Priyamvada Gopal, The Guardian, 28 February 2014: As we mark the conflict, we must not forget those who were ridiculed, jailed and worse for daring to fight for peace.
The commemorations of the first world war now under way in the media and museums are, we are given to understand, intended to be inclusive. They will cover the roles of women, soldiers from Africa and Asia, even animals, and examine the impact of the war on everything from the economy and technology to medicine and cinema. This is all to the good if it furthers our understanding of how that terrible conflagration still shapes our difficult present. But in an atmosphere thick with invocations of "courage" and "sacrifice", there seems to be a curious exclusion. The bravery of those who rallied behind the powerful banner of nationalism will be honoured, but what about the courage of those who took the path of most resistance and dissented from the status quo by challenging the war itself?