India, its government, political parties of all hues and the people, have stood upto Pakistan. They are united in their call of enough is enough. This is one rare time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has everyone, yes everyone, backing him. There is not even a whisper of dissent or criticism on Modi’s offensive against Pakistan. Ironically his extending a hand of friendship and his unscheduled stop over to hug Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif drew flak as it won him kudos but this time around Modi has only support. Call it Indian patriotism or what you will but once national security is in danger, Indians come together and take on the enemy and support action against it in one voice. So also this time around. Enough is enough
Call it Indian patriotism or what you will but once national security is in danger, Indians come together and take on the enemy and support action against it in one voice
Kumkum Chadha
India, its government, political parties of all hues and the people, have stood upto Pakistan. They are united in their call of enough is enough. This is one rare time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has everyone, yes everyone, backing him. There is not even a whisper of dissent or criticism on Modis offensive against Pakistan. Ironically his extending a hand of friendship and his unscheduled stop over to hug Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif drew flak as it won him kudos but this time around Modi has only support. Call it Indian patriotism or what you will but once national security is in danger, Indians come together and take on the enemy and support action against it in one voice. So also this time around.
In fact the countrys patience was running out. With Modi at the helm they needed action rather than words. Consequently, Modis hand of friendship was doing nothing. Pakistan kept violating the norm and left India somewhat in the lurch. Given that Modi is at the helm, Indians were impatient. He is after all not Dr Manmohan Singh who thinks more and does little. Modi is firebrand and thinks nothing of launching an offensive. At least that is what he fed the Indian voters on two years ago when he was campaigning and seeking electoral support.
Therefore for Indians to sit back and watch Pakistan run amuck is not their idea of Modis governance style. His mettle, in their perception, is to strike and strike to kill.
But Modi the Prime Minister is different from Modi the politician. In the last two years, he has been Prime Minister and displayed the maturity that a sane nations leader would. He did not get provoked and whatever Pakistan did, Modi tried to douse the fire and extended a hand of friendship to an errant and wayward neighbor.
Pakistan sat smug in the fact that India will only talk and at best warn but do little on the ground. This was Pakistans gravest mistake. It kept pushing without realizing that when the push comes to a shove India will move and do what it takes to tell Pakistan that it cannot mess around. Except India did not do it the way Pakistan under the circumstances would have. India did what a mature nation would rather than launch a military offensive. It closed in on Pakistan from different fronts.
For starters it was Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who used the United Nations platform to tell the world and more particularly to Pakistan to stop dreaming about Kashmir: Abandon this dream Swaraj said about using terror attacks to obtain territory it covets. Ms Swaraj said, Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so.
In a scathing attack, Swaraj said that despite two years of an unprecedented outreach, there have been a series of deadly terror attacks by Pakistan, most recently at the army camp in Uri near the border in Kashmir, where 18 soldiers were killed just days ago.
In the same strain, Modi hit out saying that blood and water cannot flow together. Even while Modi said this at a crucial meeting of officials on the Indus Water Treaty, he signaled that India will have a rethink on the working of the Treaty. Simply put this means that India will explore all options to use as much water as it can within the limitations of a 56-year-old pact with Pakistan over rivers flowing into it. This underlines Indias intention to hurt Pakistan on water without violating its legal rights under the Treaty.
The Water treaty brokered by the World Bank is a liberal one.
The agreement gives control of the three eastern rivers Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India and Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan. The pact is seen as generous to Islamabad as it gives lower riparian Pakistan 80per cent of the water of the western rivers: Indus, Chenab andJhelum.
That apart India also intends to increase the capacity to use its share of water permitted by the treaty.The pact permits India to use water for 13.4 lakh hectares, but only 8 lakh hectares are in use because of lack of infrastructure. Similarly, these rivers have the potential to produce 18,600MW of electricity, but total planned projects amount to 11,406MW.
If India pushes and decided to build hydel power projects and irrigation canals to optimise its use of the rivers, the water flow to Pakistan will reduce. By doing this India will be well within its legal rights but the move will hurt Pakistan. As of now, farmers in Pakistan are heavily dependent on these rivers and any change or a dip will have an adverse affect. Significantly India would rather launch a water war on Pakistan than go for the military option. This would hurt more than blazing guns.
However Pakistans attack on Uri did lead India to follow the hostility with surgical strikes.The Indian Army stated on record that it carried out surgical strikes. The operation was aimed at preventing attacks being planned by Pakistan-based militants, officials of the Indian Army said.
That Pakistan is in denial mode about the surgical strikes only indicates the nervousness and panic that has set in after India has moved and decided to close in on all fronts.
Pakistan said that the notion of surgical strikes is an illusion created by India.
However what is heartening is that India is speaking in one voice. Modi government has been under pressure to take a tough line in the face of Pakistans offensive. The Army action has been lauded and even while Pakistan is talking about its nuclear warheads not being show pieces, Indians are undeterred. They have hailed the strikes as a proud moment for India, with one Bollywood actor thanking the army for doing what India should have done 30 years ago. News channels are going ga-ga over India giving Pakistan a befitting reply.
In this context, Bollywoods act of solidarity needs mention.
The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association on Friday passed a resolution to ban Pakistani actors from the industry in the wake of the Uri attack. Paying homage to the martyrs, Bollywood said it was the responsibility of the nation to ban Pakistan actors from having a stake in the Indian film industry.
India has already isolated Pakistan internationally. Its announcement of not attending the forthcoming SAARC meeting in Islamabad got immense support by way of allies like Bangladesh and Nepal pulling out among others.
As things stand, the noose is closing in.
India strength lies in its people and the support the Government draws from them. This time around the people have welcomed Indias decision to tell Pakistan that if it does not mend its ways, India will move in to hurt it. Even while the Government would tread with caution, the people of India are ready for a do or die. Going by the support the Army has got following the surgical strikes, it is clear that India stands united in its bid to take on Pakistan:militarily or otherwise. It is this spirit that Pakistan needs to fear. Therefore this is not about how many get killed but about fighting the enemy to the finish. The writing on the Indian wall is clear. The sooner Pakistan deciphers it the better it is for them.
The writer is a senior Indianjournalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])
