Back from the brink
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
The subcontinent heaved a sigh of relief during the weekend following a palpable improvement in the situation after days of tension generated by war cries and some military action in the wake of the bomb attack at Pulwama in Kashmir.
More than 40 security personnel were killed in the attack which came after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, overlooking a series of daring attacks on Indian military establishments, claimed there had been no terror attacks in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time.
Modi, who had strenuously projected a macho image of himself and earned applause from his Hindutva supporters, had said the sacrifices of the security personnel would not go in vain.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, while calling for talks, sought to match Modi’s mood with a reminder that he was a Pathan’s son. Any retaliatory action would meet with a response, he warned.
The army in both the countries dutifully reiterated their readiness to face any eventuality.
The Indian response came in the form of a pre-dawn operation in which Air Force planes bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp at Balakot, across the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Pakistani response also took the form of violation of the line of control. India’s aged MiG-21s scrambled to challenge Pakistan’s F-16s and a dogfight ensued.
The price each side paid for the brief display of military prowess is not quite clear as both sides have been niggardly with facts, the focus being primarily on satisfying popular sentiments at home.
While the military issued a matter-of-fact statement on the Balakot air strike, Indian officials, keen to please hyper-nationalists, fed the media with a casualty figure of more than 300 dead.
Pakistan said it shot down two MiGs and captured the pilot of one of them. India said it had downed an F-16 and acknowledged a pilot was missing in action. Neither side said anything about the pilots of the other planes which were allegedly hit.
As the media played up the aerial encounter, the military and civilian casualties in truce violations and encounters with militants in Kashmir received little attention.
Kashmir media reported the Pulwama toll had gone up to 49 with some security men succumbing to their injuries. However, the government did not revise the casualty figure.
There was considerable anxiety in India over the fate of the captured pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, against the background of the experience of former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is facing the death sentence in Pakistan on charges of spying.
Jadhav’s case is now before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
The world watched developments in the subcontinent with concern as India and Pakistan, which fought three wars between 1947 and 1972 with conventional weapons, now have nuclear weapons too.
China’s recent statement that it does not recognise either country as a nuclear nation makes no difference to the fact that they have the capacity to cause immense harm to themselves and to the neighbourhood.
India asked for safe return of the pilot. Anti-war groups in both the countries also demanded his release.
As everyone was wondering what steps each side would take next, tempers cooled as Imran Khan announced in the National Assembly that the pilot would be returned to India on Friday as a peace gesture.
Imran Khan was in a happier situation than Modi in dealing with the situation as he did not have to face an election immediately. Modi has to seek a fresh mandate in April-May.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s vested interest in heightened tension became evident when its top leader in Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa, blurted out that the Indian air strikes would help the party win as many as 22 of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats.
When tension eased, party propagandists claimed the turnaround was the result of Modi’s diplomatic efforts.
While war clouds hung over the subcontinent, a silver lining was provided by small groups in both countries, mostly comprising young people, who raised ‘no war” cries above the sounds of the drums.
Both war-mongers and peace campaigners were active in the social media. Some cities of India and Pakistan witnessed small peace rallies. Indians and Pakistanis at Oxford University issued a joint statement calling for peace.
Which of the two tribes will increase? In the answer to this question lies the future of the subcontinent. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 5, 2019.
BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today
The subcontinent heaved a sigh of relief during the weekend following a palpable improvement in the situation after days of tension generated by war cries and some military action in the wake of the bomb attack at Pulwama in Kashmir.
More than 40 security personnel were killed in the attack which came after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, overlooking a series of daring attacks on Indian military establishments, claimed there had been no terror attacks in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time.
Modi, who had strenuously projected a macho image of himself and earned applause from his Hindutva supporters, had said the sacrifices of the security personnel would not go in vain.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, while calling for talks, sought to match Modi’s mood with a reminder that he was a Pathan’s son. Any retaliatory action would meet with a response, he warned.
The army in both the countries dutifully reiterated their readiness to face any eventuality.
The Indian response came in the form of a pre-dawn operation in which Air Force planes bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp at Balakot, across the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Pakistani response also took the form of violation of the line of control. India’s aged MiG-21s scrambled to challenge Pakistan’s F-16s and a dogfight ensued.
The price each side paid for the brief display of military prowess is not quite clear as both sides have been niggardly with facts, the focus being primarily on satisfying popular sentiments at home.
While the military issued a matter-of-fact statement on the Balakot air strike, Indian officials, keen to please hyper-nationalists, fed the media with a casualty figure of more than 300 dead.
Pakistan said it shot down two MiGs and captured the pilot of one of them. India said it had downed an F-16 and acknowledged a pilot was missing in action. Neither side said anything about the pilots of the other planes which were allegedly hit.
As the media played up the aerial encounter, the military and civilian casualties in truce violations and encounters with militants in Kashmir received little attention.
Kashmir media reported the Pulwama toll had gone up to 49 with some security men succumbing to their injuries. However, the government did not revise the casualty figure.
There was considerable anxiety in India over the fate of the captured pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, against the background of the experience of former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is facing the death sentence in Pakistan on charges of spying.
Jadhav’s case is now before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
The world watched developments in the subcontinent with concern as India and Pakistan, which fought three wars between 1947 and 1972 with conventional weapons, now have nuclear weapons too.
China’s recent statement that it does not recognise either country as a nuclear nation makes no difference to the fact that they have the capacity to cause immense harm to themselves and to the neighbourhood.
India asked for safe return of the pilot. Anti-war groups in both the countries also demanded his release.
As everyone was wondering what steps each side would take next, tempers cooled as Imran Khan announced in the National Assembly that the pilot would be returned to India on Friday as a peace gesture.
Imran Khan was in a happier situation than Modi in dealing with the situation as he did not have to face an election immediately. Modi has to seek a fresh mandate in April-May.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s vested interest in heightened tension became evident when its top leader in Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa, blurted out that the Indian air strikes would help the party win as many as 22 of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats.
When tension eased, party propagandists claimed the turnaround was the result of Modi’s diplomatic efforts.
While war clouds hung over the subcontinent, a silver lining was provided by small groups in both countries, mostly comprising young people, who raised ‘no war” cries above the sounds of the drums.
Both war-mongers and peace campaigners were active in the social media. Some cities of India and Pakistan witnessed small peace rallies. Indians and Pakistanis at Oxford University issued a joint statement calling for peace.
Which of the two tribes will increase? In the answer to this question lies the future of the subcontinent. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 5, 2019.
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