War Talk. (Books).

By Arundhati Roy

Based on this book's title and timing, readers may expect a critique of the U.S. empire's most recent attempt to "democratize" a sovereign nation by dropping bombs, deposing its (previously U.S.-backed) leaders, and killing innocent people. Writing from New Delhi, Roy adds to that critique but also offers another layer of analysis grounded in the local events that occupy her in her native India. As such, these essays join a body of activist work that has propelled Roy from being an acclaimed novelist to one of the foremost voices from the global south speaking out against war and globalization.

The book opens with three short essays: on India and Pakistan's nuclear standoff, a four-person hunger strike in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, and the state-supported murder of 2,000 Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat. These essays highlight the challenge facing India's social justice activists, as increased state-sponsored violence parallels decreased official attention to citizen-led nonviolent resistance. Roy finds evocative language to explain the resulting rage--her solid grasp of local conditions connects her analysis with the unrest stirring millions of people around the world.

Roy illustrates how local, national, and global wars promoted to increase democracy and security ultimately do just the opposite. Her analysis disentangles "the war on terror" as a ruthless intervention that destroys democracy, increases poverty and inequality, and encourages violence. She asserts that a "government's condemnation of terrorism is only credible it if shows itself to be responsible to persistent, reasonable, closely argued, nonviolent dissent." The Bush and Vajpayee administrations discredit nonviolence and reallocate the resources of the world's two largest democracies toward building and dropping bombs. The political elite tolerate those who turn to violent means" as they squash peaceful resistance and "lavish all their time, attention, funds, research, space, sophistication, and seriousness on war talk and terrorism." While she passionately condemns these political actions, Roy's focus remains on mobilizing the masses. She repeatedly asks, "Are we ready, many millions of us, to rally, ...