Day 77 – Q 3. People are of opinion that war has become a necessity to teach Pakistan a lesson. Do you agree?
3. People are of opinion that war has become a necessity to teach Pakistan a lesson. Do you agree?
Introduction
The terrorist attacks in Pulwama, Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota, among others, are part of Pakistan’s low-intensity limited war on the Line of Control (LoC) since 1947-48 and its 30-year-old proxy war to bleed India through a thousand cuts. After Pulwama, there is nationwide anger and people are demanding action against Pakistan.
Body
Is war a necessity to teach Pakistan a lesson?
Yes;
- State sponsored terrorism: India has always asked Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorist organisations. Recently, US also stopped funding Pakistan due to its role as safe heaven to terrorists.
- Pakistan is not inclined to bring to justice the leaders of terrorist organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed, etc. And it uses terrorists as ‘strategic asset’.
- Bleeding India though a thousand cuts: Pakistan is using terror outfits to keep India continuously unstable and engaged in armed struggle within its own territories.
- Ceasefire violations: Vey frequently, Pakistan resorts to ceasefire violations. War may help in end of the conflict at once.
- Deep State of Pakistan: War can raise the cost for Pakistan’s deep state — the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for waging its proxy war, with a view to eventually making the cost prohibitive.
- Punishment should increase: The military’s aim should be to inflict punishment on the Pakistan army deployed on the LoC and terrorist training camps and related infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). For each new act of state-sponsored terrorism, the scale and the intensity of the punishment inflicted should be increased by an order of magnitude.
No;
- Today, some analysts believe that, because of the destructive power of modern weapons, war is no longer a viable option unless the most vital interests of a state are threatened.
- Preparedness: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence noted that 68% of our equipment in the defence forces was in the ‘vintage category’. It also pointed out that we do not have sufficient ammunition to support 10 days of war with Pakistan.
- Budgetary allocations: Our budgetary allocations and optimum utilisation of available resources are not upto the mark.
- Acquisitions will meet requirements 15 or 20 years ago: We have many acquisition projects such as Rafael and others. But they will meet our future requirements. Not in war today.
- China factor and two front war: China is clearly with Pakistan and even if they just start massing troops on our eastern borders, we are not ready to fight on two fronts.
- India have a two-front war doctrine on paper, but it is not backed by anything. Despite boastful claims to the contrary, we do not have the material capacity to fight a two-front war.
- Nuclear Power: Both the countries are nuclear powered. If war escalates, it will be unimaginable disaster for both the countries.
- Global geopolitical scenario: Due to stakes in Afghanistan, Pakistan is important for US and Russia. Due to investment of billions, China will also favour Pakistan. In such situation India cannot afford to make new enemies.
What else can be done?
- We can adopt may other ways to counter and control Pakistani actions. As we rightly did by withdrawing Most Favored Nation (MFN) status.
- FATF has also decided to continue Pakistan in Grey list due to its support to terrorist organisations.
- Similar pressure and isolation can be pressed in UN, WTO and in regional forums such as SAARC.
- Surgical strikes, strengthening intelligence system and military infrastructure etc are also need of the hour.
Conclusion
The response should be proportionate and multidisciplinary in approach, comprising diplomatic, economic and military measures. It should include overt and covert actions.
Best Answer: Ramendra
Point_Nemo
