Random Musings

So yes, there was some violation after the ceasefire was declared and we wondered if we are back to war. Pronouncements of the Guiness record for the shortest ceasefire and the like came out double quick. And no wonder too. However, seems like things quietened down, and at least at this time, it appears that the ceasefire is on.

So let’s consider the many emotions and suggestions that people are giving (they are sounding like the cricket viewers on TV who almost always know better strategy than the captain and the players on the ground!! 😊).

1. “Why stop when we were on the offensive?”
   I am no one to say if this was the right moment to stop having the purpose served or we should have gone on some more.
   What I CAN say is that war can go on and on, if better sense does not prevail. We have the Russia-Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflicts right in front of our eyes at this time. And that while seeming the right thing to do, I wonder, if it serves any additional purpose. Other than that, honestly, we are not going out there to acquire their land. The better idea would be to create the disruption that we have done and then sponsor internal groups, whether Balochistan or others, covertly, and let them self-destruct.
2. “We were more conclusive in Bangladesh”
   That’s a chalk and cheese comparison. “East Pakistan” was a huge mistake of the partition. Having a Pakistan on both sides of the country and allowing them passage across or over, is fraught with risk. Also the purpose of that war was about liberation. This time around, we are taking revenge for terrorism on our land, for Pahalgam and many others prior to that. The purpose therefore, was to hit the terror targets, show our strength, push Pak behind, but not to go and grab some land. While we may support the BLA, this fight was not about helping them free Balochistan.
3. “We should have taken POK”
   First, it is not half as easy as speaking that sentence! Russia has been trying to grab parts of Ukraine and you know where that’s gone! Just because we hit several targets and created a scare, it’s not the same as saying that ‘oh, with a little extra effort, we could have got PoK’. Seriously not!
   More importantly though, do we really WANT PoK just the way it is? It is NOT like USA getting a peaceful Alaska or even, should they succeed, getting a Canada or a Greenland. PoK is a hotbed of terror camps, even if we might have gone and hit a few. More importantly, the allegiance of the people there, is either with Pakistan or with an independent state, and maybe a tiny fraction with India. Dammit, it’s quite like that even in the Kashmir we control. Which is why it’s been a difficult ride to get our own Kashmir back to normalcy. As we don’t know who can be trusted. In such a situation, thinking about getting PoK to become a part of India, and to give those people there, safe passage to go anywhere in the country, is a proposition of extreme risk!

So while all these look good for us “spectators” watching this war from the comforts of our home, on ground, the challenges are of a different kind altogether!

The war room and the chiefs of staff and the small cohort of our top leaders know the real situation, and I believe they have taken the right steps.

Even if the spectators think, “Arre, the light was still good.. why did they call of play already??”