Answer: Justice is defined as a state of affairs where actors obtain what they are entitled to. Peace is generally defined as a social relationship where physical violence as a tool to achieve political objectives is absent among people. It can be said that, Peace is not the mere absence of war. It is a positive condition of justice. The main cause of conflict is a sense of injustice. Contemporary times sees conflicts among nations, among races, among people following different religions, among different castes and ethnic groups. Often, these conflicts are derived from a sense of injustice acquired either in the past or in the present times. For e.g. the factors responsible for a civil war in a country, may lie in some form of past injustice against a section of the society. Importance of Justice in maintaining True Peace

• Unity and peace: We live in a world of divisions and divisions result in conflicts. There can be no growth without unity, cooperation and cohesion. However, unity also means acknowledging that differences exist. Therefore, justice in the society becomes important for maintaining unity.
  • For example: In a country like India where there is unity in diversity owing to vast geographical regions, people belonging to different castes, religions, regions etc. justice needs to exist in the society.
• Protects against various forms of discrimination: One of the most significant areas of focus of social justice is to protect against and reduce discrimination of all types.
  • For example: When social justice becomes something that’s regularly practiced within our society, it brings us closer to putting an end to the discrimination that occurs so often.
• Fairness relates to an initial approach of impartiality: Fairness requires that at the initiation of the conflict, third parties approach peace-building in an impartial manner i.e. doing justice in the decision making.
  • For example: In an organization there can be multiple examples where even before conflict arises, a fair justice system can help prevent it.
• Honesty and truth: Whenever there is justice, the system will always have honest and truthful people.
  • For example: Within the civil services, the justice system will always try to keep the officers honest and truthful. It also helps in maintaining the trust of the society towards the public service system.

Tomorrow’s peace must be more than the absence of armed conflict as it must be just, creative and cooperative. The weak must be protected from exploitation, the brutal strong curbed, and a sympathetic appreciation developed for the races of mankind. Even the 16th Sustainable Development Goal refers to “peaceful and inclusive societies”, “access to justice for all” and “effective, accountable and inclusive institutions”.