Right after the Pulwama incident, the Prime Minister of Pakistan immediately offered all kinds of assistance for an investigation, which was answered with Indian air incursion. After India’s mishap in Balakot, releasing payloads to facilitate a flimsy story of killing 350 terrorists by performing a surgical strike, Pakistan had no other option but to retaliate resulting in air force crashes and border skirmishes. It was costly for India as it lost a fighter plane and the life of a pilot besides the one pilot who was arrested alive. India, claims to be the biggest democracy and a believer in peace, but it has been involved in domestic political ends through means of combination of war and jingoism. The fact that both states possess nuclear stockpiles appears to be the concern of a few people in South Asia, unfortunately. The majority of people in India were pushing for war, but restraint was show by the people of Pakistan.
In the wake of Pulwama crisis and the post-Pulwama episodes, social media was invaded with warmongering posts demanding, asking and encouraging retaliation-without knowing the corollaries of war in full, with the threat of nuclear weapons. Besides, bulks of people in different segments of societies in both countries, especially youth, were found highly active in support of war. Maybe, they are not well aware that escalation and de-escalation of crisis among hostile states is also influenced by the behavior of masses who are not apart of the deskbound leadership.
Educational, social and intellectual gains so far of both countries have not led to desirable results when it comes to measuring the collective behavior of the masses. This fact owes to another fact that the states’ policies amidst societal developments and social construction are not effective enough to shape the anti-war behavior of people. However, it may be effective when teaching strategic calculations and war tactics.
Pulwama attack was immediately called out as an indigenous act. It was swiftly ascribed to the Kashmiri resistance, a strong and justified reaction of the freedom fighters to the roughshod and cruel campaign by the Indian military. It was in reaction to the series of inhuman measures undertaken by Indian state in form of maiming, gagging and strangling the Kashmiris
Pulwama attack was immediately called out as an indigenous act. It was swiftly ascribed to the Kashmiri resistance, a strong and justified reaction of the freedom fighters to the roughshod and cruel campaign by the Indian military. It was in reaction to the series of inhuman measures undertaken by Indian state in form of maiming, gagging and strangling the Kashmiris-since the start of the uprising in 1989- these people have reinvigorated the Kashmir resistance. Another generation has grown up under the oppressed regime and the attacker Adil Ahmed Dar belonged to the very same generation who witnessed humiliation and harassment by the Indian forces. So, for Kashmiris, war is more than a tool to salvation.
Similarly, people in Pakistan and India from generations to generations have been witnessing hostility, animosity assorted with an arms build-up and frequent missile tests. In such an environment, psychologically people’s minds and thoughts are infused with inquisitiveness about weapons’ operability, employment and deployment. Therefore, prospects of war provide people of both countries greater frisson to encourage their leadership to escalate the tension to achieve the very objective of use of weapons. Influenced by the social upbringing and the familiarity with the states’ intra rifts, people tend to thrive on schadenfreude against its enemy. Therefore, people in both countries also find it hard to say no to war.
Undoubtedly, people’s behavior toward war is alarming, especially, when their governments have complete control of nuclear weapons. In the long term, this is bad not only for the entire region but also for the whole world. They have failed to realize that the burden of war almost completely has shifted from the armed forces to them being the object of military or military-political operations.
After losing the millions of lives, people in Europe have learnt to say no to war. People in South Asia are appeared to be oblivious to the destructive episodes of 20th centuries. People should learn to say no to war. Not a single reason can be found to doubt that the primary and main victims of war will continue to be civilians. With the changing social and global dynamics, it has become clear that political settlement of wars will not be imposed unilaterally. The era of wars terminating in unconditional surrender does not seem to be the case in the foreseeable future. States should also figure out how to change, influence and shape the behavior of people to support anti-violence and peaceful initiatives.
The author is an Islamabad based Lawyer and Analyst
Published in Daily Times, March 12th 2019.