Who decided in the first place to send a convoy of 70
coaches with over 2,500 CRPF personnel from Jammu to Srinagar by road? When you
know that the entire Kashmir area is militant-infested, then why was the
movement of the convoy not meticulously planned? Why was the movement not kept
secret and why was the convoy not broken into smaller units of 5-6 coaches each
moving at intervals of 2-3 hours and escorted by armed security? How did a JeM
operative ram his car into one of the coaches? How did he get access to 250 kgs
of RDX/IED? Who abetted this operation? Since the start of insurgency in
J&K in 1989, over 19,000 troops and civilians have become casualties. Is
this necessarily a military and security issue or there are political
connotations? Many agree that the ongoing strife in J&K is not just a
security problem but has a deep political malaise. Solving the problem at the political level
perhaps offers the key to a solution for this vexed problem.
India’s response to the Pulwama attack has been swift,
caliberated and appropriate. We cannot have a situation where we are perennial
sitting ducks for fidayeens and jihadis. It's important to draw a line. India
has waited too long for counter strike operations and our PM Modi has taken the
right decision by sanctioning air strikes at JeM camps. The statements by PM
Modi, the three services and the foreign office in India are sufficient proof that
reprisal has been inflicted. The Opposition would do well not to immaturely ask
for further proof. Satellite imagery proof will be given by the government at
an appropriate time. This is no time to either gloat or question the attacks.
The enemy is breathing down our necks and is planning more such attacks. We
have to maintain constant vigilance and should keep our future strategy under
wraps and not publicly reveal our gameplan.
The Pulwama attack which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF
personnel shook the country because of the nature of the attack, a car bomb,
and casualties of such a large scale at one go. India couldn’t take this lying
down anymore and it had to show its resolve to fight JeM on its own soil.
Despite evidence and dossiers given to the past Pakistan governments, only lip
service has been given to dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan.
But that should not prevent us from accepting that there are sane voices also
in the Pakistan establishment – within the military, government, media and
civil society. India should aim to engage with these sane elements and one of
them is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan – Imran Khan. If you hear Imran
Khan’s address to the joint session of the Pakistani Parliament in the
aftermath of the Indian air strike, what strikes out is that he is a man of
vision, peace, and wants to pull his people out of poverty. That’s why he must
be given a chance.
Imran wants peace not just with India, but within Pakistan
and also in Afghanistan. In his words Pakistan did not immediately retaliate in
the aftermath of the Indian air strikes because there was ‘no’ credible
evidence that there were casualties. The sorties conducted into Indian space,
in his words, were not an act of aggression but undertaken to show India that
Pakistan too could take suitable action. That is why India should not push
Pakistan into a corner where it is left with no choice but to retaliate. There
is honesty in Imran’s eyes and in his words and tone. He says that he has
reached out to Indian PM Modi a few times for talks but has not been given the
necessary encouragement. PM Modi would do well to reciprocate this gesture by
Imran and invite him to the talks table for negotiations. Imran believes war achieves nothing--- both
sides, the aggressor and the aggrieved—in the long run are the losers.
In this context it is important to reiterate that we should abide
by the guiding principles of the constitution. That is equality, respect and
equal treatment to all religions. While the BJP/NDA should be a centrist right
of centre party with a focus on the majority, at the same time it should protect the right of all Indians to
profess and practice their religion. In this context it is heartening to note
that Owaisi has said that the Indian Muslims feels safe in India and that
Pakistan should not worry about the fate of Indian Muslims. At a rally some
time back, he emphasised that India is their country by choice and Indian Muslims
consider India very much their soil and their land. The government should
create conditions where more leaders in the minority populace feel convinced
about this line of thinking. If Owaisi is comfortable saying ‘Jai Hind’ and not
‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ we should not create a ruckus about this and not get
entangled in unnecessities.
REIGNING IN INDIAN MEDIA: In all this major drama
over the past 2-3 weeks, one stark thing has come out. The hijacking of the
national/government agenda by the Indian media—especially TV. Reporting live
and in real time the military developments followed by debates and discussions
is revealing your game plan and strategy to the enemy. Out of turn comments by
members of the ruling Indian establishment further complicated situations. Irresponsible
postings, forwardings and comments on the social media created a lot of
confusion and revealed the soft underbelly of the Indian state. The government
would do well to spell out a policy of reporting by the media in times of war
or insurgency and should strictly direct the media to do its stated
job---reporting and not analysis or commentary or strategy which is the
responsibility of the government. The government in consultation with experts
must immediately come out with norms for reporting during crisis times for the
print, electronic media as also the social media. Unnecessary war mongering and
jingoism by the media could prove detrimental for the interest of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment