Srinagar, April 12 -- For a long time, wars have been justified with the argument that collateral damage is unavoidable. Military strategists and political leaders often describe it as a small and unfortunate side effect of a larger battle between armed forces. However, recent conflicts across the world have exposed a painful truth: collateral damage is no longer small or incidental, it has become the main story of war. The greatest victims today are not soldiers on battlefields, but ordinary, innocent human beings caught in the fire.

In modern warfare, the common civilian has become the biggest casualty. Homes built over decades of sweat and sacrifice are destroyed in a matter of seconds by drones, missiles, or airstrikes guided by adva...