Numbers matter in peace or war, but more doesn’t always mean merrierfertility, firepower, and what we’re really multiplying

The world is ageing, so is India. But this doesn’t mean that missiles are getting older. East or West, North or South, tried and tested projectiles are being used fast and furiously by the grey-haired generation so that otherworld warheads could be created to raise an archetypal sphere. It’s a different matter that several such previous attempts have produced more tribulations for the orb than ever envisioned.

In this context, two reports really deserve attention. While the United Nations has warned that world fertility rates are declining, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data points to the supersonic speed with which the population of military arsenal is growing. In reality, modern warfare is becoming younger, faster, slimmer and sharper, and, in contrast, homo sapiens are turning out to be older and slower. Evidently, the armament industry is staring at no fertility crisis. As a matter of fact, this is one business that is always fired up — whether in peacetime or wartime.

But, more and more weapons, for what purpose? Maybe, those engaged feel that they are doing a service to the universe by multiplying their arsenal exponentially.


Amid all this, Sri Lankans are wrestling with a completely different set of ecosystems. The island nation recently released its first census of crop enemy animals — monkeys, peacocks, giant squirrels and purple faced langurs (numbering more than 13 million together). It’s unclear how this data will be used by the country to take crop damage mitigation measures, but the survey has already led to some fireworks.

Although the frenzy isn’t as wild as ongoing in other parts of the planet, tempers are running high over shortcomings and errors in headcount. Clearly, numbers matter, but the more isn’t always the merrier.