A vast majority of Indians demand revenge on Pakistan for the terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri area of Baramulla district on Sunday morning where 18 Indian soldiers were killed.
Amarinder Singh of the Opposition Congress party has said: “We have really given a long rope to Pakistan and now is the time for decisive action. The time for restraint is long past.”
According to a recent Pew opinion poll, 60% of Indians support military action as a means of dealing with terror. Perhaps in view of increasing terrorist activity promoted and aided by the Pakistani military and some fundamentalist groups has ignited the Indian sentiments towards aggression.
As a well-armed and adequately resourced regional superpower, India can prevail on Pakistan to a very large extent. Indian Army has defeated Pakistan in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999 wars. It is also true that though Pakistan, especially its military leaders, proclaims to use nuclear arms either to defend itself or attack India, it is easier said than done.
The nuclear weaponry is ultimately the last resort and its value lies only in its deterrent effect against nuclear attack.
Nevertheless, the Indian strategy to expose the Pakistani hypocrisy, intolerance, support within the country and abroad on terrorism has created a situation where today Pakistan is seen almost as a failing state if not a failed one already.
The saddest part over the last seven decades is – the Pakistan government under the tutelage of the military has failed its people. The USA, the world's only superpower, has been dilly-dallying vis a vis how to handle Pakistan (see the comment below). Yet the sounds emanating from Washington since Sunday are slightly, if not adequately, different.
If the USA can sanction a $38 billion military aid for Israel over the next 10 years, the same USA one way or another will realise (if it has not realised so far) that it has no choice but to support India – between India and Pakistan.
Defence, intelligence and diplomatic services of India have been establishing closer links with not only Israel but also Russia, Germany, France, Japan and the neighbouring countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strongman reputation is being tested by the latest incursion in Jammu & Kashmir. But the policy of “tit for tat” is not the best option.
Pakistan is failing to understand that the State of J&K of the Indian Union is an integral part of India and it cannot be snatched away, now or in future.
International community is being briefed on the nefarious activities of terrorist groups based in Pakistan. The violent activities of these terror outfits are not unknown to the government of Pakistan, yet it provides succour to them in the false belief that what Pakistan has failed to win in four previous wars can be achieved by proxy war.
PM Modi knows the policy of “an eye for an eye” is not the best option, rather it's better to isolate Pakistan, depriving it of support from its few international friends, so that it will be more amenable to resolve things peacefully.
Pakistan and the world should know that the princely state of Jammu-Kashmir was acceded to India legally under the watchful eyes of Lord Mountbatten – the last viceroy of British India – in 1948. In fact, it was Pakistan which had illegally occupied the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (the so-called Azad Kashmir) which is crying for democracy and rule of law.
India alive to the perils of cloud cuckoo land
President Obama has issued a wake-up call to India on the perils of investing in hype and ignoring realities on the ground. His Administration has questioned the evidence the Pakistani jihadi, Hafiz Saeed, was the mastermind behind the Pakistani terrorist assault on Mumbai on 26/11/2008. Saeed was also responsible for the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi and his subsequent execution.
The Administration has firmly ruled out any economic measures against Pakistan for its role in exporting jihadi terrorism into India.
Indo-Pakistani relations had disappeared from US State Department briefings since the Kargil war and the jihadi attack on India’s Parliament in December 2011, but the subject is back with a vengeance in Washington. During the past week and more, the State Department spokesman John Kirby had much to say on India and Pakistan.
There was no mincing of words about the Obama Administration’s desire that India and Pakistan should start talking on ways and means to ‘de-escalate tensions’ and work towards ‘cordial and productive relations.’
Kirby’s deputy Mark Toner then took over the briefing, escalating the tone with preposterous utterances. He quashed a reporter’s question on Hafiz Saeed’s responsibility for the Mumbai terror attack with flat answer that he did not believe this to be the case.. When asked whether the US shouldn’t take Pakistan to task at least for the six American citizens killed in Mumnai by the jihadi terrorists that day. Toner’s stone-walled reply was that the US was in constant communication with Islamabad on terrorism and terrorist related issues.
Imagine, if you will, what would have transpired if gunmen from neigbouring Mexico had crossed over the US border, got to New York and murdered 300 US citizens in cold blood, then done so again, this time resulting in 167 American fatalities. It doesn’t bear thinking about. Planes, missiles, warships and much else would be readied for use3.
Clearly less exalted moral standards apply to the lesser breeds without the law. If any responsible India fell for Obama’s guff about the Indo-US relationship being the defining relationship of the 21st century the moment had surely come to take an anti-hallucinatory drug.
Take Obama with a generous dose of salts in the remaining days of his incumbency in the White House, if you haven’t done so already. The Nobel Peace laureate was never meant to be taken seriously. He has been a chat show host for most his time in office, a master of the glib one-liner.
Tamil Nadu youth wins Paralympic gold medal
Tamil Nadu vegetable seller’s son, Thangavelu Mariyappan, won the Paralympic gold medal in the men’s high jump. The 21 year-old champion who has been raised by a single mother selling vegetables as a daily wage labourer. Thangavalu, an above the knee amputee jumped 1.89m in the Paralympics in Rio. There was a further reason to cheer as Noida youth Varun Bhati, who was struck down by polio as a child came third with the bronze medal in the event.
Speaking to reporters, Thangavelu Mariyappan said: ‘It felt surreal when I stood on the podium. All the sacrifices made by my mother have paid off. My first agenda now is to construct a big house for our family.’ It will certainly go well with his big heart. In the moment of glory, he was humble enough to remember to whom his success was largely due. He is certain to gain due acknowledgement from the Tamil Nadu government and a battery of sponsors, who should guarantee his security and future well-being - which should ensure better times for the family – and deservedly so. The world around us has more than its fair share of tragedies and sorrow. That is what the world has grown accustomed. When one reads of a case where adversity is conquered with such dignity and resolve, the moment is one to savour and celebrate.
