A heartfelt salutation, a painful cry, and a plea for peace
O RULERS of the world, those who occupy thrones of power!
Listen to me… I represent no nation, nor am I a prisoner of any ideology. I know nothing of politics or diplomacy. I am merely an ordinary human being — a being with a heart that feels, a soul that yearns, eyes that dream, and the same eyes that weep.
I am the one who endures the consequences of your decisions, who dies in your wars, who gets buried beneath the roars of your victory slogans.
Tonight, the moon peeks in through my window. London’s streets are hushed, and university buildings slumber. But my heart is wide awake — filled with a strange restlessness, an unfamiliar trembling. The rumble of planes overhead makes my heart tremble. It feels as though the lanes of Lahore, the streets of Delhi, and the valleys of Kashmir are trembling before me.
I may be here… but my heart is there, where my past is buried, where my soil lies. I am that very soil — please do not bury me in a trench. I am a seed — do not burn me with gunpowder. I am a dream, one that thrives only in the shade of peace.
O Leaders!
War is not a noble thing.
War is an ugly stain on the pages of history — one that never fades.
You may take pride in your victories,
But have you ever looked into the eyes of those children who saw their mothers die?
Heard the screams of women whose lives were torn apart?
Seen fathers bending under the weight of their sons’ coffins?
Have you heard the whispers of the wind that carries their cries?
You haven’t seen…
You only see “borders”… we see “bodies.”
You draw red lines on maps… we see a future soaked in blood.
You approve military budgets… we watch dreams of bread crumble.
I belong neither to India nor Pakistan. I am a human being. The kind who should never be struck by bullets.
The kind who dreams of peace.
The kind who wants to play with children, sleep in a mother’s lap, and see the world from a father’s shoulders.
I am no scholar, but I do know a simple truth of history:
War is always accompanied by oppression.
War always crushes justice.
War always silences poetry.
War always punishes questions.
You speak of “national interest,” “sovereignty,” and “matters of honour.”
I ask you this:
What is the national interest of love?
Where is the sovereignty of teary eyes?
True honour lies in saving humanity.
Remember…
Not only are enemies crushed beneath tank tracks — humanity is, too.
Bombs don’t just fall on enemy homes — they destroy nests of love.
It’s not just enemy uniforms that burn at borders — dreams, desires, and generations of hope turn to ash.
You may think this is your enemy’s loss alone, but war’s devastation is never one-sided.
War never causes one-sided loss.
War is fire — it is lit on both sides.
War is poison — it seeps into the milk of both nations’ children.
O mighty rulers, look back once…
The walls of your palaces stand strong, but the hearts of your people are torn.
The grandeur of your thrones cannot shield you from the tears of the innocent.
Applause echoes in your rallies, but cries resound in the hospitals.
Your orders are issued, but mothers’ hearts have gone numb.
Perhaps my words will not penetrate the walls of your courts.
Perhaps this letter will be buried in your files.
Perhaps my plea will be called “treason.”
But someday, perhaps when your hair turn grey,
Or maybe when your grandchildren ask:
“Grandfather, why did you let the war happen?”
Then this letter will return to you.
Then your heart may revisit these words, and a tear may fall, washing away the blindness of war.
And perhaps that very tear may change the course of history.
The question is simple:
Will you press the trigger of your gun?
Or will you hold a child’s finger and lead the world toward peace?
I am not your enemy… I am your pain.
I am not a rebel… I am a waking conscience.
I will not stay silent… because it is a duty to raise your voice before blood is spilled.
I plead to all rulers of the world:
Before the earth turns into a graveyard,
Before schools become bunkers,
Before tongues forget how to speak,
Please listen…
Please accept…
That peace is the true victory.
That love is the greatest power.
That humanity is the highest religion.
With many prayers,
An ordinary human being,
Whose heart is filled only with love,
And whose homeland is the entire world.
— Mohammad Alamullah, Swansea, UK
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The views expressed here are author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily subscribe to them.
