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Science in art of war

  The fate during the Middle Ages till the early Enlightenment was same for scientists who tried to defy the Church. From Giordano Bruno to Galileo , reason was overshadowed by the sword of religion. This was the first phase of death of science by the face of power. During World War I, the second phase occurred wherein a notable physicist, Henry Moseley, who changed the very structure of the fundamental arrangement of all the elemental nature of matter i.e. the periodic table died in the battle of Gallipoli. Having determined the relationship between the X-ray frequencies of atoms and their atomic number in his 20’s, Henry was set out to achieve his Nobel Prize in the comings years. But as fate would have it, he died not as a scientist lending his mind, but as a frontline soldier in the battlefield.   With time, advancements in science reshaped the way scientists were viewed. Being given, rather a first class citizen status during World War II, the United States under Opera...
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  ‘Kvennafrídagurinn’: (‘a women’s day off’ in Icelandic) The infamous November 1975 strike where Icelandic women took to the streets, challenging systematic exploitation of women and sought for legal protection of their economic and social rights. With over 90% of the women participation, the movement was so historic, it led to the United Nations calling it the International Women’s Year. According to the Global Gender Gap (World Economic Forum), 2154, is the year a utopian gender equal world turns into reality; 129 years away from the present year that is marked by geopolitical conflicts, economic downturns and human right challenges. At the forefront is Iceland, the only country to have closed the gap over 90%.   This success of Iceland has been in a phased yet holistic manner. Liberal political philosopher John Locke in his seminal work, ‘Two treatises of Government’, posits that the legitimacy of the State is only sustained when the needs of the people are met and d...
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  DESPISE DESPOTISM OR DESPITE THE DESPOTISM? In the ravages of war and elections worldwide, attention on characteristic leaders, liberals, autocrats, despots etc. is amplified. Thus, an article of on autocracy cannot be timelier. Constructed from a Greek word, Autocracy is resting of absolute power in oneself. Historically, the power in itself was not questioned as autocrats/despots propagandized historical claims and appealed to ethical/national victimhood. This rhetoric led to divisive politics with resentment as its means, thus legitimizing Hitler, Mussolini’s rise to power. However, fingers were pointed when the rise of autarkic traditions and backsliding of democracy was coupled with violence. The waning moral clarity redeemed in short time due to two reasons; firstly, the emergence of newly independent countries who won independence through popular struggle, thus paving democracy to be the obvious choice of the new State. Secondly, internationalism led to the birth of th...
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  BENJAMIN FERENCZ: MAN TO REMEMBER   ‘ The case we present is a plea of humanity to law’ . This is the opening remark of the Einsatzgruppen trial (9 th of the 12 Nuremberg trial) and 60 years later the closing prosecution speech of the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo(the first ever trial heard before the International Criminal Court); both by the same prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz.   On April 7 th 2023) Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials (1946) passed away. Called as the greatest trial in the world history and a watershed for modern law, the verdict called the atrocities committed by the accused as the most barbarous and inhuman ‘crimes against humanity’. The recognition of human rights in the trial further led to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While the trial itself is controversial at many fronts, today’s attempt is to pay homage to Ferencz who took upon himself to advocate for human rights. Nurember...
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