COMING DECADES A CHALLENGE FOR INDIA'S DEFENCE AND SECURITY

The terror attacks of 26/11 on Mumbai have laid bare the hidden chinks in India's rusty security shield. This dastardly hostile act calls for an urgent threadbare assessment on each and every aspect of the nation's internal security as well as defence of our orders. The appalling assault on India's financial capital together with the preceding ones in Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and a few other Indian cities is nothing but undeclared war by Pakistan. Nineteenth century German military strategist Clauswitz termed such a volatile situation 'nothing but continuation of politics by other means'. However, this time, Islamabad's crafty politics and scheming diplomacy is accompanied by the means of a naked proxy war. In the present context, the usual contours of the conventional threat perception to the country appear to have altered. Though, a military blitzkrieg supported by elements of air power and naval backup from inimical nations is still very much a possibility yet India's unquestioned capabilities to forcefully retaliate and take the war onto enemy territory may prove an operative deterrent. Pakistan might have learnt lessons from its failed military adventures in 1948, 1965, 1971 and the last one in 1999 on the mountains of Kargil in Kashmir. Taking a cue from these previous occurrences, the type of threats emerging in the near and distant future is likely to differ significantly from those of the past. Have not recent years been witness to deft assignment of the belligerent strikes by Islamabad to covertly trained terror groups in the guise of Jihad? Surprisingly, subsequent issue of cheeky denials by the official publicity machinery seems to be the most cost effective way to wage a war. Admittedly, the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai preceded by a number of bloodbaths carried out in a number of other Indian cities are new deceitful ways adopted by the enemy to hit India below the belt again and again. Another anomaly to be taken note of is Pakistan's latest terror tactics executed in Mumbai on November 26 and subsequent days signal a change in the pattern of attacks. The earlier method of stealthily placing the bombs in public places and later exploding them with timer devices has given way to landing heavily armed terror gangs near the preplanned Indian targets to create sudden mayhem. Such unannounced attacks from across our western borders may become the most serious threat to India's security in the years to come making citizens more and more prone to deadly peril. In this context, an important aspect to be noted is that there is no dearth of ISI created sleeping cells all over India to abet the blood thirsty terrorists in carrying out their despicable acts. Moreover, the possession of nuclear weapons by Pakistan where the civilian government has always played a second fiddle to the powerful military establishment, poses a grave danger to the South Asian region. Islamabad has often indulged in nuclear saber rattling in order to intimidate India despite existence of an agreement not to attack each other's nuclear facilities. Pakistan's India specific policies have been based on intense religious hatred leading to near hysteria inherited from the dark ages of medieval history of the sub-continent. Hence, the nuclear button under the control of the coterie of Islamist generals adds perilous uncertainty to India's sense of security. If our western neighbour decides to thrust a war on us and subsequently faces a humiliating defeat, its brainwashed Islamist military commanders may decide to use the nuclear alternative to turn the scales in their favour. On the other hand, public opinion may force New Delhi to muster a real forceful retaliation using nuclear arms at its disposal. In such a grim scenario, it will be difficult to imagine the magnitude of devastation both human and environmental in the subcontinent. There are valid apprehensions that Jehadi elements in the Pakistani army and the ISI may facilitate covert transfer of weapons of mass destruction into the terrorists' hands. In the United States, a research paper prepared by a Congressional mandated panel has concluded that terrorists sheltered in Pakistan's tribal regions will most likely carry out an attack with biological, nuclear or other unconventional weapons somewhere in the world in the next five years unless the world community acts urgently to prevent that. The paper notes with concern, "Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan." The report rightly takes into account the grave danger of Pakistan being in position of an unwitting source of a terrorist attack – possibly with weapons of mass destruction. India, whom Islamabad considers a rival, will, no doubt, be the easiest target. The repeated terror attacks on India's cities from across the western borders have badly shaken the citizenry's confidence on New Delhi's capabilities to tackle the grave threat. There is perhaps no alternative with the government but to launch a drastic offensive on political, diplomatic, economic and lastly military fronts to make the unyielding and devious enemy realize its past follies and take verifiable corrective measures to dismantle terrorists' infrastructure from its soil. The coming years will certainly need the boldest proactive approach once for all to prevent terror outfits from committing such horrendous criminal acts against the Indian state.