Treatment of an enemy's dead body - Ramayana

A weeping Vibhishana: "Ravana was my brother. But he was evil & treacherous. I don't want to perform his last rites."

Rama could have said: "True. He abducted my wife through treachery. Dump his body in the sea." (Similar to what USA did with OBL).

Instead Rama said: "Ravana was a great warrior. You have a duty as a brother. Perform his last rites."

Earlier, Rama had enforced a return of the mighty Indrajit's body with due honors, disallowing any mutilation of the dead body.

Look at how these values have carried forward. In the Kargil war, the Pakistani Northern Light Infantry were disguised as non-Army (but equipped with army equipment like Stinger missiles). The Pak govt refused to accept their bodies (conforming to their doctrine of plausible deniability). (They would admit involvement over a decade later). The Indian Army performed their last rites for them with dignity.

In contrast, we have had multiple instances of ambushed Indian Army soldiers tortured, beheaded & their head taken away as a trophy. Any Indian spies captured (eg: Ravindra Kaushik) are tortured & given an ignominious burial in an unmarked grave (instead of Hindu cremation rites). This is what happens when a society loses its values taught by the Ramayana.