A TOPSY-TURVY WORLD

RAJENDRA ANEJA urges Pope Leo XIV to help build a world, where political and land boundaries do not partition our heads and hearts

The late Pope Francis’s voice was of humaneness, in an increasingly self-obsessed world. He believed in a world of peace. A world, in which the weapons of mass-destruction are not deployed against our fellow-men, but are gradually deactivated and dismantled.

The Pope travelled to various countries, including the Middle East, to build bridges between people and cultures. He believed in a borderless world, where people respect each other, irrespective of whether they are Christians, Moslems, Hindus or Buddhists. The Pope believed in the dignity of a human being, irrespective of religion or creed. We should strive towards this goal; however idealistic it is. 

The Pope also enjoyed a game of football too, especially when Argentina was playing. He was well-grounded, among the people.

The Pope’s composure was remarkable, considering that the world is becoming a very topsy-turvy place. Terrorist attacks on innocent civilians continue; the latest being on 26 dead tourists in India. A young bride’s husband was shot, with a valley of flowers stretching behind her. She was a poignant picture, her devastation and anguish painful. The loneliest girl in the world.

Gunmen shoot innocents in schools and shopping malls indiscriminately, the latest episode being in Florida. Examples of road-rage violence abound. Everyone is becoming impatient, short-tempered and rude. Earlier, youngsters took pride in becoming doctors, engineers and scientists. Now, unemployed youngsters’ pride in becoming terrorists or gangsters.

The horrifying wars in Ukraine and the Gaza strip continue. There is no end to these battles. There is also a terrible war raging in Sudan. However, away from the media glare, its misery is ignored. Lamentable indeed.

For the last few decades, countries have been collaborating on technology and medical research. The Covid-19 vaccines were discovered in Europe and America. Then, they were produced in factories across the world, including India. Those vaccines rescued mankind. People and goods moved effortlessly between nations.

Free thought, research and scholarship, strengthened knowledge and wisdom. Thus, we reaped the fruits of globalisation. Now, every country safeguards its boundaries. People do not trust each other. Nations are insulating. We could lose the benefits of globalisation and progress.

Various nations are negotiating tariff rates. Everyone knows, that incremental tariffs will be passed to consumers. People across the world have been suffering from high inflation, after Covid-19 and the Ukraine war. Tariffs will escalate prices further. The salaried classes and the poor will suffer. The sales of many products, are declining in many countries, for fear of a recession. There is also panic-buying of everyday products like toilet paper and mineral water in some supermarkets.

Respect for senior citizens is eroding, even in traditional societies like India. Older citizens are increasingly ill-treated. There is a recent incident of an old gentlemen, being dragged by a doctor in India. Unless the youth of today respect their elders, they themselves will be maltreated by their own children. Children see what is happening around them and emulate it.

New Pope, New Era

Yet, however bleak the world looks today, we should aspire for an era, where poetry and reason, overflow the man-made boundaries created by history, wars and strong leaders.

The new Pope Leo XIV, is the leader of 1.4 billion catholic, across the world. The Pope always enjoys great respect. His word is revered. The new Pope can help to build a world, where political and land boundaries do not partition our heads and hearts. We should hope for a world, where religion does not divide us, but provides us a rationale for respecting all human beings. A world, where the strong are just and the frail are cared for. We can hope for an era, where ships do not carry warheads, but food for the needy. A world which is not divided by nuclear weapons, but is unified by arts, music and literature from various cultures.  

We should aim for a world, where we take pride in building, not in destroying. People flock to see the Empire State Building in New York, the Statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, etc. These gorgeous monuments are a tribute to man’s ingenuity and creativity. We need more such works of art and less drone-killings.

Sure, we can have a world of gourmet and Michelin-star restaurants, but we must also build a world without hunger. We can have high-fashion, so that a branded jacket sells for 10,000 USD. However, we should also ensure a simple sweater for everyone in winter. A world where the sick can get medicines easily. Perhaps, even free.

We need to build a world, where we use dialogue and words, not guns, to resolve conflicts. Words are better than bullets to build a safer world. Bullets destroy lives. However, the right words can resolve conflicts and save humans. We must build a community, where all of us scattered in the 195 countries in the world, can persuade a few countries like Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, to bury their wretched hatchets.

A truly borderless world is possible, if we reduce the disparities in the world. Every man should have a home and a job, especially in Africa and South Asia. Lack of these basics, drive many people to crime and violence. If the fruits of technology are shared, we could have an egalitarian world. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is enough for everyone’s need, but not everyone’s greed.”

These hopes may be utopian. However, there is no harm, in hoping for a world without wars, egos, tariffs and hunger. We need to reflect, the world, we are creating for future generations. Every generation should leave a better world, than it inherited.

And, lest we forget the tears and anguish of the orphans and widows in the Ukraine and Gaza wars. History will not forgive us. Pope Leo XIV has already raised the issue of the return of Ukrainian children in Russia. The world must heed.

 Aneja was the Managing Director of Unilever Tanzania. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the author of “Rural Marketing Across Countries.” He writes from Mumbai, India