Round The
World
New Delhi, 14 March 2019
Pulwama Tragedy
RAISING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
By Dr. D.K. Giri
(Prof. International Politics, JMI)
The Pulwama terrorist
attack and the subsequent counter-operations by the army are the hot topics for
debate and discussion across the country. The hyper-nationalist media,
especially the television, hypes it so much that, one can hear the echoes of ‘Bande Mataram’ chanted by invited
audiences in the studios. Even the public domain, the streets, parks and
parties are abuzz with India-Pakistan relations, especially following the
Pulwama incident.
Curiously, one runs
into a bevy of retired army and air force personnel in the TV channels. I
found, at one time, about 15 ex-military officers of different ranks immaculately
dressed finely articulate, in one channel, explaining to an audience the
sophistication of modern warfare etc. Good to see our ex-military officers serenely
but seriously (so they are trained and groomed) interacting with the public; a
good opportunity for the public to meet and make conversation with senior ex-officers
of our army, an undiluted national pride.
But it is in party
political arena, the debate is becoming increasingly messy, and divisive. It
started with a complete consensus but soon began drifting into a slanging match
between contenders amid chest-thumping, name-calling, finger-pointing and
moral-posturing etc. Perhaps, it is not unexpected and unbecoming of the
politicians in the face of elections in a few weeks time. And, normatively speaking,
in a democracy, there will be party political contestation and questions on
actions of government, more so, in election time.
The burden of my
argument here is that the Opposition has the right to ask questions, but is it
asking the right ones? Apparently not. The questions the Opposition raise are
turned and twisted by the ruling party to paint them with an ‘anti-nationalist’
hue. Take for instance, 11 days after the Uri attack, the Indian army conducted
a surgical strike. The Opposition leaders asked for evidence, as they thought
Modi government was making it up for electoral purposes. Was it right to
question the operation of the army which was officially informing the country
of the strike?
True that in a
democracy army takes orders from the national civilian government of the day
but Indian army is apolitical, thoroughly professional, disciplined and
committed. They will not do the political bidding for even the ruling party.
There is no such evidence in Indian military history even in sensitive security
situations.
Now on the second
surgical strike, in a complex security situation the Opposition is asking for
evidence of casualties, provoked perhaps by Amit Shah’s preposterous claim of
250 deaths etc. However, that is for Amit Shah to prove to the alert and agile public
of the country, not the job of the Opposition. In a TV channel, I was talking
to a former Colonel who asked me if the number of casualties mattered. Was it
not enough that the Air Force went deep into Pakistan territory beyond LoC and
bombed the targets? I could feel the pain in his heart as he was speaking as if
their valour and heroism were being undermined. I instantly said, Colonel, the
number does not matter. What IAF has done is commendable.
As a civilian, I am
told that the targets are indicated by the government, and the army’s job is
simply to neutralise them. So, as the IAF said, counting casualties is not
their job, it is that of the government. Opposition therefore, may be
politically correct to question the government on the outcome of the action, as
their claims are not verifiable. Yet, to an independent political analyst, this
is a wrong question. As said earlier, the army’s operational efficiency is
willy-nilly drawn into the controversy. This does not go down well with the
public or with the army although the latter is unfazed by party political
skirmishes.
One may urge the
Opposition to desist from raising questions related even remotely to army
operation, irrespective of incredible claims by one set of politicians.
Opposition can ask a barrage of questions on political strategy and diplomatic
acuity, under which the government cannot even duck, let alone counter-attack.
Let us list some of these. One, how did 400 kg of RDX find its way into a house
in Kashmir which a 20-year-old boy could carry and detonate? What happens to
heavy surveillance and intelligence gathering in Kashmir? Has any head rolled
so far for such a humongous failure that caused the death of our so many
security personnel? Why has no enquiry been ordered completed, and the guilty
identified and punished?
Second, why do deaths
continue at the border? Before and after Pulwama and surgical strikes, our soldiers
and security personnel are being killed day in and day out? When will the
blood-shed stop? What is the government strategy to stop this?
Third, how are we
going to dismantle the terror camps in Pakistan? Rahamullah Nabil, former chief
of Kabul’s intelligence said: “Pakistan is sheltering 45 to 48 terror groups in
the country, the Indian army should have bombed Balakot earlier.” Indians would
like to see the end of the death of its soldiers and innocent civilians, or is
it a fait accompli, and above all, a normalisation of relations with Pakistan?
Fourth, which
countries are our allies in these difficult times? The government has not got,
as it claims, the US fully on board, because of our prevarication on
Afghanistan. We should have been actively and even militarily engaged in
Afghanistan. Why have we left the Afghan space fully to Pakistan making USA
lean on the latter?
Fifth, what is
government’s policy on China? Is it not best defined as confused and cluttered?
China has been consistently opposing our attempts at the UN and is supporting
Pakistan. Why did Modi go into‘swing and stroll’ diplomacy with Chinese
President? Why did we not convey to Beijing that we could not have
business-as-usual as long as they support Pakistan sponsoring terrorism?
Sixth, has BRICS
condemned it? Has SAARC taken any position? Why has not any of our neighbours
condemned it? Modi started by inviting all of them to his swearing-in ceremony.
Where are they today?
Seventh, what is our
equation with Iran? We have a common ground vis-a-vis Pakistan. But how can we
take the US into confidence as we move closer to Iran? One has friends and
adversaries. One cannot please all, which Modi tries to do, not at home but
internationally. Can we run with the hare and hunt with the hound? How does
Modi government explain this? Can the government show us our die-hard supporters?
Look at what China is doing to Pakistan with a permanent seat at UN gifted by
Nehru, an idealist and impractical.
Finally,
India-Pakistan problems have been fuelled by involvement of external players,
the arms sellers, Jihadists and so on. We may claim it to be a bilateral issue,
Kashmir as an internal matter, both correct. But can we ignore the external
influences of big military powers and arms market etc?
There is a litany of
questions to ask. So let the Opposition raise the right questions, which may even
expose the historical fault-lines drawn by them. But in their own interest and
that of the country they will have to take this call. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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