Daily Times

India always had the potential to be great, but our expansive quest was limited to South Asia and our great conquerors could never venture beyond the geographical barrier. It is only now, that the global environment is in our favour to project our greatness across Indian Ocean. But are Narendra Modi and his lieutenant Ajit Doval good enough to grab this opportunity and take India towards the prominence.

If Pakistan is the biggest shackle to our fight to glory, then should we try to break it with force or open it with prudence? The present policy of our leadership is working on the former. Take the case of Surgical Strikes for instance, if taking revenge of Uri remained the aim, was the strategy successful or has it made our great military controversial, when Pakistan denies it and take international media trotting against LoC claiming nothing has happened beyond the ceasefire violations. LoC in Kashmir has always been violable. Security forces, irregulars and terrorists have crossed it at will and carried out strikes before as well, take the example of Bandala Massacre, when on the night of 26/27 March, 1998, irregulars backed by India Special Forces killed 22 civilians in Bandala village, Chhamb sector in retaliation for the killing of 29 Hindus villagers at Prankote, in Jammu and Kashmir, by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. As late as 2013, we saw beheading of two Indian soldiers Lance-Naik Hemraj Singh and Lance-Naik Sudhakar Singh on the LoC. Governments on both sides always chose to downplay such incidents but this time, Modi government has decided to cash the incident for political purposes and termed them Surgical Strikes. Media in India went into overdrive, lionising the government and army of having done something extraordinary, something unthinkable; hitting terrorists’ launch pads inside Pakistan territory. It might have temporarily addressed the public sentiment and satisfied the warmongering hysteric media, besides garnering support for chauvinist BJP or RSS vote bank. But this so-called New Normal is dangerous and it transgresses into a new domain, where it puts Pakistan under pressure to respond. As mentioned before, these strikes across LoC are not unusual, but what’s unprecedented is the surgical twist given to it by the Modi-Doval propaganda machine. It has raised hopes and expectations of the nation, which our military may not be able to fulfil without giving escalation to the conflict with Pakistan, having potential to spiral in to an all-out war. And war with a nuclear-armed neighbour, that capacity of rational thought process has remained doubtful, is not what will take us to greatness. Pakistan’s full spectrum deterrence and our massive retaliation policy is combustible mix, which can take us towards mutually assured destruction. So breaking this shackle of Pakistan is not an option, we have to open it through prudence.

Kashmir has been burning since 1947; the recent violence only exposes our repeated failure to integrate the people, the valleys, the rivers and the mountains that we so fondly call as our own. PM Modi says that Kashmiri youth is being misguided by Pakistan-based terrorists, but has anyone ever asked our leaders what our government and those before them have done to Guide these young boys, who being tired of pelting stones and shouting anti-India slogans have picked up guns. Killing of Burhan Wani by security forces has once again become a tipping point in worsening Kashmir saga, as was the killing of Pandit Tika Lal Taploo or Javed Mir or siege of Hazrat Bal Shrine. Burhan Wani may well have died, but his separatist passion continues to move hundreds of thousands in the valley to face the wrath of security forces; who are conducting round the clock counter-infiltration and counter-insurgency operations, inciting further unrest.

All said and done, neither the Kashmiri youth has the right to take the violent course to redress political grievances, nor the state apparatus has the right to use excessive force like pellet guns to disperse unarmed protestors. In fact the current political situation in Kashmir, where Mehbooba Mufti’s government is neither with the people of Kashmir nor with the BJP government, only favours external powers like Pakistan to benefit from. The current political morass is being exploited by our neighbours whose government led by PM Sharif has not left any stone unturned in highlighting the Kashmir issue at the international forums like United Nation’s General Assembly and all the major world capitals. But the NDA government instead of finding a political solution to the problem has resorted to excessive use of force. This coupled with the hard line approach by RSS of treating every Kashmiri Muslim as a terrorist has further isolate the separatists, pushing them to the corner, falling right into Pakistan’s trap.

We cannot win over our own people like this; Kashmir is our integral part and will remain as such. But the ever-increasing extremist tendencies by RSS, the rejuvenation of Hindutva, are likely to create more dissention in our society. It’s not only Kashmir; the red corridor, the eastern states, the dispute over water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, all need sound leadership to steer us through turbulent times. India is rising and it shall rise in power and stature as per her size and economy. But it can only be possible if we, as a nation, can rise above domestic and regional disputes. If there is a problem in Kashmir, it must be solved through by taking all stakeholders on board: having dialogue with Pakistan and engaging the people of Kashmir including separatists. We must have people centric policies, providing them with greater opportunities, letting them be masters of their own destiny. India deserves to sit in the United Nation Security Council as a permanent member, that’s what we are destined for. Our economy is on the rise and so is our global stature, a war with nuclear arm Pakistan will do us more harm than it can ever do to them. Speaking in economic terms, we simply cannot afford a war with Pakistan. Rather we must engage them as Pakistan is slowly turning into a nonviable state, and if it collapses or disintegrates, the terrorist infested land would become a perpetual home for non-state actors. Our history is witness that India has prospered when there was prudence in our leadership and tolerance in our society. Being the biggest country in South Asia, we must take lead to promote peace and tranquillity in the region.

On the contrary, the current issue of Kashmir is seen globally in the context of Indo-Pak rivalry, a bitter account of two neighbours condemned to eternal animosity bedevilled with deep mistrust and abhorrence for each other. We need to understand and acknowledge Kashmir as an indigenous issue that needs to be handled politically; and if not resolved, the Indo-Pak bitterness will continue to retard our quest for greatness. On the other hand, Doval’s dangerous covert games are raising concerns over brilliant democratic image of India, which was created by our founding father including Gandhi, Patel and Nehru. If Modi continues with his attempts to break Pakistan’s shackle with force, history will not forgive him for missing the opportunity of leading India towards true greatness.