Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Another terrorist attack – a solution urgently required' that was published in Newsband

Another terrorist attack – a solution urgently required

40 CRPF personnel died in Thursday’s terrorist strike in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation, has taken responsibility for what is now the highest toll of security forces in any attack in the State. A suicide bomber could time his attack to hit a security convoy.

Certainly, diplomatic backing by Pakistan and China has been crucial in defeating efforts at the United Nations to stop such attacks. India has withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan. Coercive diplomacy is likely to continue.

Thursday’s attack was meant to provoke and polarise the country. New Delhi’s response must be to keep the peace on Indian territory. It's easy to start a problem but finding the solution is far more difficult. The government's main duty is to bring peace in the country. The main duty is to restrain all these vulgar mishaps from changing the secularist's perspectives and maintaining an egalitarian society. Just like in J&K the recent incident must not be turned into a controversial topic or it would impact the mindsets of our society.

Merely isolating Pakistan wouldn't do much. What India needs is to give its army the power to fight back and show them that India was never weak and never ever will be.

The usual 'peace' process does not cut any ice anymore. India has patiently, for 72 years now, hoped for a change in the attitude of Pakistan despite unremitting jihad from day one, countless skirmishes, four wars, enduring hostility all around, burgeoning Pakistan-sponsored terrorism since the 1980s all over our country, nuclear blackmail etc. But, all that optimism have always come unstuck and the patience has been in utter vain. If it was first the US, Britain, West Asian monarchies that sustained Pakistan and allowed its terrorist activities, it has since the 1990s been the Chinese and West Asian monarchies that continue to sustain Pakistan's jihadi terrorism. We are simply naive to smoke the peace pipe after Chattisinghpora, Kaluchak, Badamibagh, Parliament (13/12), 26/11, Uri, Pathankot and now Pulwama. Even God cannot save us if we follow the same foolish path. There is a limit to naivety. Only cowards see ghosts in every shadow to justify cowardice.

At this stage of this tragic incident, two things must be pondered upon. First, why such anger among the youth of Kashmir against India. Second, who is the ultimate gainer in the short run?

India's response should be 2 pronged - coercive diplomacy to isolate Pakistan including stringent economic isolation through ban on any trade relations with them. At the same time, India must develop strong defence capabilities in terms of surveillance technologies, air and ground systems, upgradation of military equipment and come at par with Chinese defence capabilities. That is important to desist China from implicitly supporting Pakistani military infrastructure and to counter it at global forums. Because of Chinese support to Pakistan, militancy is also getting helped.

India must plan to develop capabilities to annihilate such militant organizations by targeting their leaders like Masood Azhar who is roaming freely in Pakistan.

Our bravado is limited to shouting abuses in TV channels. While our enemies do what they want to. The last four years has seen undeterred and free access from our enemies. Yet we celebrate those in charge of our national security. Our defence and our soldiers were never so compromised in last 50 years as they are now.

It is absolutely necessary to win the confidence of the local people besides effective intelligence. The political parties should desist from making statements that make these people feel insecure and work against the establishment.