Superpower India: Don’t just talk, act like one

The series of events after 26/11 (including the January 1 Guwahati bomb blasts) have left no one in any doubt about a few facts. Any naval specialist will agree that the manner in which the 10 terrorists attacked Mumbai, including the transit in the Indian fishing boat Kuber, could only be possible with the involvement of the ISI, the Pakistani Army and Navy.

Media reports indicate that about 70 per cent of my proposals made in various articles in this paper since May 2008 have been accepted by the government. I hope that they are implemented urgently, especially since the recent roller coaster — initial “vehement denial” followed by “yes, Kasav is Pakistani”), ISI leaflets given to Pakistan Army about dismembering India by 2020 — indicate that Pakistan does not have peace on its mind. Poonch firefighting indicates the shape of things to come from the “epicentre of terrorism”.

The manner in which the Pakistani military, hell-bent on destabilising and dismembering India, took over the decision-making process from President Asif Zardari and his nascent government to win public support for the discredited military and from the terrorists to “defend Pakistan” in case of war, has left no one in doubt that the Pakistan Army Chief, General Ashraf Parvez Kayani, is the decision-maker in that troubled land, with the Pakistani government acting as his spokesperson. Indeed, temperatures went up last month when Gen. Kayani said, “Pakistan will respond in minutes,” and things cooled down only when, on December 29, he said, “There is a need to de-escalate”.

Why did Gen. Kayani raise the war hysteria pitch to such levels, and why did the media report that the Pakistani Army had withdrawn some troops from the Afghan border? The answer may not be too difficult. Unlike India, the Pakistani military machine has been kept well oiled with the $10 billion in aid received in the last seven years. It is, indeed, amazing that Pakistan, despite being totally bankrupt, has managed a $8 billion IMF loan, asked for a $60 billion “grant” to boost its economy, is acquiring three German-type 214 submarines, co-producing 150 Chinese FC-17 light fighter jets, inducting 36 Chinese FC-20 (J-10) heavy fighter jets, three Chinese frigates, Swedish and Chinese AWACS, F-16 fighter jets, artillery and Brazilian SAMs.

There is no doubt in my mind that buoyed by the “success” of the 10-man terrorist strike on 26/11, and emboldened by the “civilised and diplomatic” response of the Indian government and international community (the US is planning to give Pakistan another $15 billion), the Pakistani military, ISI and various terrorist outfits would be planning more devastating attacks in the near future. These attacks could be from the sea, air or land, or a combination which would aim to saturate India’s response mechanism, cause maximum damage and pull us into the “failed state quagmire” of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

So how does India prepare for this “doomsday” scenario. The answers are complex. The government has taken a few punitive steps by introducing the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and making the 1967 Act stiffer.
Vice-Admiral Arun Kumar Singh retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
Read more: Superpower India: Don’t just talk, act like one By Arun Kumar Singh