Recent Discussions

Fwd: Time for restraint

30th May 1999      Srinath S @geocities.com

Hi, 

I received this forwarded article which appeared in
soc.culture.pakistan. Found the article interesting, and thought it made a
lot of sense-- although personally I may not agree on all the arguments. I
request you to please go through the article, and respond objectively. No
rabid insinuations, please. 

-srinath 

> 
> Time for restraint
> Senator Shafqat Mahmood
> 
> Just when it seemed that peace was becoming possible in the
> subcontinent, a serious clash has erupted on the line of control. This
> has come, to use a sports terminology, against the run of the play.
> Since the Lahore visit by Vajpayee there had been a visible lowering of
> tension. Our cricket team went over and played a series of matches. The
> two chambers of commerce were beginning to go beyond the hello/hi stage.
> A visit by a large group of Pakistani parliamentarians to India was only
> thwarted by the unexpected crash of the BJP government. These were good
> signs. Signs of a thaw between bitter enemies. Enemies that were now
> nuclear powers and had the capacity to destroy each other many times
> over. Suddenly, we are back to square one.
> 
> The Indians were clearly flirting with danger by upping the ante on the
> line of control. This is a mountainous country where borders are hard to
> identify. Modern jet fighters travelling at over 600 miles an hour would
> find it impossible not to stray into Pakistani territory. The Indian
> leadership should have known this. They should also have realised that
> unleashing the Indian Air Force so close to the Line of Control could
> have consequences. It was easy to anticipate that a violation of
> Pakistani airspace would elicit a response. Surely they did not think
> that Pakistani forces would sit twiddling their thumbs while Indian jets
> flew over them. This was a bad miscalculation. Or was it?
> 
> Of course, there is line of argument that places these Indian moves in
> the context of their domestic politics. An election campaign is underway
> and, it is argued, a clash with Pakistan could help the BJP to bang the
> nationalist drum and get more votes. I for one do not buy this argument.
> Vajpayee's overtures to Pakistan were quite popular in India. The
> ordinary people over there, as in Pakistan, do not relish the idea of a
> nuclear exchange. Lowering of tensions makes everyone feel secure.
> Secondly, how can a government going into an election risk a clash in
> which they could get a bloody nose. As things are at this point in time,
> the Indians have lost two, maybe three jets. It is more than a bloody
> nose. They have lost face. This certainly does not make Vajpayee look
> good.
> 
> No, the answer lies elsewhere. It lies in the gung ho attitude of the
> Indian military establishment. It is the Indian military that has
> prodded the political establishment to allow air strikes. Where the
> Indian political situation does play a part is in the acquiescence of
> the political leadership to the military. The Vajpayee caretaker
> government just did not have the guts to stand up to the military and
> say no to the use of air force in a volatile area. The Kashmir uprising
> has been going on since 1989. There have been allegations of
> infiltration before. Yet the air force has never been inducted in this
> manner. A weak Indian government is caving in to the hawks in the
> military.
> 
> It is clearly an operation that has been initiated and instigated by the
> Indian military and only acquiesced to by the politicians. It may not
> mean much but seeing the Indian military spokesmen on TV was more than a
> give away. An Indian Air Marshal was almost apoplectic recounting the
> downing of Indian jets. This was no calm spokesman, a la Nato, but a man
> full of anger ready to burst a blood vessel. And herein lies the danger.
> The Indian military has lost face. How are they going to retaliate?
> 
> In the pre-nuclear period one would have had little concern about it.
> Our armed forces have given more than enough evidence that they can
> defend our territory. But it is the crazy people that worry me. There is
> no shortage of mad people on both sides of the border. People who can
> sit calmly and discuss nuclear exchange scenarios. I have heard one such
> argument. One apparently sane person was stating calmly that if we nuke
> each other, the Indians would suffer more. We would lose 'only' ten
> million people while they would have over 50 million dead. Get real
> here, someone should have said. But how can one blame them. Wasn't it
> the one and only, Gohar Ayub, who said that we are better off in a
> nuclear exchange because our population is scattered. Our casualties
> would be less compared to the Indians whose population is thickly
> packed. What more can one say?
> 
> Not much except this, that our current celebration of the nuclear
> explosion certainly does not help matters. Nawaz Sharif may be trying in
> his inimitable way to milk as much political capital out of the bang as
> possible. He also may consider it politically smart to divert attention
> away from the recent crackdown on the press. But in the context of
> renewed tension with India, it is shortsighted in the extreme. The smart
> thing to do is to cool the situation down. To utilise all the hot lines
> and cold lines to establish contact with the Indian leadership and
> defuse the tension. Not to fuel the emotions of the people and create a
> war hysteria. Besides it would also have the intended consequence of
> creating fewer problems for the commuters. Every bus, truck and wagon
> has been impounded to carry the people to historic rallies. When will we
> give up this practice?
> 
> It would also be smart to let the energies of the people focus on the
> essentials. These essentials are economic development, social cohesion,
> and improving the structure of governance. Security is not unimportant.
> In fact, it provides the necessary condition to seek the economic,
> social and political objectives. However, it is not obligatory to keep
> thumping one's chest every other day to prove to the world that we are
> secure. Possession of a nuclear deterrence should give us a quiet
> confidence in our abilities. It should give us the strength to remain
> calm rather than get overly excited. So far this government seems
> determined to move in the opposite direction. It is no help in this
> potentially explosive situation.
> 
> Peace and security is essential in the subcontinent for these very poor
> countries to move forward. A credible minimum deterrence has been
> created. It is now time to refocus the energies on solving the pressing
> problems of poverty, disease, illiteracy, unemployment, gender
> disparities, religious and ethnic intolerance, crime and more. It is not
> the time to slide closer to a nuclear holocaust. This is the challenge
> that both Nawaz and Vajpayee need to confront.
> 
> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

--
Send in your ideas to address challenges of Indian life: 
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2nd June 1999      Preeti Goel @vsnl.com

The article 'Time For Restraint' by Senator Shafqat Mahmood needs to be
analysed closely and thought over more deeply. Following comments are
being made para-wise against the views expressed therein.

Comments
1. Yes, it was indeed heartening to note that both the countries seemed to
agree on maintaining better relations which is vital for maintaining peace
in the region. But then why are we back to square one ?  The
responsibility for current Kargil Crisis lies with the Pakistan Government
more than it lies on India.  Can the Pakistan government plead ignorance
to such large scale Infiltration into Indian Territory from its own
Borders ?  Was the Pakistan Army 'sleeping' when such large chunks of
Infiltrators were crossing their Borders to 'Invade' India or were they
conspiring with the Infiltrators to 'Invade' India ? If Pakistan was so
eager to maintain cordial relations with India then was it not an equal
responsibility of the Nawaz Sharif Government to ensure that no such acts
occur which in future would only end up in jeopardising the efforts that
both the countries were making in maintaining Peace ?

2. Indian Airforce is rated amongst one of the best in the World. And
Indian Combat Aircrafts are said to boast of the most advanced technology.
Advancement in Technology only leads to more accuracy and precision. It is
hard to believe that Senators of Pakistan are making statements about
'Difficulty in identifying ones International Borders clearly' !   If
India wanted it could have easily violated the Line of Control but we are
a Peace loving country and have always respected the LOC. The only
Aircraft which accidentally flew into the Pakistan Territory did so
because of Mechanical fault but it was a sheer act of cowardice on part of
the Pakistan Army and the Government to have cold-bloodedly murdered an
Indian Officer who had landed in their territory alive !  We might have
lost One Officer in the process and One Fighter Aircraft too, but then
which Indian would not like to lay down their life for the sake of India ?
 It was a miscalculation on the part of Pakistan Government and Pakistani
Intruders who thought that India would not retaliate.

3. Every Indian knows what efforts the Indian Government under the able
leadership of  Vajpayee has made to maintain Peace in the region. It is no
crime to trust one's neighbour and that too when the neighbour SEEMS to be
reciprocating those friendly initiatives. The Vajpayee government has
taken reasonably good and correct action in deciding to use Indian Air
Force to flush out these Pakistani Infiltrators. He has not lost face
neither has the Indian Government lost face. India was not the first to
make the first move. Such large scale presence of Infiltrators in the
Indian Territory close to the LOC only show that Pakistan has failed to
maintain its promises. Infact it is the Pakistani Government which has
lost face in front of the World Community at large. India and Indians are
proud of its Government and proud of Vajpayee who is leading them.

4.  It is sheer common sense that all countries of the world maintain 3
different Forces who protect their International Borders. All 3 Forces
have different roles to play and are called in only when required. India
is not a fool to put its Air Force into play where it could have easily
done with the Ground Forces !  The World knows how difficult the Terrains
are in Kargil and in areas close to the LOC. You cannot expect the Ground
Forces to succeed in flushing out Infiltrators who have occupied high
positions amidst those mountains. Air Force is and would always be the
best and fastest option available for any country for that matter to
tackle such situations. It is Pakistani Military which might be having a
better say in the running of its country rather than its government - a
fact which seems to have been exposed by the ongoing Kargil crisis.
Pakistan Army has failed to check Infiltration into India from its own
Borders.

5. Indian Military has not lost face. India has complete faith in its
Military, Air and Naval Forces. The Military has been successful in
tackling the situation to its best - to the maximum extent possible and is
still continuing to do so. Now its the joint effort of the Indian Air
Force and Indian Military to make sure that each and every Infiltrator
inside its Territory is either flushed out or eliminated. Joint effort
bears faster results and a co-ordinated effort of both has already started
producing positive results. Pakistan better acknowledge the fact that
Indian Military does not operate with an ego. Indian Military is an
integral part of Indian Forces and Indian Forces have retaliated very
fittlingly to the designs of Pakistani Infiltrators by using its Air
Force. We are proud of India and proud of its Indian Forces.

6. We are all aware of the aftermath of war including the disastrous
consequences of nuclear technology. But since the Senator has chosen to
put forward arguments so one can say more to this point than what has been
said. If ever both the countries decide to use Nuclear Technology in
'War', as has been conjectured in the said article, then Pakistan should
not bother about the Density of Population in India. Rather it should be
more concerned about itself. India has enough numbers to fight such
situation (if we go purely by the argument of numbers on both the sides as
done in the said article). But then, India would resist from making such
first moves. It has always stood for Peace and would continue to do so but
then such a stand should not mean that India be taken for granted by its
neighbours.

7.  It is upto the Pakistan Prime Minister to honestly and sincerely make
the moves to reciprocate India's recent friendly gestures and initiatives
in maintaining Peace in the region.  The 7th Para of the Senator's Article
raises other points too which are matters of Internal Concern for
Pakistan, so it is better to avoid any comment on them.

8. The 8th Para is again a matter of Internal Concern for Pakistan. So no
comments again.

9. India is not a 'Poor Country'.  India is a Developing Country and has
survived all Sanctions imposed by the Clinton Administration and other
countries last year after conducting Nuclear Tests. India has the ability
to sustain, survive and emerge self-reliant despite International
Pressures of the so-called 'World Super Powers'.  It is time Pakistan
acquired a different vision to view India. True picture of India can be
seen only with the Intellectual Ray !

The only solution to maintaining Peace in the Region is by respecting the
LOC which cannot be done by words and promises alone, it has to be
corroborated by action. Nawaz Sharif Government should exercise all its
might in stopping Infiltrators from crossing the LOC from Pakistan's
International Borders into India. If the Pakistan Government is serious
enough to maintaining Peace in the Region then this seems to be the only
peaceful solution to the ongoing Kargil Crisis.

Further comments are invited.

Regards,
Preeti Goel