ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Hindu discourse on peace as it evolved historically over two millenniums. It see how the rules, norms and cultural constraints of the political and military elites who shape strategic policies, the strategic managers, have been shaped and influenced by the Hindu tradition. The long era of Islamic rule did not witness any theoretical development in Hinduism about peace and war because the Hindu potentates became vassals of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Vivekananda is reminding his audience that if Hinduism has an evil practice like Sati, it is not the only tradition to have committed ill deeds as is evident with the Inquisition in medieval Christianity. The hardliners represented by Kautilya and in the modern day by the BJP advocate aggressive militarism as a means to establish peace. The Bhagavad Gita portrays the moral dilemma faced by the two warriors Yudhistira and Arjuna over the issue of breaking the peace and going to war.
