Remembering the Tragic August—Kunal Roy

 

August is here. The red letter dates:.6th and 8th. The 80th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedy. A massive holocaust in the history of times. A horrendous and shocking incident which was a turning point in the global history.

  August. 1945. The second world war was at a closure. But destiny had a different scheme to execute. The nuclear age ushered in. The assail of USA on Japan was not only a lesson but an enforcement strategy to succumb to the Super Power.

  Undoubtedly the second World War accounted for a tremendous loss of lives and properties. Germany surrendered in May 1945. However, Japan didn't show any sign or signal to sit with folded knees before the United States and thus a terrific plan was hatched to shatter the resistance offered by Japan even after the fall of Okinawa.

  Interesting to note that the leaders of the Allied powers demanded an unconditional surrender of Japan and when it didn't take place, things began to sour and Japan had to count a heavy cost! 

  It is worth mentioning that Trinity test on July 16, 1945 ( a part of The Manhattan Project) evoked an interest among the Allieds to end the second World War and shun the gory savage invasion of Japan.

  Absolute necropolis reigned the place. Nearly forty thousand people died at the stop. The running crowd. The eyes dangled from the sockets, the skin burnt, peeled off , the flesh and muscles rot and the bone chilling skeleton appeared. Besides, serious ailments like cancer, multiple organ failure and long term radiation effects destroyed their life.

   The year long research showed that children with genetic defect and mutation are still born in Japan and allied locations.

   To remember this day flower offerings are made to the edifice built and parks constructed. On the other, a day to promote peace and disarmament.

   Notably the massive devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the chief marks to put an end to the second World War. The time which kicked off the nuclear age. A perennial cause of global disturbance. 

  At this very juncture Hiroshima and Nagasaki are something more than the mere historical tragedies. A blow to the humanity. A lesson to redefine the power of the Supreme. A nexus of consequences which makes us think twice before waging a new war. Conventionally peace comes after war , but there is no path to replenish the lost, to remove the tears, to heal the scars and to stop the profuse bleeding from the soul!!

                                     Dr Kunal Roy 

( Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Communication, George Group of Colleges, Kolkata)