Pakistan is no longer testing India, it is taunting us and our inability to put it in its place. We need to respond in kind.
- In Foreign Policy
- 07:21 AM, Feb 24, 2019
- Manasa Manjunath
History is taught so we learn from our past mistakes and yet, History continues to repeat itself. There is no better example for this than India’s Pakistan policy or the lack there of. Starting with its very creation, through the wars in 1971, 1999, the attacks of 26/11, in Uri and the very latest in Pulwama, Pakistan has been a thorn in India’s side since its very inception. And at every step of the way – from the transfer of 55 million rupees in the face of the aggression in Kashmir, the imbalance in the Indus Water treaty, the release of the 1971 prisoners of war, the continuing trade and even the inclusion of Pakistani influences in our culture, we have continued to incentivise rather than punish them for their misdeeds. So emboldened are they, that they now presume to lecture India about human rights in international conclaves.
We are talking about a country that blatantly lies in the face of evidence. One that not just shelters terrorists but creates and nurtures them. Terror is not a hobby for them, it is their core competence! They have little regard for the lives we lose. The lack of condolence or even acknowledgement of the loss of lives from their Prime Minister is proof enough for that. The usual rules don’t apply to dealing with this rogue nation. That they are a dysfunctional state, is evident to them and they will not rest until they make the same true of our own.
In the meantime, we hide behind the veil of no first action and furtive thoughts of boycotts from hypocritical nations as the blood of our young men is shed thoughtlessly, needlessly and callously for the amusement of our neighbour! In recent times Pakistan hasn’t even balked at our outrage seeing as how little faith we put in it ourselves. After the initial hue and cry, we resign ourselves to our conservatively pragmatic and prudent thoughts of consequences and so forth. Even after 70 years of this ongoing conflict, even after the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, even after hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were terrorized out of their own homes, it appears that the cost we have borne for our so-called pragmatism is not high enough to warrant a different response. The surgical strikes of 2016, an exception in many ways, are taste of what we are capable of but choose not to do.
Successive governments have promised and reneged on solving the problem that is Pakistan. It therefore falls to us, regular citizens, to take matters into our own hands and in turn force the hand of the government. Lest we bequeath this bloody legacy to our future generations, as we inherited from those before us. The only way to do so is a complete boycott of Pakistan and all things Pakistani – whether products, sports or cultural exchanges. For far too long have we been patient, for far too long have we been peace loving, and for far too long have we turned the other cheek. Pakistan is no longer testing us, it is taunting us and our inability to put it in its place. For a country of 1.3 billion people – one-seventh of the earth’s entire population – we have little faith in our strength. We are a force to reckon with and it’s time the world knew just what it is dealing with. It is time to dig our heels in and show that we will no longer stay silent in the face of this monster.
Considering this comes on the eve of the Cricket world cup, there is no better time to show we mean business. Let us call for the BCCI to forfeit the game with Pakistan – it is not cowardice. Bullets and runs just cannot rain at the same time. Let us abandon every single game played by Pakistan – surely that will make a significant dent in the viewership ratings and sure, the cricket world cup will suffer losses but it’s an insignificant price not even worth comparing with the lives of our 40+ brave soldiers.
With the election looming in the distance, there is no better time to put pressure on our government to declare Pakistan the terror state it is. To use every weapon in our arsenal to hit Pakistan on every front available. Let us no longer make subtle references and remarks hinting at Pakistan but call them out every instance we get. Let us stand tall and proud as do our soldiers every day in the face of evil that is Pakistan. Let us stand before them so that no other life is lost to a Pakistani bullet. Let there be no stones for Pakistan to hide behind as they fire cheap pot-shots at us.
There will be those who say that the average Pakistani has little to do with this conflict. If anything, their wish for peace is greater than our own. That it would do little since it is the ISI and the army that controls the country rather than the other way round. To them I say, silence in the face of injustice is as big a crime as committing the crime itself.
To those that will talk of facing similar boycott from other countries, I point in the direction of the perpetrator who continue to nurture and export terror across borders with little thought for the lives and families they destroy. Despite which, they continue to be at the receiving end of grants and support. If a country as needy as Pakistan can afford to export terrorism, surely we can handle some backlash in the face of the hundreds of thousands we have already lost and will continue to lose if we continue down the same path.
And last but not least, to those that will call me a war monger and throw non-violence as the foundation on which our country was build, I remind you of the support that the champion of non-violence gave to the British during the second world war and how he personally took up the mission of recruiting Indian soldiers for the British cause. What we can also never afford to forget is that we are dealing with a country that threatens our allies with similar consequences as we have suffered if we retaliate. Such arrogance cannot be ignored!
So much blood has already been shed and more will flow unless we put a stop to it. After all – Si vis pacem, para bellum – If you want peace, prepare for war. And it’s about time we did!
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