Is India cutting its nose off to spite Pakistan’s face?
Do you know who wins when two neighbours fight? Neither. Relations between India and Pakistan, the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours who were once part of the same country, have been in a heightened state of aggression since February 14, when an unprecedented suicide attack by a terrorist left 49 Indian security personnel dead in Pulwama in Indian Kashmir. Several nations and international bodies, including the United Nations, have condemned in the strongest terms this cowardly act, for which the Pakistan-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a UN-designated terrorist group, has taken responsibility. The Indian army announced within the first 100 hours of the tragedy that Pulwama had been avenged after it decimated JeM leaders who plotted the monstrous attack. The suicide bombers and their immediate ‘managers,’ however, are no more than pawns in the political and ideological warfare in battlefield Kashmir.
The egregious carnage of Pulwama coupled with the appalling failure of intelligence has shocked the entire nation, and a very vocal part of the Indian population believes that much more needs to be done by the government to put an end to what they see as the latest in recurrent acts of betrayal from across the border. The fact that general elections are a couple of months away doesn’t necessarily help matters, adding pressure on a democratically elected government to decisively demonstrate its response right before the electorate makes up its mind on who it’ll vote to power for the next five years.
It’s been 10 days since the heinous act took place, and India has been looking for strategic moves to diplomatically, politically and commercially alienate Pakistan in international circles. Ministers, diplomats, bureaucrats and officials in the hallowed corridors of South Block — which includes the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of External Affairs — will no doubt be working overtime to come up with a ‘fitting’ response to terror. India has already cancelled the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status it had proffered upon Pakistan and has made no secret about the ‘military option’ on the table, airlifting 100 additional companies of paramilitary forces to the state amid a massive crackdown on separatists. But in trying to meet its deadline to name, shame and penalise the perpetrators, New Delhi needs to ensure that it doesn’t cut off its nose to spite the face — that it doesn’t do diplomatic self-harm.
India’s carefully cultivated image as a responsible global citizen must not be sacrificed at the altar of jingoism. Using sport and water as weapons are prone to backfiring, as shown by the recent suspension slapped on India by the International Olympic Committee after India denied visas to two Pakistani shooters to compete in the ongoing ISSF Shooting World Cup. Reneging on the decades-old Indus Water Treaty will also only add unnecessary fuel to the argument that India is reacting in a knee-jerk manner. Cricket may not be on the emotionally charged minds of the citizens of both the nations right now, and it won’t be the best thing to use the gentleman’s game as a negotiating tool either. While New Delhi must do all within its authority to ensure that a clear message goes out to Islamabad, there is no better and surer way to send a message than from across the table.