J K News Today Commentary
Jammu
Search for peace in the middle of the harsh reality of hostilities is not an impossible task. All what is required is a strong political will and the nation’s unconditional support . India has that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Of course, nation’s support to leader or leaders is determined by their popularity and the size of their vote in the elections. Luckily , India is a vibrant democracy and its leaders are elected by the people using their vote.
In the case of Modi , it is something more than the vote that he had won during elections and secured a massive majority in the Parliamentary elections . He is loved by the nation, all households. People listen to him with awe and follow each and every word as something very important for them to do.
As the nation is faced with a crisis on Ladakh borders with china, where Indian soldiers are weathering the elements and the hostile position of the Chinese troops, the Indian leadership is keen to defuse the tension and ensure that things happen the way the nation wants. Going to war may seem to be the easiest option to humble the adversary. The Indian soldiers are quite capable of dealing with any situation in the Himalayan heights , but waging peace is more important.
Prime Minister Has always maintained that it doesn’t want conflict with neighbours. It doesn’t matter who the neighbour is , Pakistan or China . Those pointing fingers at the different approaches that the Prime Minister is adopting as per their accusations , forget that how much Modi had invested in the peace-making efforts with Pakistan. A recall of all those efforts , starting with the invite he had sent among others to the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his swearing-in-ceremony in May 2014 , and thereafter the unprecedented step of visiting Pakistan in December, taking everyone by surprise . That was sincere attempt to repair the frayed relationship and translate the “neighbhourhood first” into a reality.
Within days of PM’s visit to Pakistan, what Pakistan did was to launch a terror assault at Pathankot air base. The Government of India undertook an unconventional decision of inviting Pakistan investigators to help in joint investigation and punish the perpetrators of attack. Pakistan never lived up to its promise . It launched Uri attack in September 2016 , and that tested the Indian limits . Then the surgical strikes were launched across the LoC . And, when Pulwama terror took place, India had to respond, and it did by launching another round of surgical strike at the terror training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakthunkhwa
Of late , particularly after the brutal clashes between Chinese and Indian troops on June 15, some of the narrators in political and other circles have sought to point out the difference in the government’s approach toward China and Pakistan. Their allegation is that the government is adopting a restrained attitude toward China , despite India having lost 20 soldiers, including commanding officer, while in such situations, the government’s response was super aggressive vi’s-a-vis Pakistan.
These observations betray misreading of the leadership and its resolve. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to think of overall national interest . The national interest is not always served by widening the conflicts . The ways to search for dignified peace without compromising the nation’s sovereignty and integrity hold far greater importance than rushing to war.. The leadership has to weigh all aspects of a particular situation before taking a final decision
The universal truth is that it is no wisdom to lose more men, an inevitability in war for the warring sides, by expanding the area of conflict that would, for certain, cause damage. At the same time, leadership is supposed to inspire confidence among the forces and keep things ready for any eventuality that may arise because of actions of an unpredictable adversary.
Modi knows the best how to deal with different situations.
