what is where, why,
when, how and by whom. This focus, however, is always on-places and
people or people and places. Some noteworthy, questions worth a recall
are :-
1) Is Geography one or many ?
2) The whole earth is not the unique subject matter of Geography.
3) Geography is what the Geographers do.
4) Geography changes geographers and Geographers change Geography, and
5) Geography is equally concerned or involved with problems what to do,
and how to live and live with dignity and peace.
With this perspective, a geographic search on global peace will be seen
basically consisting of Three Elements, namely,
1) Places-diverse in location, size contents and functions
2) People-too many, too few, too high-too low; too rich too poor etc.
etc; and
3 ) Their Relationships-Biassed/distorted and unbalanced.
Fig. 1 has been designed and prepared to show how inequality and
injustice in 4 types of space, namely, Political, Economic, Social and
cultural have produced chaos and crisis on The Earth we live in. This is
pointed out by 16 D�s ( Deaths, Disturbances, Destruction�s, Despairs,
Discriminations, Dealings, Dependence, Disputes, Distortions,
Dislocations, Deprivations, Diseases, Denials, Dissatisfactions, and
Disgust as well as 16 I�s ( Indecision, Inconsistencies, Imbalances,
Illiteracy, Intolerance, Idolatory, Indecent, Intimidation,
Interpretations, Ill-treatment, Illhealth, Illegal, Instructing,
Illusions, Imperfections, Insults ). The emergent situation that seems
to emerge is disappointing, alarming and signal doom and unwittingly
mass suicide.
VICIOUS CIRCALS OF CONFLICT CRISIS
Fig. 2 represents conflict-chaos vicious circle; of course Initiating
from desires, cravings which have their sources in pleasure and or
pains. Undoubtedly, these two diagrams offer greatest challenges and
opportunities not to contain academic and professionals but also to the
public at large.
Solution For Peace :
Peace is indivisible but seems to be breaking into pieces.
Geographically perceived some of the features representing areas of
chaos on conflict situation are :
1 ) Political maps are less static and more dynamic;
2 ) Regional interests keep emerging and dominating;
3 ) There is more of politics and less of welfare governments;
4 ) Quality of life is deteriorating and living a drudgery; and
5 ) Dilution of unifying or poisoning forces, over the globe. This all,
represents here much distorted relationships� between the urban man and
unstable earth �
Fig. 3 has been made to ensure, insure and assure� global peace by
inter-linking or inter-relating, interconnecting ( i ) Balanced
personalities, ( ii ) Quality Environment, ( iii ) Rational
Resource-use, ( iv ) Wise decisions, and,( v ) Dedicated work with
places in chaos and crisis in such a manner that this simultaneity will,
without any doubts, produce or provide, global peace. The same intent is
expressed in the formula-
B. P. + Q. E. + R. R. U. )2 = G. P.
In fulfilment of this goal or objective, PEACE will stand for as below :
P urposeful
E nergetic
A bilities
C reative
E njoyable.
Conclusion
The achievement and maintenance or preservation of peace is neither easy
nor simple. Primarily because �man complex� is restless by nature and is
the inhabitant of, unstable earth.
The goal of peace is achievable only by �World comprehension� �Thinking
Geographically and acting Geographically.� Let the motto �Unity in
diversity� be made.
2) Avoid emphasis on the unique or ego limited aims and vested
interests.
3) Employ the greatest gift of nature given to us �the highly developed
brain� or �intelligence� in making the Planet Earth a paradise of which
our children will be proud of.
May God bless you with Peace with dignity and honour.
�Peace� The Cry of Mankind
* Mrs. Prabha S. Gandag
How do you expect the world peace on empty stomach ? How do you expect
it when the daily required commodities are vanishing from the market?
How do you expect the world peace from the rising prices ? How do you
expect the world peace when the 2-bigs are busy in making chemical and
nuclear weapons ? How do you expect the world peace in power game ? How
do you expect the world peace as the Guff is catching the world in a fix
to satisfy its selfish intention? Everyone, a man in single or a country
as a whole wants to disturb others by his strength, or no allowing the
mankind to live peacefully. If he unnecessarily creates the problem to
satisfy inhumanly selfish ambition how do you expect world peace ?
The 2-bigs are becoming philosophers. They think that everything in the
world is perishable, so is the human life �then why not finish it now?
Because oldage and cripple life is not tolerated in the modern world,
then it is better to die young. They also think that poor countries like
India, South Africa have not at all any right to live in the modern 21st
century. So destroy the world as early a possible to bring it in their
control. Therefore they give unwanted guidance, unasked advice and
interfere in the personal affairs of other countries.
Peace, I think is the symbol of prosperity. The person whose stomach is
full, who has enough money to spend and has no worries for tomorrow can
chat about the world peace. We can�t establish peace on hungry stomachs�
World peace is highly impossible when the man is emotionally exploited
and psychologically disturbed. Establishing peace is not a child�s play.
It needs a lot of tolerance and understanding, which too are lost in the
Modern hi-tech world. We are moving towards 21st century very fast, new
modern posh computerised world, at the cost of understanding and mutual
adjustment. Every change has its price. While moving towards the mod
world, we are losing our adjusting nature, understanding which are the
basic principles of human life.
Man is a social animal. He develops his personality in the society but
after development of his personality, what he returns to society ? How
does he repay it ? He has become so selfish and self-centered that he is
not ready to open his eyes wide and look after the world. And for this t
hold educational institutions responsible, because modern education is
neither life-oriented nor economic-oriented. These institutions are busy
in grabbing money. They are money-oriented rather than the places where
one gets humanly sanskar. Their teachings are restricted to only text
books, and to fulfil one�s intention by hook or by crook. They never try
to teach tolerance broad-mindedness and sensibility.
It is my frank opinion that our world is passing through the
transitional period. Everywhere, every nation is facing social,
political, economical some or other type of crises. When Rome was
burning the king was playing on the violin. Like that - now the world is
burning and our great leaders are playing the game of power. Common man
is already exploited emotionally and financially. In such conditions
world peace is highly impossible. Only God can save this beautiful
world. As Lord Krishna said in Geeta �Whenever human Dharma will be
drowsy, to root out Adharma, to establish Dharma i. e. human Dharma (
not caste ), to protect the good from the bad and to punish the evil I
will take birth again and again�. So I pray to him that the time has
come to take his birth as the world is on its brink of disaster. He
should keep his promise given in Geeta. Let the world be bright with his
super power. Please lead kindly light.
The World Peace and Its Symbol
* Dr. B. D. Tiwari
The socio-psychologists and the political thinkers of the world have
proclaimed that man, by nature, is bruit and selfish. This bruit and
selfish nature of man is the root of all individual and collective
conflicts, confronted by the whole human race from time to time, from
place to place from age to age and from generation to generation. The
quotations like �Jeevo jeevasya bhakshanam� or �Struggle for existence
and survival of the fittest� may be biological facts, but so far as
human race is concerned, these quotations are the off-shoots of the
basic tendencies of man, based on selfishness and bruitality.
In my opinion, man - the glory of the universe and so called the owner
of the globe, is the root of all human problems in the world. Man is the
creator of countless problems and is also the victim of the same. He
suffers from these problems and struggles hard to get rid of them,
therefore, I would like to submit that all individual, social,
political, economical, ethical, religious, racial, cultural,
intellectual, national and international problems of mankind, directly
or indirectly have their roots in human mentality of personal pleasure
and individual happiness, which occasionally evoke bruitality and
selfishness in human behaviour.
I would like to support the above statement with the fact that greedy
�haves� have created an angry army of the �have-nots� and there is a
class-struggle between the rich and the poor every where. The
politicians and the experts in humanities have announced that war is a
biological necessity. On the other hand, the idealists, the
intellectuals, the philosophers, the religious heads and the prophets
opine that the bruitality exposed in war is a curse to humanity. Every
war is an embodiment of cruelty, violence and sin. Thus, the problem of
war and peace is eternal and international. Naturally peace is the cry
of mankind through out the world at all times. How to secure peace and
retain it, is an eternal problem of man and humanity at large.
History says that no politician or preacher can establish peace, by
framing taws, passing resolutions or by giving surmons in lecture-halls,
auditoriums or at cross roads. Peace is an intrinsic value of human
life. It is some thing internal. It is an urge of human heart and the
thirst of human soul. It can never be imposed externally, but can be
procured by changing the views and visions of man, from within. As
revolution comes from within the heart of a man, so also peace comes
from within the center of the consciousness of the self. There is a
secret symbol of peace in Jainology. If the five principles of Jainology
i.e. Ahimsa ( Non-Violence ); Satya ( Truth ); Asteya ( Nonstealing );
Brahmacharya ( Celibacy ) and Aparigraha ( Nonpossession ), are honestly
and sincerely followed by the people of the world, peace can be
established through out the world. These five principles of Jainology
are the essence of all religions of the world. They may be propagated as
the fundamental principles of humanity or as the principles of human
religion. The mystery of World Peace is hidden in three words of
Jainology. They are Ahimsa, Sanjamo, Tavo.... �A line in a couplet in
Jainology reads as under :-
�Dhammo mangal mukkittam, Ahimsa, Sanjamo, Tavo.�
Ahimsa (Non-Violence); Sanjama ( Samyama = Self restraint ) and Tavo (
Tapa ) are the three gems of world peace at Individual and social level.
The world peace can be represented in a symbol of a triangle, with one
point �Ahimsa� at the vertex and �Sanjamo� and �Tavo� as two points at
the base. The entire globe can be set within the limits of this
triangle, where the self ( individual consciousness ) is to be treated
as the centre of the world and the area of the existence of the entire
Jeeva-Ajeeva ( living and non-living ) srishti has its existence within
the limits of the circumference of the globe. The vacuum in the
triangle, beyond the globe, indicates the Universe around the earth. If
Samyak Darshana, Samyak Jnana and Samyak charitra of the self, the three
basic, noble qualities of the self are linked with Ahimsa, Sanjamo and
Tavo, we can, beyond doubt, establish World Peace throughout all nations
of the globe. Thus, the symbol of the world peace would be as under :
