India Must Hit Smart

The national challenge demands the national response. Pahalgam carnage has emerged as the national challenge as the terrorists working at the behest of their masters from across the borders have not only destroyed the semblance of peace that was prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir after the restoration of the democratically elected government but also challenged the might of India. And they achieved the goal of their masters in Pakistan to bring the two nations to the brink. It suits Pakistan as it helps it to grab international attention by bringing Jammu and Kashmir on the centre stage. We have witnessed years back how Pakistani misadventure brought the two nations close to war during Bill Clinton’s regime. But the tempers were cooled down when the United States intervened by bringing the two nations on the negotiating table. Pakistan capitulates and indulges in war mongering to draw India on the negotiating table. Its model has now been well decoded. It knows that India won’t engage in talks till cross-border terrorism is ended by it. Moreover, the neutralisation of Article 370 and 35 A has left no room for Pakistan to meddle in the internal affairs of India in Jammu and Kashmir. That has made it desperate and led it to indulge in Pahalgam carnage of the innocent tourists. It knows well that it can’t indulge with India in a conventional war in terms of military superiority. Thus its modus operandi has been to inflict asymmetrical war on India that it has waged for the last thirty five years with an aim to convert Jammu and Kashmir into a war zone. Indulging in the acts of terrorism through its mercenaries; it uses the war mongering when challenged. As it knows that the international community will intervene as it indulges in nuclear blackmail. India has called the bluff of its nuclear blackmail when it responded with the Balakot surgical strikes by imposing the tactical costs.India needs to end the blackmailing tactics of Pakistan by devising a comprehensive national security doctrine on Pakistan that hits at the psychology of the Pakistani military state.Pakistan acts as a state on the basis of hatred directed against India.Its existence in South Asia is based on anti-India rhetoric as it has no original history and no original geography making it prone to the inferiority complex. This complex has exhausted its vitals.Shashi Tharoor,Lok Sabha MP for Thiruvananthapuram has a point when he says, “Perhaps the best place to start is to ask ourselves what those malign men who sent the terrorists to the Baisaran Meadow in Pahalgam wished to achieve through their murderous actions. The objectives of the attack are clear: Stop peace and “normalisation” in Kashmir. Destroy tourism. Wreck the Kashmir economy to increase discontent there. Add to mistrust of Kashmiris among other Indians. Increase communal polarisation within India. Distract India from pursuing its economic growth; derail the “India story”. Internationalise Kashmir. Re-hyphenate India and Pakistan in the global imagination.” He goes further and writes, “Only one set of people gains from all of these — the military forces in Pakistan, desperately looking for a diversion from their own unpopularity and the frustrations of a stagnant economy. The attack was prefigured by the army chief, General Asim Munir, making a speech articulating a bigoted view of the impossibility of good relations between Hindus and Muslims and reminding the world that Kashmir was, in his view, the “jugular vein” of Pakistan (Never mind that your jugular vein cannot exist outside your own body).” Addressing the issues in tactical terms he suggests, “India’s military response could expand to include the Navy, mobilising assets in the northern reaches of the Arabian Sea. Operating in international waters, the Navy could exert pressure on Pakistani merchant shipping, leading to higher insurance premiums for trade and further destabilising an already fragile economy, thus increasing the costs of Pakistani misbehaviour.” There is a need to look beyond the obvious and devise out of box response to scuttle the Pakistani belligerence.In this connection Tharoor writes, “While overt actions will send a clear message, covert operations must be enhanced to ensure that key militant leaders and their networks within Pakistan remain perpetually under threat. India should also embrace cyber warfare tactics, disrupting communications and operational capabilities to dismantle the infrastructure that sustains terrorism.”In his comprehensive article in the Indian Express,Shashi Tharoor has advocated to hit Pakistan smartly and that indeed must be considered to cut Pakistan to size. To substantiate this.He writes, “In short, India’s must be a multi-dimensional strategy, calibrated and calculated, combining measured aggression that delivers consequences for terror with methods that prevent uncontrollable escalation. It must include overt and covert measures, diplomatic outreach, and domestic fortification, maintain an element of surprise, and account for both India’s preparedness and Pakistan’s capabilities. India’s moves must leave little doubt about its resolve, while ensuring that these actions do not ignite major hostilities at the expense of the India growth story, which remains our overriding priority.” The national leaders must put their heads together and act beyond the party boundaries to uphold the nation. And surely, Shashi Tharoor has taken the lead.