“War is a terrible business” said Herman Wouk in his celebrated work ‘The Caine Mutiny’, “In which people get killed and you’re damn glad you ain’t one of them.”
Listening to the Indian public debate after the incidents in the aftermath of Pulwama attacks, it would appear that despite our jingoism and consequent lion-hearted pronouncements, we’re damn glad we ain’t one of those who have to take action and decisions and risk their lives to protect the sovereignty and security of India, that is, Bharat.
Pakistan, having lost all wars against India, discovered that there is one tool that it has that not just brings India to its knees but successfully deters India from the military option to protect its interests. That tool is the tool of terrorism.
Lets first understand as to what do we require armed forces for. In the modern world, the primary task of the armed forces is to deter war by putting the fear of consequences in the enemy’s psyche. In our case we spend about two percent of our GDP every year to keep one of the largest armed forces in the world to drive this fear in the hearts and minds of the Pakistanis and the Chinese. Why do we require this deterrence? Simple, because its failure would interfere with our economic growth that would ensure planned good and secure life for our people.
Has this deterrence worked? It has worked largely with China. One of the reasons is that China itself has the desire to deter war for its own growth. Additionally, as far as conventional war is concerned, it has worked with Pakistan too. But, then, Pakistan, tasted success in bringing a superpower (Russia) to its heels in Afghanistan through war by other means (Please read the book: ‘Afghanistan the Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower’ by Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin. Mohammad Yousaf was the Pakistani Brigadier General who masterminded the equipping and training of the Afghan mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviets in the 1980s. Mark Adkin was a Major in the British Army who polished the writing (memoirs) of the Pak Brigadier General. At that time, the United States, Britain and other allies were on the side of the mujahideen (terrorists engaged in proxy war). Incidentally, a free download of this book is available on the net.
The Mujahideen War in Afghanistan lasted from Dec 1979 to Feb 1989 with covert and not so covert support by the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
As soon as its Western border was secured through the success of its proxy war, Pakistan turned to its Eastern neighbour India to apply the same formula to it. And that’s the beginning of the proxy war in Kashmir that we have faced for the last thirty years. The Western powers largely were unconcerned about the cross-border terrorism that India faced from Pakistan until the genie that they had helped unleash in Afghanistan turned to them (somewhat similar to how Indira Gandhi provided tacit support to splinter groups to weaken the Akalis in Punjab and they turned against her only and eventually killed her). After twelve years of Indians facing the brunt of proxy war alone, on 11th Sep 2001, the Americans themselves became the target of proxy war emanating from Al Qaeda (at that time in Afghanistan).
The United States had tough time telling its ex students in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the lessons of Bear Trap were not to be applied to the teacher itself. That was the beginning of the GWOT or the Global War on Terror. As was to be expected from the events (that I have given you a brief on) Pakistan became the hub of Global Terrorism. Terrorists became its strategic assets to bring the next superpower, India, to its heels by the honed and successful policy of “bleed by a thousand cuts.”
This means that as far as Indian security forces are concerned they have been fighting this war for the last thirty years. Then how is this that our people are largely unconcerned about it that their country has been in a state of war for three decades? It is simply because for most Indians, War is not something that affects them unless there are flagrant manifestations of it in, say, Parliament Attack, Mumbai Blasts, Pathankot, and Pulwama. This unconcern is so complete that many among our intelligentsia speak the same language as that of the terrorists, want the powers of the armed forces curtailed (eg AFSPA), and professional business as usual with Pakistan with the exchange of cultural programmes and sporting (especially cricket) events.
The present government tried to change the equation by attempting to increase the costs for Pakistan for waging the proxy war, by such punitive actions as Surgical Strikes and Air Strikes on Terror Camps (Please read: ‘Cross – LOC Surgical Counter – Terrorism Strikes, A New Indian Psyche And Resolve‘). However, our national debates (particularly on the electronic media) have invariably played into the hands of the Pakistanis. One day after the success of our air strikes, as soon as Pak retaliated, our public debate has veered to “dialogue”, “deescalation” and other such conciliatory moves.
When the deterrence of our massive armed forces hasn’t worked against Pakistan in the last thirty years of its waging a proxy war against us, our readiness to increase its costs for it should be seen as a very high priority by our countrymen. How can we play into the hands of the enemy that our recent action has resulted in escalation? Escalation is what Pakistan has done since 1989, not us. We only want to take punitive action against it so that it would stop this escalation, exactly what the armed forces are meant for.
On a debate in the electronic media, yesterday, it was suggested that if we don’t deescalate now countries that are supporting us now would withdraw support. I haven’t heard of anything more ludicrous. We do not take decisions in the interest of other countries and the enemy; we take decisions in the interest of India.
For this, we require, not just the armed forces but also the will of our people who are not deterred by small setbacks like MiG 21 having been brought down by Pakis, or by the sacrifices that they themselves have to make to bring an enemy to its senses.
We need to show this resolve and not prevaricate every now and then. The PM has given a “free-hand to the armed forces” to protect national interests (simply because other options such as dialogue haven’t worked with Pakistan). Let’s trust them since they have been trained to tackle such situations. They have never failed India in the past.
We are fighting a war. We need to defeat the enemy within before defeating the enemy across the border.
