The laws of armed conflicts were founded in ancient India on the principle
of humanity. The ancient Hindu texts clearly recognized the distinction between
military targets, which could be attacked, and non-military persons and
objects, which could not be attacked. Warfare was thus largely confined to
combatants, and only the armed forces were legitimate targets. It was not
allowed to destroy either cities or
towns during war. Humanitarian considerations are also a powerful motivating
force behind the codification of modern international humanitarian law, the
main objective of which is to limit the suffering caused by war.
In Hindu tradition the spirit of unity and universality extends to the
whole world. The Rig Veda declares that “there is one race of human beings,” so
the validity of different traditions, religions, indeed of paths to truth, has
always been respected. Our guiding principle has been “Sarva Dharma
Sambhava(respect for all religions).” In ancient times the first and foremost
duty of the king was to protect his people. Protection consisted in countering
internal threats as well as external aggression to man’s liberty.Hinduism,like
most religions, believes that war is undesirable because it involves the
killing of fellow human beings and hence should be avoided as a means of
settling disputes.However, it does acknowledge that there might be situations
when it is better to wage war than to tolerate evil.
Already in ancient India, the importance and necessity of a standing
military force was understood. This recognition subsequently led to the
maintenance of a permanent militia to fight off any kind of opposition and
aggression.The armed forces were thus also etained in times of peace.
Interestingly, it was widely acknowledged that peaceful remedies should be
exhausted before having recourse to armed force. Ancient India developed a
method in four successive stages for the settlement of disputes between States:
the first stage is called peaceful negotiation (sama); the second stage
consists of offering gifts (dana) to appease the enemy; the third is a veiled
threat (bheda); and the last stage allows the use of force (danda).The clash of
arms in battle is therefore clearly undesirable as long as it can be avoided.
The policy of conciliation and making gifts should be tried first before
engaging in war.
War Ethics And Rules Of
Engagement In The MAHABHARAT:
1. War is to begin at sunrise and end at sunset.
2. A single warrior cannot be attacked by multiple warriors.
3. Warriors that had the same weapon and mount, i.e., horse, elephant,chariot or on foot can duel with
each other.
4. A warrior that has surrendered cannot be injured or killed.
5. The surrendered warrior becomes a prisoner of war and is subject to the
protections allocated to such a warrior.
6. An unarmed warrior cannot be injured or killed.
7. A warrior with his back turned away from the opponent cannot be injured
or killed.
8. A person or animal not partaking in the battle cannot be killed.
9. An animal in battle cannot be killed unless it is considered a direct
threat.
10. Each weapon carried in battle came with certain rules that had to be
complied with. As an example, it was prohibited to strike the enemy below the
waist in a battle with mace.
11. The war had to be just and warriors were not to engage in an unjust
war.
12. Land was not to be harmed in any shape or form.
13. Farmers were to be unaffected in a battle and their lives, along with
those of women and prisoners of war were considered sacred.
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