India, April 15 -- Who decides which lives are expendable in the name of national interest? Whose blood allegedly writes the records of peace, and whose screams are buried beneath diplomatic statements? Can a state preach mediation and broker ceasefires while reportedly waging covert operations against its own citizens and neighbours? Declaring a commitment to peace may appear noble, yet history repeatedly shows human civilisation advancing through conflict, with moral compromise left in its wake.

Karbala, the city of Shia martyrdom, embodies this collision of principle and brutality. Pilgrims walk barefoot to mourn Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, betrayed and slain centuries ago. Centuries later, in the 1980s, the massacre o...