As people around the world celebrated another Christmas this December 25, it was very unfortunate to learn about the scourge of violence and killing continuing to take place. Whether it was Afghanistan, Nigeria or even the United States, the culture of violence is a cause of concern for our 21st century society no matter where or who you are—developed or developing world, white, brown or black. Last year as well there was large scale violence during this time of year. And for those of us in Naga society, it was shocking to hear of a mother hiring armed cadres of an insurgent group to kill her own son. This happened a few days before Christmas this year in Kohima. In fact this is a blot for our peace loving mothers who have all along campaigned against bloodshed in our Naga society. The involvement of a mother in the killing of her son is still unbelievable. But this is also the hard reality that violence is not necessarily associated only with men or those in uncivilized society. As mentioned whether it is suicide killings in Afghanistan, Syria or Pakistan; homicide killings in Norway or the US; religious or communal killings in Nigeria or India—violence has become part of our lives and this should worry all of us.
It will be important to address the larger problem of what we call a violent mindset because after all it is people who commit violence. What in the world could have been going through the mind of such people who mercilessly commit such acts? Many of us will be baffled by people who have a mindset where they deem it as right to take somebody’s life. So while it will be very easy to term someone as a killer it is more difficult to explain the psychological attribute that drive people to violence. While we speak of great strides taken in the field of science and human progress, we should also not forget to invest our human resource and ingenuity in finding out ways and means to address the serious problem of violence in our State and society. Freedom from fear and violence is much a basic human right as say the right to expression or livelihood. Everyone has the right to be free of violence in our homes, schools, workplaces or in the larger space of society and State.
We should also not forget that violence is directly linked to alcohol consumption. People who have been drinking feel less inhibited from using violence to achieve their ends. Alcohol’s well-known negative effects on people’s perception, ability to interpret others’ actions and intentions, and judgment may, in most circumstances, lead to violence. Violence must be addressed as a health, safety, social, and economic problem. A forum like the United Nations must still do more to address the problem of violence in order to create a safer community. This it can do by way of investing more in education, human rights and development programmes. Governments around the world could also do well to engage the expertise of medical professionals to explore the complexity of violent behaviour in our society. The problem of violence requires multiple level of intervention by policymakers, law enforcement authorities, psychologists, sociologists and public health professionals. At the local level, communities must continue to do more to advocate non-violent behaviour and promote dialogue as a means to address conflicts or other problems.
It will be important to address the larger problem of what we call a violent mindset because after all it is people who commit violence. What in the world could have been going through the mind of such people who mercilessly commit such acts? Many of us will be baffled by people who have a mindset where they deem it as right to take somebody’s life. So while it will be very easy to term someone as a killer it is more difficult to explain the psychological attribute that drive people to violence. While we speak of great strides taken in the field of science and human progress, we should also not forget to invest our human resource and ingenuity in finding out ways and means to address the serious problem of violence in our State and society. Freedom from fear and violence is much a basic human right as say the right to expression or livelihood. Everyone has the right to be free of violence in our homes, schools, workplaces or in the larger space of society and State.
We should also not forget that violence is directly linked to alcohol consumption. People who have been drinking feel less inhibited from using violence to achieve their ends. Alcohol’s well-known negative effects on people’s perception, ability to interpret others’ actions and intentions, and judgment may, in most circumstances, lead to violence. Violence must be addressed as a health, safety, social, and economic problem. A forum like the United Nations must still do more to address the problem of violence in order to create a safer community. This it can do by way of investing more in education, human rights and development programmes. Governments around the world could also do well to engage the expertise of medical professionals to explore the complexity of violent behaviour in our society. The problem of violence requires multiple level of intervention by policymakers, law enforcement authorities, psychologists, sociologists and public health professionals. At the local level, communities must continue to do more to advocate non-violent behaviour and promote dialogue as a means to address conflicts or other problems.
