Who is burning my paradise?

The Indian republic is a sovereign nation which has unchallenged territorial integrity. If it doesn’t, it can’t be called a sovereign republic. The Indian Union since formation was never a tentative union of independent States with freedom of cessation; it isn’t a stop-gap arrangement. The Indian Union is a Union of States with indivisible, inseparable, unquestionable allegiance to the Constitution of the Republic of India. Once acceded, cessation is impossible.

Jammu & Kashmir is one of the 29 States of the Indian Union and stays that way no matter what anyone does. A nation can’t afford to accept challenges to its territorial integrity & cede territory on emotional, political or violent tactics by either inside or outside forces. However, unfortunately Kashmir has been burning for 70 years. Despite clear accession to India by Hari Singh, the king of this princely state, on October 27, 1947 the politics of obfuscation has been fuelled by Pakistan relentlessly since then.

If there’s any ongoing territorial conflict of this proportion on the earth for this stretch of a time, ridden with violence and consistent strife, it’s Kashmir Issue. Even the Israel and Palestine conflict pales in comparison. The largest fires in the world can be put off with a cup of water at the right time. If successive governments of Nehru clan since 1947 had any sense of timing, political will, resilience, courage and conviction, the issue could have been resolved without any bloodshed.

However, the history is testament to the fact that Pandit Nehru as Prime Minister for around two decades and his progeny for another four decades have done literally nothing to resolve the Kashmir issue; in fact, they kept the pyre burning. Worse still they allowed Kashmir issue to be internationalised by taking to the UN themselves in 1971, fanned more passions through their irresponsible and reprehensible politics of convenience through decades of misgovernance.

Decades of lapses and negligence to resolve an issue, as important as integration of a large state situated sensitively at a strategic geographic location was not considered a top priority by successive governments of India under Congress rule. A stitch in time could have saved millions of lives of soldiers, civilians and billions of rupees of defence spend. But the Congress party and its governments were too busy looting the country, to stitch up the breaking parts in time. Certainly they did not care for the costs and implications.

Pakistan is a rogue state right from its unnatural birth in 1947 from India. It jailed, hanged and assassinated its own national leaders, ran military junta governments, promoted dictators, murdered elected democracies, misled its own people and has achieved nothing but shame, suspicion, hatred and contempt to its nationals in seven decades of its pitiful existence.

Nothing better can be expected of a country which can’t forget and forgive its own mother land, from whom it separated with pure hate and intolerance. The partition bloodshed was on both ends, not just on the Indian side. India in its magnanimous spirit has forgiven the inexplicable violence on the migrating Hindus and Sikhs during partition. It has naturally healed itself of the wounds caused during partition.

What should we call a nation which cannot move on, which cannot heal its wounds, which cannot bury hatred, which cannot tolerate its own motherland from where it’s born? Can we call it a rogue, betrayer, hatemonger, in-congruent or mindless state? Pakistan has been burning the paradise on the earth for around seven decades and India keeps washing off the blood of its soldiers at the borders and citizens in J&K state. Who’s responsible for this mindless mayhem?

PM Indira Gandhi shouldn’t have fallen for the sob stories of Mr Bhutto and agreed to withdraw the Indian Army occupations deep within Pakistan after 1971 war. Apart from successful liberation of East Pakistan from Pakistan, huge gains were made in the Western Pakistan areas by Indian armed forces and also massive land gains were achieved in POK, Pakistan Punjab & Sindh sectors, which were later ceded in the Shimla Agreement of 1972, without having to indulge in any strategic negotiation for troop withdrawal from India’s end.

India could have easily got Pakistan vacated from POK in return for the prisoners of war and withdrawal from inland posts by Indian Army. It’s a historic lost opportunity by the Nehru scion. India could have resolved Kashmir issue without a drop of blood with the strength of strategic negotiation, when opportunities were presented to it.

Episodes like this in retrospect of history smack of sheer incompetence, unilateralism, and lack of vision & courage of the brazenly promoted ‘legendary leaders’ of the Congress party. In the painful timeline of 60 years of misgovernance by Congress, there are many missed opportunities, either by ignorance or incompetence.

Today a country which is living off the bread crumbs thrown by USA and other western countries for its survival continues to challenge India’s territorial integrity through backdoor methods of infiltration and fomenting unrest in parts of Kashmir. The immediate former government was dragging its feet for last two terms with Biryani diplomacy & deplorable weakness.

Pakistan has no gall to fight India face to face; it has tasted humiliating defeats in three wars with India. Only rogues and cowards fight proxy wars and that’s what they have been doing for 7 decades. They have dug their grave too deep to get out; it’s about time they are buried with their pointless hatred towards India.

Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the Indian government today is facing the enemy and dealing with it, as it must. The first few initiatives were good will gestures as a part of soft diplomacy, and to extend an opportunity for Pakistan to change course. However, old habits die hard and Pakistan, a chronic rogue, is at it again.

The ‘Pakistan Policy’ of the BJP government is not invisible; it’s clear for any discerning analyst. It has changed 360 degrees in the last few months. The new doctrine of Pakistan Policy is no more defensive, no soft diplomacy, no more sweet talk, no off the cuff visits, no pleasantries. The new Pakistan policy is clearly reciprocative, ‘you get what you give.’

In fact, the new approach towards Pakistan might end up incrementing the reciprocation quotient by India, as the time passes; ‘you give one, you get ten.’ This time around India, has already showcased its diplomatic strength by stalling the funds on their way from the donors to this parasite nation. Indian government for the first time is on a clear offensive.

PM’s outreach to Baluchistan, external affairs ministry’s demand for talks on POK, cessation of any dialogue until infiltration stops are few tactical and strategic moves made quite recently. India is not shutting down its elected government on the whims of Pakistan & its agents in the valley, as it used to earlier.

The writing is on the wall. These few steps by the Indian government are an indication of interesting times ahead, for permanent resolution of this issue. It’s in Pakistan’s interest to unlearn the past behaviour and learn afresh. This time around, India will not just talk, it will certainly walk the talk.
Entire Jammu & Kashmir inclusive of POK is a part of India, and nothing can change it – certainly not one rogue state on a death bed in the neighbourhood.

India has capabilities to protect its national integrity and sovereignty from any force in the world. India will stop the Paradise from being burnt by the enemies from outside and inside. This time around, Kashmir will be healed forever. (Writer is a BJP spokesperson, an organisational strategist & an author)