India and the Ancient Laws of Warfare: An Academic Restatement of Time-transcending Principles of IHL

The current legitimacy crisis of international humanitarian law (IHL), exacerbated by conflicts like the Russia–Ukraine, Israel–Gaza and Israel–Iran–United States wars, necessitates more than a mere defence of scholarly existence; it requires a foundational restatement of its universality. Against this backdrop, this article argues that the principles of IHL have existed since the ancient era, transcending time, space, cultures and more, indicating the universality of its premises. Despite violations from time to time, the principles have withstood their academic and policy value across regions and regimes. Using the instances from ancient Indian texts, the article traces the similarity of principles of IHL with the mythological and historical principles of warfare, to state that the norms are not rendered obsolete due to violations. Rather, it is time for legal academia to further reinvoke, reiterate and reinforce principles of IHL in the times of blatant violations to ensure that the norms are not obscured by violations. The parties refusing to abide by the principles remain violators, aberrations in the system and ought to be held accountable for their acts. Their acts must not be held powerful enough to overcome the value of the principles that have been recognized and followed since time immemorial. While modern IHL is often taught as a Western construct originating from Henry Dunant and the Battle of Solferino, this article argues that such a narrative overlooks the time-transcending ethical concerns found in ancient civilizations. By analysing ancient Indian texts, this article adopts a comparative legal history methodology. The objective is not to create a competitive East versus West narrative but to demonstrate the non-derogability of IHL principles across time and space, thereby decolonizing the teaching of international law.