The story may or may not be true, but it does have a moral significance and a lesson. It is said that Abudalama, a jester at the court of Haroon Al Rasheed, the Abbasid caliph was one of his favourites. Jealous of his closeness with the caliph, the other courtiers were constantly on the lookout for an opportunity to humiliate him in the eyes of the caliph.

According to the custom of the time, when two armies were facing each other, a warrior would step forward and challenge the opposing army to send someone out at the front to fight against him.

So when Haroon Al Rasheed (d.809) arrived at the battlefield once, his courtiers requested him to send Abudalama to fight against the challenger. When the caliph ordered him to go and fight, he had no alternative but to obey the command of his master. He strode on horseback towards the challenger and stopped to ask him if he knew who Abudalama and his family were? Completely bewildered, the soldier denied any knowledge.

Abudalama asked the challenger if he had a quarrel or a conflict with him or his family? Again the soldier shook his head in denial. Abudalama then asked him why they wanted to kill each other. He then proceeded to tell his opponent that he had brought some food with him, cooked by his wife and invited the challenger to get off his horse and break some bread with him. While both sat eating, the soldiers of both sides looked at them in amazement. After eating Abudalama shook hands with his rival, returned to the soldiers on his side and told the caliph that he had done his job. Now the two armies could proceed to fight against each other.

In history, warfare is always narrated with pride and those who fought are elevated to the status of heroes. The soldiers fight with bravery and courage, and kill each other without knowing their opponents and without any personal grudges. They are goaded by their leaders either in the name of religion, patriotism or personal loyalty.

Victory is celebrated amidst the dead, wounded and dying soldiers of both sides without any feelings involved. There is only one instance in history when the victor was moved after seeing the horrors in the battlefield.

When Ashoka (d.232BC), the Mauryan emperor saw dead bodies of soldiers after the battle of Kalinga, he realised how many women became widows and how many children became orphans. When he heard the crying of wounded he felt their suffering and pain, resolving never again to wage war but instead to devote his whole life to peace and non-violence.

Other rulers continued to fight in wars using soldiers to kill each other without any emotions for those who died, got wounded or maimed or became disabled for the rest of their lives. There is no record or documentation of the millions of soldiers who have lost their lives in the battlefield fulfilling other people’s ambitions. Did n’t a philosopher say that it is the basic human right of a person to die a natural death? Wars and battles have deprived so many people of the pleasure and happiness of a peaceful life. There is suffering, pain and death. It is a fantasy for them to be remembered as martyrs and heroes. Sadly, history forgets the common soldiers who die on the battlefield and are collectively attributed in a monument as unknown soldiers. On the other hand, generals are eulogised as great heroes. Their statues erected in public places and their tombs built magnificently. Even in death, there is difference between the common and the elite.

During the First and Second World Wars, the British government in the subcontinent recruited young people with the help of feudal lords to fight those with whom they had no hatred or enmity. It was not their war but they had to engage in the conflict under compulsion. We have not yet learnt a lesson from the past and are committing the same mistake by becoming involved in the war in Afghanistan on behalf of the US. Is it our own war or are we fighting other people’s wars?