No words of condemnation and dismay are enough to convey the gruesomeness of recent terror unleashed in Mumbai. Sadly, we live in times when gun-trotting lunatics, with perverted notions of ‘retribution’ and ‘struggle’, hold our society to ransom and instill terror in our lives, our imagination. The failure of the Pakistani state in effectively governing several parts of the county, in addition to sections within its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) going rogue, has destabilized South Asia as a region. Recurring bomb blasts in public spaces and assassination of politicians (a la Benazir Bhutto) are consequences of a failed Pakistani state. Pakistan too has become a victim of its own failure -- innocent people in Pakistan, just as in India, have lost their lives on account of violence and bomb blasts. So where do we go from here? What options do we have as a nation, as a global society? How do we prevent loss of innocent lives, make India and the world a better place for one and all?

Even as we assess the challenges ahead of us, cries of "carpet bombing", "jihadis in slums of Mumbai flying Pakistani flags" and "wage war on Pakistan" grows louder -- jingoists in our society, sometimes with religion-based prejudices and sometimes without, have found the opportune moment to come out of their closets. Increasingly, a numerical minority, even though privileged in terms of class position, have been pleading for an ‘upgrade’ in India’s stature from an anti-imperialist, post-colonial, non-aligned nation to one that mimics the strategies of imperialist powers, one that becomes a sub-hegemon -- we want out own "preemptive strikes," our own war, even as we desire our own Halliburtons and Enrons.

But imperialist strategies are fraught with contradictions as it creates new problems and fuels resentments, further endangering the people it claims to fight for.

I am intrigued by the shortsightedness of the proponents of war. After all, what do they have in mind? Do they expect the Indian army to enter Pakistan and occupy it to ‘cleanse’ it of terrorists, a la United States in Iraq? But have imperialist aggressions ever solved problems, resolved conflicts? Have imperialist interventions, extending from Guatemala to Chechnya, Congo to Zimbabwe, and Iraq to Palestine made the world a safer place? Or are the proponents of war suggesting that India should infringe on Pakistan’s sovereignty and bomb certain regions suspected of harboring terrorists and their training camps? Will our newfound sense of imperialist morality justify possible loss of innocent lives in Pakistan, on account of our ‘strategic’ military strike, simply as collateral damage? Is Gandhi’s India ready to justify bombing of civilian areas? We need to remind ourselves that during the Vietnam War, the United States dropped nearly two million tons of bombs in Laos (Laos was not directly involved in this hostility), 30 percent of which failed to go off. In addition to those who were killed during the war, hundreds of innocent people in Laos die every year on account of the undetonated bombs that were dropped several decades ago. War is an imperialist extravaganza, with tremendous moral ramification for any nation. So what is India’s moral position in the face of terrorism, violence, and extraordinary challenge?

Military strikes on civilian areas in Pakistan will only fuel support for the groups that use terrorism. Innocent victims of possible aggression on India’s part would simply conclude that India is a threat to their life and security. This would make recruitment of individuals, by international terror networks, easier. An alternative scenario is that a war would lead to the collapse of the already failed Pakistani state.Who would take control of Pakistan’s army and weapons under such a scenario? Will India be able to deal with such a scenario? Will this make India safer?

But then, the question arises: How do we save innocent lives in India and how do we keep our country safe? In my view, first, we need to understand that acts of terror are not the same as acts of wars and wars cannot be the solution to acts of terror, despite our suspicion that sections within the ISI (a state based, rather than a stateless institution in Pakistan) may have gone rogue. Second, we need to engage in multilateral diplomacy, and invoke international laws to mount pressure (if Pakistan is unwilling to tackle the menace of fanatic and violent groups) or support possible Pakistani efforts (if the Pakistani government is found willing to tackle the menace). Terrorists must be brought to justice. But the fact that India has been the victim of terrorism does not give it the license to ignore moral dilemmas of war. Equally important is the fact that justice is about ensuring safety of innocent lives, whether in India, Pakistan, USA or any part of the world. War categorizes entire nations as enemies. Wars, cluster bombings do not separate the grains from the husk, the innocent and the victims from the villains. Can we set a wrong, right, by carrying out a wrong, a war?

Waquar Ahmed, a citizen of India, is a professor at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA.