Reducing Distance Between Border and Booth

The war which is coming

is not the first one. There were

other wars before it.

There were conquerors and conquered.

Among the conquered common people starved.

Among the conquerors, common people starved too

                              -Bertolt Brecht

Once again Pak based militant groups have succeeded in a catastrophic disruption of peace in Kashmir which in turn resulted in martyring of 40 CRPF men and an air attack on Pakistan territory by India, as a retaliation. But setting aside the euphoria of perfectly accomplished payback, this situation needs analysis from a political standpoint.

With polls ahead, the situation indeed is tempting for political parties to utilise and to channelise maximum votes by playing the card of national spirit and rebuking the neighbouring enemy. While the opposition parties are busy playing the blame game, the ruling party is acting exactly according to 'popular civic sense'. Moreover, it is they who have benefited the most from this scenario as it has completely diverted the public attention from the agrarian and financial crisis and a whole analysis of their 5 years rule. A major economist ridiculed the interim budget of the government as election manifesto in disguise. Hence, the government didn't take any chances, they harnessed the situation and fueled up the majoritarian sentiments.

It is known that the government in a developing country will always be measured on their quality in resolving the crisis and their maneuverability in international politics. But when it comes to war, despite all the dissatisfaction, the public needs a powerful government to take a firm stand. Notably, the present government tries hard to fit into this image and the opposition was left with little choices but to stand with the government during the period of instability. 

As a part of mudslinging matches between the political parties, leaders of 21 opposition parties condemned Pulwama terror attack and alleged that the ruling party has made blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by jawans. But the Prime Minister found this statement questioning the integrity and capability of armed forces and condemns whoever criticises the flaws in security. This scenario makes us nostalgic about 'Siachen meim hamara jawan ladd rahe he' phase. And this possibly is his only answer to every question rising against the security lapse occurred in Pulwama.

But that question needs to be answered with utmost urgency. Because Srinagar- Jammu highway is heavily guarded and it is a known fact that Pulwama is an insurgency hotbed.  According to a letter written by the state police Inspector General, the Kashmir Police on February 8, had sent an intelligence input to the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, Army and the Air Force warning of a possible IED attack, headlined "extremely urgent". The intelligence input sent on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, asked all security agencies to "sanitize areas properly before occupying your place or deployment as there are inputs that IEDs could be used". Still, they took no heed. Despite the early warning, the CRPF allowed its 78-vehicle convoy carrying 2,547 security personnel to go from the transit camp in Jammu to Srinagar, a 270-km stretch. This prevarication about the pathetic negligence is what is to be broken.

The unrest in Kashmir has been there for the last 70 years and often it hijacks the mainstream media only when the ruckuses breaks a threshold.  Amidst all this chaos, there are very dangerous anti-Kashmir and Pakistan rhetorics brewing all around India. Kashmiri students are attacked, Pakistani sports personals and artists are denied entry into India. Such issues are actually making the India-Pakistan issue more severe. Politicians don’t bat an eye because they are busy securing their ballet content.

The point is, what India currently needs is not a momentary satisfaction of better paybacks but an assurance of no more instability or terrorist attacks. But that indeed is an ardent task, whereas delivering public speeches and spreading anti- Kashmiri rhetoric and glorifying the armed forces through the available platforms are much simple. No wonder why the politicians choose the latter.