Musings by M.V.Kamath

Let Indian Army alone deal with Pakistan!

By M.V. Kamath

By now India should have no illusions as to where it stands vis-à-vis Pakistan, easily the most wicked, the most evil and the most uncompromisingly bitter enemy of our country. The core issue between India and Pakistan's implacable hatred of India and all that India stands for. And it is worse than that, it is their Muslim Pakistani belief that India is a cowardly country, incapable of fighting back. It is this that spurred Pakistan to wage three wars, only to get defeated.

It used to be Gen. Ayub Khan's thesis that one Muslim soldier was equal to ten Hindu fighters. It is well to remember that after taking over as Chief Executive(!), Gen. Pervez Musharraf told his troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that India was a cowardly nation which would never fight back.

Nehru wanted to know how long it would take to consolidate Pakistan. Five years, was the reply. Nehru asked Ali whether he had ever thought of what would happen if India took a line similar to Pakistan's and went on a rampage. Ali started laughing. "Why" Nehru asked, "have I said something funny ?"
"No" replied Ali, "I am not afraid of that!"
"Why ?"

"Because " came Ali's reply, "your religion is incapable of fanaticsm." The belief of the Muslim elite in Pakistan that Hindus are incapable of fanaticism, have no fighting spirit and are essentially cowards have brought us to this stage. Had our leaders in 1946-47 refused to concede Pakistan and opt even for a civil war, we would have been in a better position today in every way.

Now we have to live with the fruits of the Two-Nation Theory. And to show Pakistan's elite what we can do the events in the last few days have conclusively showed that we only have fair-weather friends. In our moments of distress the Commonwealth countries seemed indifferent. Our non-aligned friends seem to have lost their voice. Britain had little or nothing to say. And the United States continues to look with favour upon Pakistan and is unwilling to give India anything more than lip sympathy.

Launch a broadside
All this should tell us precisely what our place is under the sum. If four defeats, including the latest one at Kargil are not sufficient to change the mind-set of the Pakistan military elite, then it is time India devices other lessons for our difficult neighbour.

Some of these should be obvious. Clearly, India should now vigourously wage a propaganda war against Pakistan. But that by itself won't suffice. Pakistan has to be crippled economically - and that's where it will hurt Islamabad. India should raise the ante - and that means we will have to modernise our armed forces to force Pakistan to keep pace with us and thus get into an economic crisis. Importantly, we should attempt to cut Pakistan from its friends whether in the United States or in China. But this won't be easy.

Gen. Musharraf is reportedly under the impression that in future conventional war through other means. Surely we can do one better than him in this respect? Why should our Armed Forces take things lying down and resort to action only when attacked? Why should we not hence forth take the initiative all along the Indo-Pak border?

If once Pakistan declares a no-holds-barred war, it frees us from respecting old-fashioned treaties. Remember what Pakistan did years ago in attacking the Rann of Kutch?

The well-known Pakistan columnist Altaf Gauhar recently wrote how Pakistan fought four wars against India on the basis of just one assumption; that India would not be able to fight Pakistan effectively. It is a mind-set that has never been sought to be destroyed by India. It all began with Mohammad of Ghazni.

Incidentally it is worth remembering that Ghazni Mohammad first attacked the Somnath Temple on December 31, 999, exactly a thousand years ago. In these thousand years the Muslim mind hasn't apparently changed.

The Prime Minister has done well to invite the three Service Chiefs for talks. In future the Service Chiefs should be constantly consulted and foreign policy drawn with inputs from them. Our international propaganda machinery must be geared up. In the last ten years some 16,850 innocent lives in Kashmir had been taken by Pakistani infilgrators.

Dealing with a hate-filled neighbour That compliment has to be mercilessly repaid. It is necessary to remind ourselves that we are fighting not a civilised people but a hate-filled enemy which is obssessed with only one idea -- destroying India.

We do not need to fear international opinion. Britain had no hesitation in defending its interests in Falkland Islands. The United States could not care less for world opinion when it bombed Iraq.

Russia follows its interests in Chechnya to the extent of sending its army to suppress the revolt there. What, then, are we concerned about?

Will Pakistan dare to use nuclear weapons against us? Does it think there will be a Pakistan left if we reciprocate in kind? Pakistan should know the following:

If it thinks it can win a low-key war, it must be shown that is a game that two can play -- and India has the resources and now the will.

The time for Lahore Pacts, Exchange of Notes and polite negotiations is over. Those who live by the sword must be taught that they can also perish by the sword and that we know how to wield it. Pakistan understands only one thing: Force.