By Group Capt A G Bewoor VM(G)
Introduction
1. For decades Indians wanted to strike terrorist camps in POK, but were prevented because of India’s ‘high moral ground’. History establishes that not one Indian maharaja could muster together an expeditionary force to attack the lands of those who invaded and looted us. This attitude has been missing in India for centuries. Why should it be any different today? But it has changed.
2. The jingoism displayed by non-military leadership and media is sad. We have seen it very recently when we lost our personnel in Anantnag. Why the media cannot leave grieving families alone is shameful. Even in other’s sorrow they seek high TRP ratings. The land based strike after Uri is not the first and many will follow. Balakot was a rare event, but can be repeated. What has been achieved is insignificant compared to what is to be done. Yet the nation is being misled into believing that we have achieved the impossible and Pakistan has been put in its place. Far from the truth, and the Armed Forces will be first ones to tell you that. When will our media and polity learn to hold their tongues and understand, ‘it is easy to capture a fortress; but to win a campaign is difficult’, Indians have not realised this about terrorism. This sentience is missing in India, and we are unaware of it. This is dangerous and permits ridiculing of our Armed forces. This realisation is missing in India.
Why Has the Army, Navy and Air Force Not Done this Earlier?
3. Who Says They Have Not? Just because the Indian media did not report it? Just because netas did not show off about it? Just because foreign leaders were silent? Just because the Operations directorates in Defence HQs did not make any statements? Even in this era of instant information, there are things Indians will never know, because they need not know, and more importantly, it is better that they do not know. Too many Indians will not use their ‘viveka’ when endowed with such information. It is these dumb citizens who cause serious embarrassment and problems for the fauji by flaunting their information with ‘mirch masala’. Journalists & netas being the biggest culprits who take protection behind the Constitution where ‘freedoms are enshrined’. They handily forget that the Constitution also enshrines duties & obligations in the pursuit of freedoms. Indeed the Armed Forces have struck across the LOC many times. Freedom of Expression and Right to Information has obligatory restrictions for the safety of India and her people. As reportedly advised by an Air Marshal on TV, the Indian Armed Forces need to give proof of their strikes in Pakistan only to Pakistan. If politicians, journos and naysayers need proof, they should accompany the Special Forces on their next strike. Any takers? Unlikely.
4. How Many More Times Will We Do It? As often as necessary and feasible. The campaign vision from Pakistan is to bleed India with a thousand cuts. Regrettably our media loudly proclaim this ad nauseam giving the impression that India is scarred and bleeding in a thousand places. Media anchors are weeping because recently some of them have been ostracised by political groups. Do these anchors ever ask themselves whether what they do and say is in the interest of India or exclusively in the interest of TRPs? What should be India’s vision to counter Pakistan’s? Do we need to declare such a vision? Are we in a verbal duel with Pakistan? One can well ask where are the Indian candle marchers who believe that the Pakistani candle flickers for peace. Can those Indian candles deter or prevent even five cuts? India’s Armed and Para-Military Forces will continue to conduct such operations till our vision is fulfilled. How many and in what time frame, the public will ask egged on by the news hungry media? Indeterminate is the correct answer. As long as it takes to cleanse Pakistan of terrorists who attack India and the whole world. The Armed Forces on the other hand are asking, when will Indians, meaning the crores who flourish and demand security; give faujis their deserved status? When and how will the media, corporate India, the great Indian middleclass demand the reorganisation of India’s Ministry of Defence where netas seek and get military inputs from the Armed Forces and not babus? When will netas unequivocally declare that India’s Armed Forces have never tried to, and do not wish to do a coup, as in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar? When will crores of Indians force the neta-babu combine to integrate Armed Forces into Ministry of Defence so that surgical strikes can be done smartly, professionally, deliberately, when militarily desirable, and in complete secrecy? Corporate India, media, trade unions, academia, intellectuals, artists, movie idols, must appreciate the criticality of this integration for India’s safety and progress. The TV giants have a sacred duty to debate this matter and educate Indians, for as long as the babu keeps the Armed Forces out of Ministry of Defence, India remains gravely vulnerable. This realisation is missing in India and breeds instability and suspicion. Why, because in the present system, the strategy to defend India is made by the netas and babus, and the Fauji is out of that strategic group. Indians will be distressed to know that the GOI has not prepared a Strategic Doctrine in the 75 years. Creating a CDS and DMA means nothing unless the CCS issues the Strategic Doctrine. It is from this Strategic Doctrine that the Army, Air Force, Navy will prepare their Doctrines. Do the media honchos know this? Do they ever hold debates on this critical aspect to first educate media anchors and then tell their viewers? But even more pertinent is that the execution of that strategy is the responsibility of Armed / Para-Military Forces and not the civilian IAS / IFS officers. The planners of our strategy are men and women devoid of any knowledge and exposure about war and remain safe from bullets and grenades. Ironically; those who must conduct war and face the bullets, are never asked their opinion. Does this happen anywhere else in the world? Our Pradhan Mantri and Raksha Mantri should remedy this absurdity. Can they? Do they wish to? They both may have done much at the tactical level, but at the strategic degree of higher defence management and direction, they have failed. This has been missing in India for 75 years, no one is trying to cure this malady. Parliament is not ignorant of this obliqueness, it is disinterested. See what is missing?
What About Our Non-State Actors?
5. Wither The Inevitable Defenders of Freedoms? Does anyone remember the violent protests in Mumbai about Muslims being killed in Assam? The protesters vandalised the Amar jawan memorial on Azad Maidan. Do those protesters ever campaign for the Forces who keep them safe to protest in Mumbai? Trade, Bank, Transport, Railway, Central Govt, Doctors and other Unions frequently stage protests demanding benefits and successfully cripple normal life. Political parties bring daily routine to a grinding halt with their morchas. NGOs with questionable antecedents and dodgy finances severely criticise the faujis for excesses against defenceless protesters as witnessed recently in Manipur. And who can forget the hundreds of people who walk silently to protest rapes/ abductions/ murders/ gender discrimination and finally our supreme peaceniks who keep the candle industry alive, marching to border posts with tears in their bleeding eyes. All these stalwarts are conspicuous by their silence and invisibility to protest terrorist killings in Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama, Galwan. Never heard of a morcha by NGOs, university students, lawyers, journalists, politicians, LGBT, communists demanding the reorganisation of Military-Civilian equations, to boost strategy, tactics, defence planning. Does it bother Labour Unions that 40 soldiers were mercilessly murdered in Pulwama or three middle level officers have been killed recently in Anantnag? The Returners of Awards could not find time to jointly condemn terror attacks? Where are those who support the Rohingyas? Are not your own countrymen more precious than those in Myanmar? Film makers and actors had no time to take out processions to excoriate the killings and force closure of cinema theatres? Oh no, they would lose money, and that would never do, would it? Politicians who can muster thousands at the drop of a topi, could not find time to jam the streets in support of jawans? Reservations attract wide protests, but wanting India’s strategic defence organisation to become strong means nothing. That is what is missing in India, and Indians have suffered and will continue to suffer unless they wake up to this truth. Ordinary taxpaying citizens, your interest and awareness on matters military is missing since 1947, when will you force our netas to do it right? We faujis cannot do it, but I say you can. You have never tried, why?
6. The Support for the Defenders of Freedom Is Missing. Not a word from Jama Masjid Delhi, Imam Bara Lucknow, Deoband, Puri, Joshimath, Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Brahma Kumaris, Kanchipuram, Art Of Living? Are they not Indians, and should they not publicly condemn the terrorists and challenge those in India who keep demanding dialogues with Pakistan? Not a word from Patidars, Marathas, Jats, Gujjars, Dalit Groups, Muslim Groups, OBCs and so many more, all wanting reservations, but have no time to show ‘hamdardi’ with jawans, nor give ‘shabashi’ for the cross border strike. The Trade Unions forget that the Fauji who strikes across the LOC is the one who permits them to call a ‘hartaal’ and cripple industry, yet they are not ashamed of their silence about Anantnag? Where are the all powerful CII, FICCI, NASSCOM, IT goliaths, Hockey India, TV channels and BCCI? Not a squeak from any of them. No march, no symposium, no seminar, no rallies to congratulate the Armed Forces for doing what Indians have been demanding for decades? How many of these potent Indian non-State actors have taken over the further education of children of jawans killed in action against terrorists, or given respectable jobs to the widowed Veer Naris? This is also Corporate Social Responsibility is it not, and needs to be done immediately after the event and not once a year to satisfy the annual audit. They must find the men who executed the strikes, see what can be done for them? Help is not to be restricted to families of men who are killed; even those who live to fight terrorists the next day and forever, deserve your attention and support. The soldiers who took part will remain anonymous; their faces will remain unseen and unknown. Medals will adorn uniforms yet Indian business houses can do much for them without fanfare. Where are you, Indian industrialists? The BCCI is powerful enough to defy the Supreme Court, but their president has no word of praise for the cross border strike, or condemnation of Uri. Shamelessly all that BCCI, our cricketers, Minister for Sports want is to somehow play against Pakistan, because it generates huge profit. I say to our players in the field, women and men; even if you get debarred from world events, refuse to play with Pakistan. Pakistani players, women and men, may be good people, but they belong to a terrorist country, bad luck for them. Your allegiance and loyalty is towards those who defend you from the enemy and allow you to play in safety; it is not towards those who give you money. Do it just once and the whole concept of separating sports from terrorism will evaporate. This is what is missing in India. Sportspersons, you need to display the same courage shown by those killed at Anantnag. You can do it.
7. And our Glorious Indians. Shamelessly, innumerable famous personae demand that terrorism must be ‘separated’ from sports, academia, arts, cinema, culture etc. Therefore Pakistani men and women who come to India to participate in these activities must be feted. Fine, but these Pakistanis will take back pots of money. Pakistan will tax it and use it against India? Be assured, the Indian ‘separater’’ also loves his money. Every Pakistani artiste comes to India with honourable intention, let’s accept that. But Pakistan does not have honourable intentions, and the Pakistani cannot shed that black mark. Pakistani educational curriculum teaches their children to hate India and Indians; this is universally known with incontrovertible proof. Pakistani cricketers, singers, writers, musicians, actors cannot disassociate from this heinous cultural attack that Pakistan wages against India. They have to carry that burden, they may be ‘nice’ people, they may secretly disagree with the dastardly actions of their govt, but they are a part of that system and carry its stigma when they visit India. Can we Indians separate ourselves from our shameful gender preferences, even though many of us fight against it? You cannot separate a nation’s stated philosophy from its citizens, whatever their profession. How many Pakistani actors / singers/ painters / academics / philosophers / businessmen / TV anchors have condemned the ban on Bollywood movies and Indian TV serials? They must suffer that silence. Our cultural giants and ‘Separaters’ must accept that they should ‘open their mouths only if what they utter is more beautiful and valuable, than their silence’.
8. The Soothsayers who Insist on Dialogue. It is true that communication between belligerents must remain live to avoid dangerous misunderstandings. The channel between the two Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) is open and was used, even after we struck terrorist launch pads. Innumerable defence analysts, diplomats, bureaucrats, intelligence princes, retired military officers, each one an ‘expert’, give varying advice based on their experiences. But when professional politicians and people with undistinguished standing in India demand dialogue with Pakistan, it is scandalous. There are political pygmies, who scrupulously avoid joining Govt obviating responsibility, and this cowardly reticence to avert accountability has been exposed time and again, yet they pontificate on talking to Pakistan. Many TV anchors and their panel of guests scream for closer ties because there are many Pakistanis who ‘love India’. Can these ‘India lovers’ in Pakistan do anything to stop terrorists? Besides, can we trust anyone over there? Bhutto in 1972 pleaded with Indira Gandhi not to send him back empty handed and Indira generously gave Bhutto more than she should have which was duly witnessed by Benazir, and then both father & daughter reneged on every promise. And our dialogue wallas still believe honest talk is possible from Pakistan? There are netas who have no appreciation of anything outside their district, and there are netas who speak flighty English but cowardly remain out of governance lest their hollowness becomes obvious. Readers will immediately recognise them. And these worthies have an opinion on how to deal with Pakistani terrorists, worse, TV anchors and newspapers give them space? If this is not sedition, what is? You allow ignoble persons to mislead Indians, and it is called freedom of expression? Who finances these Indians to commit such dastardly acts? Vajpayee was in dialogue with Nawaz when Musharraf was planning Kargil, have we forgotten that? We proudly resurrect our Sanathan Dharm, our 5000 year old culture, but conveniently forget that keeping sharp memories is a part of our culture. That is missing in India, keeping memories alive to draw correct lessons and recognise who to trust and who is the betrayer. This is missing in India.
The Philosophy of The Pakistani Army
9. They Love and Respect Indians. TV debates have revealed that many in Pakistan actually love Indian culture, music, dance, writings, movies and therefore we must distinguish between Pakistanis who love and hate India. Unfortunately not one such ‘lover’ can speak against terrorism, and if she does, she dies. As a corollary ‘lovers’ of Pakistan in India say that if a VISA was issued to a Pakistani artiste, then India must honour it irrespective of anything that happens after issue of VISA. What distorted logic is this? An actual case is about VISA given to Pakistani artistes well before Uri, and who was in India when Uri attack took place. Prudence dictated that once Uri happened, the Pakistanis should have left India quietly; there would have been no controversy. But the stubbornness in ‘freedom of expression’, invoked by Indian artistes, forced many Pakis to stay on, with unpleasant results. What makes Indians do this? Determined foolishness has no remedy.‘Paisa Hi Bolta Hai’. Discretion is missing in India.
10. Even When We Lose, We Win. Volumes of literature by Pakistani Armed Forces propound the theory that India is determined to destroy Pakistan and reverse Partition, and rebuild a Greater India swallowing Pakistan & Bangladesh. Their strong belief is that Muslim purity of Indian Sub-Continent will disappear and Islam will be wiped out by Hindu India. This canard is taught in schools, madrassas, colleges, universities, military institutes and think-tanks. Therefore any actor, diplomat, academic, businessman, religious leader, journalist, barber, driver, soldier, farmer, cricketer, in fact every citizen of Pakistan, has been force-fed this story The teaching stresses that, only the Pakistan Army can prevent this, and therefore the Pakistan Army has to be deeply involved in governing Pakistan, if not, Hindu India will destroy Muslim Pakistan, Islam will suffer. This ensures that rich Muslim nations give constant support to Pakistan in their holy jihad against a ‘kafir’ India. It is difficult to dilute this brain washing ingrained from childhood. Thus, whenever a skirmish / battle / war takes place with India; and Pakistan loses the encounter, as they always do, their Army tells the nation that in fact they have won a great victory, because once again the Pakistan Army has prevented Hindu India from destroying Pure Muslim Pakistan. How then can you expect any Pakistani to condemn events like Uri, Mumbai, Pathankot, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kargil? Strangely, Indians ruthlessly condemn many acts by our Armed Forces against insurgents & terrorists, and they do so under the cloak of ‘freedom of expression’. But when this ‘freedom’ destroys India’s security environment then should that freedom be exercised? Recall Bollywood movies that glorified separatists and stone pelters of Kashmir. Huge box office hits and the movies were praised for their brilliant portrayal of truth. Now when the very same Bollywood brilliantly portrays the other side of Kashmir, where the stone pelters and separatists become murderers and rapists, there is protest all around. Never mind that it is the truth. Readers, are you understanding what is missing in India? We are unable to call out the Indians who hate and abuse India These India haters, women and men, are safe, earn pots of money for their deeds and views and get regular space to spew their venom. Now that this cash flow to india haters is squeezed there is panic and virulent anti India campaign under the garb of “democracy is in danger”. Concerted action against India haters is totally missing. Sad
Conclusion
11. This Is Our Country. Most Indians, and certainly the protesters, human rights defenders, dialogue promoters, anti-establishment stalwarts, NGO grandees, candlelight marchers, art and terror separators, conveniently blank out, that all of J&K is India. Pakistan signed a Stand Still Agreement with J&K in 1947, India did not. Pakistan thereafter sent raiders into Kashmir, Hari Singh asked for help, India agreed only after he signed the Instrument of Accession; and Indian troops were flown into J&K that very day. Thus all military action taken by India, in what is termed as Pakistan Administered Kashmir by foreigners, and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir by us and Azad Kashmir by Pakistan, is our own lands. It is not violation of another country’s territory or airspace, this is self defence. It needs neither permission nor justification. This truth is missing from the knowledge banks of most Indians. Schools and colleges do not teach it, why not? The LOC is but a temporary arrangement, it does not dilute or nullify the Instrument of Accession nor does it cancel the Stand Still Agreement. Does the Indian Army need to give proof of self defence? It is their charter to defend all of India by all possible means. When Jessore in East Pakistan was captured in 1971, did anyone ask Manekshaw for proof? Did anyone ask the Army to prove they had 93,000 POWs? Did anyone ask the Air Force to prove they had bombed Peshawar, Sargodha, Badin? Who asked the Navy to prove they attacked Karachi? Did anyone ask for proof that Indian troops had landed in Maldives in 1988? Did anyone ask the Army to prove they had captured Tololing? Why then are people asking the Army to prove they have destroyed launch pads in POK? Shameful cheap politics. Our inability to discriminate truth from false is missing. Our insistence to be very democratic destroys our ability to distinguish our obligations from our freedoms. See what is missing?
12. What is Missing? We Indians have never joined together to attack and destroy our tormentors, wherever they are. Each one of us prides in India’s democratic values, the freedoms we enjoy, and our right to dissent. This attitude makes us trust others, irrespective of past conduct. We seek out the smallest iota of goodness in our sworn adversaries and blow it out of proportion. We refuse to see the immorality that lurks behind words and songs, and close our eyes and ears to malevolent intents from Pakistan. The ‘high moral ground’, which India so proudly flashes, has fetched no returns for 70 years? How many Indians must die before these soothsayers accept the flaw in this moralistic theory? How many more widows must we have before this realisation dawns upon us? How much blood, grief and tears must flow across this land, before we jealously start protecting India’s freedom and existence? The day Pakistani citizens can march to the Minar-E-Pakistan and protest against all terrorists residing within Pakistan, we will know change has begun. Cultural events / cinema / academia / education and cricket, must be intrinsically linked to Pakistani terrorism. If the Pakistani Left Hand carries a ‘khanjar’ with Indian blood; then India cannot engage with this Pakistani even if the Right hand carries a cricket bat. What is missing in India is this sound judgment and consistent good sense.
The poison of a scorpion is in its tail, the poison of a fly is in its head, the poison of a serpent is in its fangs; but the poison of an evil man, is in his whole body.
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