Humanity demands fairness and goodness. Even in war civility is the way for a more peaceful world. That’s what our instincts say and that is what is most ethical.

However, when one goes back to history, one sees that those who were ruthless and not shy of completing a hostile exercise to its logical end, were more successful. Whether it is right or wrong.. good or bad, the truth is that the in war and in fighting half-way never works. Either you go the full way or don’t start at all.

If you look at the Islamic conquests, the European invaders, including the British and the US in WW-II against Japan, one would see that the reason why they changed the history was because they ruthlessly put the opposition down. They would either kill every body en-mass or they would take them as slaves. All these examples (except to some extent, the US action in WW-II) are examples of aggression and not self defence. Whether the proponents put a cloak of religious expansion and spreading the “love” of their Prophet or Leader, cannot hide the aggressive intent.

Nevertheless, If you are fighting an opposition in a war then civility in war of treating your opposition with humanity has not been a best practice. We, in India, have been the prime exponent of that – from Prithviraj Chauhan (against Ghori) to Indira Gandhi (in 1971 against ZA Bhutto and Pakistan).

Again, I know our culture does believes that being good to your opponent in war IS a virtue but if you would read history you would realize that it is somehow not the best practice.

Sri Lanka has been suffering for decades now from the Tamil terrorism. The Tamil “tigers” were like mad warriors on hire for money as terrorism had seeped deep into their blood. ISI could hire LTTE operatives for a few thousand dollars to do suicide bombings or terror attacks anywhere in the sub continent. Sheikh Hasina’s assassination attempt by LTTE financed by ISI was a prime example of that. There was NO way to clearly separate a “Normal and peace loving” Sri lankan Tamil from a “terrorist Sri Lankan Tamil”.

That terrorist machine has finally come to an end.

Today, the news came that Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the 54-year-old founder-chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); and his son Charles Anthony along with LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman, Sea Tiger chief, Soosai were dead.

Many times we do not realize the issues sitting from afar of a country. In Afghanistan there is the threat of Taliban – which is pretty serious – but then where Taliban is not there.. there is corruption. Corruption that is institutionalized by Hamid Karzai and his coterie and also the Western powers, US included.

Here is an excellent case study of Dr. Mohammed Atash, the former president of Ariana, Afghanistan’s largest commercial airline – and how he was subjected to hell by Karzai, the politically connected managers, and the Western Companies.. to a position that he ran away from Afghanistan back to the US.

Sri Lankan Army has finally entered Kilinochchi, the de-facto capital of LTTE in North East Sri lanka. It was, however, a ghost town that was abandoned as the LTTE moved its operations further in the North East jungles.

In the previous two attempts, Sri Lankan forces face still challenge and aggression from the LTTE and had many casualties. This time they surrounded the town from three sides and then entered.

I applaud the Sri Lankan Army. It is a complete shame that India is not helping the SLA overtly and strongly in routing out the LTTE terrorists from the jungles and towns of Sri Lanka. I feel that if they cannot see or contribute to any good of that society, they have no right to be part of that country.