On the eve of the auspicious day of Mahalaya, which marks the end of the Shradh period and start of Devi Paksha, India successfully targeted terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and smashed at least half a dozen of them, killing many terrorists and destroying their military equipment. Devi Paksha is the fortnight during which Goddess Durga is believed to have descended to Earth to vanquish the evil demon Mahishasura, who was threatening to overrun all that was good and establish a regime of adharma. The coincidence between this mythological belief and the surgical excision of Pakistani terrorists who symbolise evil in our times, cannot be missed. We hardly need to be reminded that on the 10th day of Navratra, lord Ram too vanquished Ravana, which is why Vijaya Dashami is celebrated as the day of triumph of Good over Evil.
It may be over-optimistic to expect the diabolical plotters in Pakistan to hoist the white flag of surrender after just one strike. But the composite diplomatic and military offensive launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi should convince them that it won’t be “business as usual”, the policy that had been followed by Indian Governments hitherto despite successive terrorist attacks which led to the killing of many brave Indian soldiers and countless innocent civilians in Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere.
When a bunch of murder merchants attacked an Indian Army camp in Uri 12 days ago, their handlers must have thought that India will talk big but act little. They had clearly underestimated Prime Minister Modi’s grim determination to avenge the killings. First he unleashed a worldwide campaign to “name and shame” Pakistan internationally. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj went to the UNGA to tear asunder Pakistan’s hypocrisy and ridicule its crocodile tears over the deaths of some terrorists in J&K. She established that in reality it was Islamabad’s policy of instigating some misguided Kashmiri youth which was responsible for the current unrest in that State. Next the Prime Minister dealt a body blow by pulling out of the SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November, a move that was enthusiastically endorsed by many South Asian nations — most importantly Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan’s isolation in the region was complete and India had won its diplomatic offensive.
But India was still seething over recurrent invasion of our territory and systematic attacks on our sovereignty by Asia’s only exporter of terror —Pakistan. The dastardly act of burning alive 18 soldiers in a pre-dawn strike in Uri made Indians thirst for a lesson to be taught to the unrepentant aggressor. Mr Modi had to walk the tightrope and craft a policy of controlled aggression without risking all-out war with an irresponsible nuclear power.
It is necessary to remember that Pakistan’s civilian authority which trembles before its own military and ISI, will be pressuring Nawaz Sharif to scale up terrorist activities against India. Although Pakistan is facing a near-uprising in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, its adventurist Generals appear to have forgotten the lessons of 1971 as well as the other wars it had the temerity to wage against India over the last 70 years.
Pursuing a policy of inflicting a “thousand cuts”, Pakistan has relentlessly sought to divert India from its goal of vanquishing the demons of poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and unemployment. India’s mounting economic might has now placed it within handshaking distance of Big Power status — something that makes the Pakistani Establishment blind with impotent rage. Despite these realities, Prime Minister Modi undertook a dogged campaign to reach out to leaders of that country, starting with the day of his swearing-in in 2014. But once again a churlish Pakistan spurned his hand of friendship and sincere appeal to fight poverty and related evils hand-in-hand.
Uri thus came as the last straw, India’s patience having been completely exhausted. The surgical cross-loC strikes on Thursday morning were no more than a warning that not only do we have superior military prowess but the calibre of our highly-trained and motivated Army personnel is second to none in the world. If Pakistan were to continue its misadventure and repeat massacres like Uri, India is in a position to retaliate with incredible force. The nation must stand behind the Government to the last man and woman and resolve to continue the all-encompassing fight till the last terrorist in Pakistan — including the likes of Hafeez Sayeed, Azhar Masood and Dawood Ibrahim — is liquidated. Peace in our times can be ushered only by the dismantling of the terror apparatus in that country which is the only way Pakistan-sponsored disturbances in the Kashmir Valley will end.
Mr Modi had won the nation’s faith not only by promising all-round development but also total national security. He has demonstrated he is a man of his word. Indeed he has proved the adage, “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man”. India is safe in his hands!
