War is a mere continuation of politics by other means. In military parlance surgical strikes are a form of a limited war. These are special operations aimed at a target and are performed with precision in a short duration. But the linkage with politics is inevitable and undeniable. So it is natural that we are witnessing a pretty heavy dose of partisan politics ever since the Indian Army carried out a swift surgical operation across the Line of Control hitting at Pakistani launch pads where the militants belonging to terror outfits were waiting to cross the border.
First things first. In so far as military operations go, it was picture perfect. It had all the features — surprise, stealth and precision. It inflicted maximum possible damage on the enemy without a single casualty. Even politically, everything was on track on day one as all leaders across party lines rallied round the Modi Sarkar and effusively praised the army’s valour. On that day as Director General Military Operations ( DGMO) Lt. Gen Ranbir Singh briefed the media in his measured tone he also succeeded in conveying an unequivocal message to Pakistan that enough is enough and henceforth if the Indian army has actionable intelligence that Islamabad intends to send in terrorists there would be pre- emptive strikes. Modi also echoed the enough is enough message through his decision to make the shift in strategy.
Now comes the politics of it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the executive head of the government of the day is the legitimate beneficiary or otherwise of this decision. But it must be put in perspective that the decision itself is a paradigm shift from the strategic restraint policy that prevailed even during the 1999 Kargil war fought in the Vajpayee era. So, he has made a bold departure from a long trodden path. The success or otherwise of this option will be judged by the impact on Pakistan’s policy to use terror as an instrument of state policy. But this much is clear that this option will also be exercised in future as well, and from a pragmatic standpoint should serve as a deterrent for Pakistan.
In the immediate aftermath of the surgical strikes, Pakistan has been caught with its guard down. It has reacted in panic and with a confused approach. While denying the surgical strike it has stepped up violence across the border. Domestically its age-old conflict between the civilian and military authorities has been renewed. There have been credible reports of a showdown between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Director General of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) Rizwan Akhtar over the issue of taking action against terror masterminds such as Hafeez Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar, the non-state actors who enjoy the patronage of the army and the ISI. Besides this its foreign affairs department is feeling the heat of the process of international isolation reflected first in the boycott of the SAARC summit in Islamabad and then the cold shouldered treatment its 22 special envoys received when they went to global capitals to sell Nawaz Sharif’s hardline on Kashmir with India.
The fact that the international community led by the United States of America by and large supported the surgical strikes as India’s right to self defence has also added to Pakistan’s plight. The only exception is China and this is understandable as it is Pakistan’s all-weather friend and its anti- India stance on such matters is also reflected in its long standing record at international level.
In this context, the political scene in Delhi is quite in sync with the levels of immaturity and short- sightedness of the main players in our polity that it has not been able to internalise this unprecedented military and diplomatic success with the gravitas it deserves. The conduct of all political parties ill behoves the status of India as the fastest-growing economy and the biggest democracy of the world. The ideal thing for the political parties would have been to keep quiet and let the government’s official spokespersons deal with all the issues.
But then what would be the point of carrying out these surgical strikes if the fall-out is not encashed politically? That too immediately. Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar was the strategically chosen pointsman for the task. He delivered all the punch lines with the desired effect. In consonance with the Modi inspired theme that nothing has been done in the country during the past six decades Parrikar described the Army as a Hanuman who did not know about its prowess before Modi became the prime minister in 2014. Modi’s no chest thumping disclaimer was only for the sake of record or else the entire cabinet knows that Parrikar would not be addressing BJP rallies felicitating him for the success of the surgical strikes without Modi’s explicit nod.
In such a scenario, the opposition Congress had no option but to respond. If Parrikar’s conduct lacked the gravitas of several of India’s past defence ministers like Y B Chavan or Jagjivan Ram who steered us through critical situations, then the Congress behaviour was equally crude with its vice-president Rahul Gandhi taking the honours as he used the expression ‘khoon ki dalali.’
The bitter exchanges so far are just a prelude to what lies ahead in the electoral season as states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa hold their state assembly elections. The BJP has already scheduled four yatras in UP that will culminate in Lucknow on December 24th in a mega show of strength to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi. That would indeed be the time for a no holds barred display of his public speaking skills. Even otherwise UP is a high stakes battle for all the players and the surgical strikes will keep dominating the discourse.