Commander Sumit Ghosh
Lucknow: The Pahalgam terror attack of 22/04 in Kashmir, India, which tragically killed 26innocent civilians, injured scores, and deeply shocked and saddened billions of people worldwide, was a cowardly assault on peace and humanity by sadistic Islamic Jihadi terrorists. They specifically targeted peaceful Hindu tourists, holidaying with families, brutally killing them causing panic, fear and disbelief. India responded with immediate condemnation and launched an extensive search operation to hunt down those responsible. With Lashkar group claiming responsibility and, intelligence inputs confirming Pak ISI and Army involvement, India got serious into evaluating its RESPONSE strategy. Whilst the security forces have intensified patrols, increased surveillance, and reinforced the region to locate and neutralise further threats, the government has extended support to the victims’ families and reiterated its firm stance against terrorism and appropriate response to Pak. The ModiGovernment has shown its IRON WILL to teach a lesson to Pakistan this time.
The question is ….What should our response be? Should it be about destroying some military installations, or obliterating political institutions or killing hundreds in retaliation, or a surgical strike on terror camps, or negotiating on table or something else or all the above?Suffering terrorism over decades, the common Indian knows that terrorists won’t learn and the State sponsoring terror will never give up until perhaps something big and very heavy is done to the enemy state.
In my opinion, the Indian Response must be “Very Heavy’. So heavy that the terror organisations will forever contemplate only about losing more, than gaining anything out of their terror endeavours and also that the terror planners/supporters/ sympathizerswould lose everything they have. The response should ensure that economically, politically, militarily and socially the terror state Pakistan is pushed to deep isolation, towards implosion,into disaster, chaos riddled internal strifesto such an extent that, their own public mind-set turns strongly against their own perpetrators, planners, ideologists who advocate such Jihad. This ‘very heavy’ response must be long lasting, deep impacting, well calculated and sustained so as to break the identity of Pakistan into smaller pieces so that its own relevance as a strong, responsible country is finished forever. India must plan its response on all fronts and makesure that a few new nation states are carved out of Pakistan this time.
Our response to terrorism must be uncompromising, deeply rooted in unwavering resolve, national unity, and a multi-dimensional strategy across all spectrums’, that leaves no room for ambiguity or compromise with and escape of the terror State. We must rise with iron-willed determination, recognizing that failure to act decisively not only emboldens perpetrators but endangers our future generations. The response must be on the rule of zero-tolerance policy. There can be no compromise, no dialogue, and no appeasement when innocent lives are targeted and national security is challenged.
Furthermore, military responses in all four dimensions (land, air, sea and space) must be overwhelming. Shock and awe must prevail. The message must be loud and clear: This includes maintaining a sustained campaign to dismantle their networks, funding sources, and digital propaganda machinery. Stopping Indus waters is a masterstroke, but few more such actions would break the Paki psyche.Degrading Pakistan’s High commission and revoking visas is an effective tactic too. Replacing Pakistan with new trade partners will further sink its economy and morale.
Domestically, our legislation must be fortified to empower our security agencies with the most advanceddevices &technologies they need, without bureaucratic delays, to pre-empt and neutralize threats for the long term. Simultaneously, our judicial processes must be streamlined to ensure that the terror accused, are prosecuted expeditiously. India must exert huge strategic pressure through global forums, sanctions, and bilateral relations, ensuring that Pakistan is named, shamed, and held accountable. The media, academic institutions, and civil society must act as pillars of resilience, promoting national unity.
Finally, India’s greatest strength lies in its unbreakable spirit. Terrorism thrives on division, fear, and chaos and therefore, our national unity must prevail above all else. Every Indian must contribute to the nation’s defensethrough vigilance, cooperation, and unwavering patriotism. We owe it to our motherland
About Author:- Commander Sumit Ghosh is a former Indian Navy Officer. He writes regularly on International relations, strategic military and technology issues. He is an active member of the national think tanks USI, the CHAKRA Foundation and the STRIVE. He can be reached at sumit12in@gmail.com.
