Speaking at the Ranade Puraskar ceremony at the Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal yesterday, where he felicitated veteran jurist V M Tarkunde, Dharia argued that the Kashmir issue could have been solved in 1948 itself, when Pakistan attacked Kashmir for the first time. ``We should have allowed our forces to retrieve the area illegally occupied by Pakistan. This is a Himalayan blunder committed by Nehru and his Government,'' he said.

The felicitation ceremony was organised by the Centre For Advanced Strategic Studies (CASS).

Terming the crisis in Kargil as a ``mini-war'' he said India has no option but to recapture these areas illegally occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC). ``However, India must be ready for a major war, if Pakistan invites the same,'' he cautioned.

According to Dharia, the problem began at thenegotiating table that followed the three conflicts India had with Pakistan. ``In 1948, 1965 and 1971, we won the war but failed to succeed in the war of negotiation and settling the issue forever.''

Dharia also lamented that India never paid attention to preparations for a full-fledged war. Terming the attitude as `callous', he said, ``It is only at the eleventh hour that we try to mobilise such resources.''

Self-reliance in meeting the basic needs of people, Dharia said, and also in defence preparedness -- updating modern methods of warfare -- was essential for success. ``This complacency and indifference must go,'' he said.

Cautioning against the euphoria in the foreign office on succeses on the diplomatic front, Dharia pointed out that ``rich countries like USA, France, China had their own interests at heart.''

He added, ``Even though they advise restraint, they simultaneously supply war material to Pakistan'' -- a doublespeak on assurances that Dharia says the country should not dependupon.

Unfortunately, said Dharia, the democratic institution of the country had been degraded and today stood at crossroads. ``The unholy alliance of power, money and mafia has taken a severe toll of values and commitments towards the basic tenets of democracy, secularism, integrity and social justice as enshrined in the Constitution.''

In his acceptance speech, Tarkunde blamed political parties for tarnishing the social fabric of the country on grounds of religion. ``All political parties have created a rift among communities and tried to capitalise on religion for purpose of securing votes,'' he said.