Surgical Strike eliminated the principle of uncertainty that India does not retaliate, said Manohar Parikkar.
India and Hologramatic Terrorism
Terrorism has many definitions but the most accurate definition would be, “The calculated use of violence or threat of violence to instil fear. Terrorism is intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Terrorist attacks are deliberately made dramatic to give impact to their cause. These include hijacking, kidnappings, mass shootings, car bombings, and suicide bombings. India is among the top 10 countries in the world affected by terrorist actions.
One of the ways terrorist organizations function is through mass media and are remarkably capable of exploiting mass media for propaganda. It is not only used to convey their messages, sponsor their causes and recruit members but also to influence political decision-making/public opinion.
When a terrorist attack is broadcasted, it produces a series of media interference waves: the hologram of terrorism. Hologramatic terrorism is a type of terrorism that infuses the action and imprints the image of its attack into the world. It might happen in a different place but it lives in us and in our nightmares, making threats and risks that may not exist appear as real. Terrorism is more efficient through the use of fear and terror than the organization itself. Terrorists have started using social media/ mass communication platforms to spread their message and give more impact to their activities to collect data, information and even recruit members. Terrorism causes ripple effects that may extend beyond the immediate damage. The aftermath creates anxiety and fear about the possibility of future attacks- social, political, economic impact.
Some of the major terrorist attacks in India were: In 1993 Mumbai Serial bomb attacks, Mumbai experienced 13 explosions which killed 257 people and more than 1400 injured. The attack was planned by Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon. Indian authorities have pointed out the involvement Pakistani Intelligence Agency, (ISI). The Indian authorities believed it was an attack intended to weaken the country’s economy as per the choice of locations.
The 2001 Indian Parliament Attack occurred on 13 December 2001 in which 5 terrorists infiltrated the Parliament in Delhi. The attack led to the deaths of 6 Delhi police personnel and 2 Parliament security personnel and 1 gardener. This incident triggered tensions between the 2 countries, resulting in Operation Parakram. LK Advani, the Home Minister said that the attack was executed by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
The 2005 Delhi serial bomb blast was a series of blasts that occurred on 29th October 2005 at Sarojini Nagar, Kalkaji and Paharganj killing 67 people and more than 200 injured.
2008 Mumbai attacks, a series of terrorist attacks took place on 26-29th November 2008 in Mumbai leaving 174 people dead. Amid speculation regarding the identity of the terrorists, an unknown group calling itself Mujahedeen Hyderabad Deccan claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email; however, the email was later traced to a computer in Pakistan. The perpetrators were said to be ZakirRehmanLakhvi and the involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
On 18th September 2016, an Indian army camp in Uri, Kashmir was attacked by four terrorists in a series of grenade attacks that killed 17 Indian soldiers. The perpetrators belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad. The latest form of a terrorist attack was on 14th February 2019’s Pulwama attack where it claimed the lives of 40 Indian CRPF personnel along with the perpetrator who was a part of the Islamic terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad. In all these attacks, one way or the other, Indian authorities have found evidence leading to the involvement of Pakistani Intelligence agency, ISI and Pakistani militants which obviously the Pakistani Government denies.
India and Pakistan have often engaged in bilateral talks such as the Agra Summit from 14th16th July 2001 to resolve long-standing issues. However, the Summit failed and no treaty was signed. The then Prime Minister, AtalBehari Vajpayee gave the main reason for the imbroglio as “Pakistan’s adamant attitude against making any reference to cross border terrorism in the draft document which they repeatedly termed as freedom struggle”. However, on 13th December 2001, the Indian Parliament was attacked by 5 terrorists. This was a huge form of an audacious act but denied India’s claim of Pakistan’s intelligence agency’s involvement in the attack.
The constant inaction from Pakistani authorities on terrorism undoubtedly hampered the ongoing peace process between the 2 countries. It was only when the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Jamaat-ud-Dawa that the Pakistan government took an initiative against the terrorist group and their actions. The Pakistani civilian government did carry out raids but only lasted for a few days and security around Jamaat-ud-Dawa offices were relaxed. Although the Indian authorities showed evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the 26/11 attacks, Pakistan maintained that India did not provide enough evidence. David. C. Headley, one of the perpetrators of the attack gave testimony about the involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Pakistani intelligence agency. Unlike Pakistan’s claims, India presented Pakistan with legitimate evidence, evidence that the Indian Supreme Court found sufficiently credible to sentence Kasab to death.
Terrorist Organizations operate freely in Pakistan- one such organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, operated in Pakistan until 2019 as a charity organization. It claims to have no connection with Lashkar-e-Taiba and claims to focus on social services. Even during the 2008 Mumbai attack, Pakistan’s Prime Minister YousafRazaGillani said that the activities of Jamaat-ud-Dawa should not be blocked as people were benefitting from the group’s social services.
In 2018, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif suggested that there was involvement of the Pakistan Government in the Mumbai 26/11 attacks.
Pakistan has only acted against militant groups that developed an anti-Pakistan agenda and considered them a threat to the regime. When the U.S navy Seals executed Osama Bin Laden, he was found residing in Pakistan. Without the active support from Pakistan authorities, it would be nearly impossible for the terrorist organisations to function and successfully execute their intentions without falling under the radar or raising any alarm. Pakistani journalist and former Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S, HussainHaqqani has said Pakistan sponsors Terrorism. In 2019, Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf confessed the involvement of Pakistan and their intelligence agency with Jaish-e-Mohammad to carry out bombings in India. In all these terrorist attacks, the Union government strongly suspected Pakistan’s assistance. But Pakistan has denied providing assistance to any terrorist groups/organizations ever.
India has tolerated many terrorist attacks but the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks hurt the integrity and tolerance towards Pakistan. Although the overt reaction to this attack would’ve been to retaliate against Pakistan.The Indian Government decided to focus on developing diplomatic relationships with its neighbours and foreign countries. The global stance would be to solve the problem amongst each other which would’ve exactly been what Pakistan would’ve wanted. If India would’ve attacked then, it would’ve weakened the already fragile civilian government. In case of war between the two countries, the loss of lives and terrorist attacks would’ve been justified as blood for blood.
Significance of Surgical Strike<
On 18th September 2016, 4 terrorists crossed the Line of Control and launched an attack on an Indian army camp which killed 18 Indian soldiers. The terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad was said to be the perpetrator behind this attack. Following this terror attack, on 29th September 2016, India conducted a surgical strike against terror launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Pakistan gave their standard denial of supporting terrorist organisations/activities. Indian Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh said that they received authentic and specific information about the terrorists preparing to conduct terrorist attacks inside Jammu and Kashmir and other states as well. India, therefore, conducted a surgical strike as a covert form of self-defence, to pre-empt attacks by terrorists and against terrorist infrastructure. India has displayed considerable restraint in the wake of the attack on Indian soil and as said by Manohar Parikkar (former Defence Minister at the time of Surgical Strike), “The principle of uncertainty that India does not retaliate has been taken away”.
Many countries in the international scenario such as Russia, South Korea, U.S, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Germany, U.A.E, Maldives and France have supported India’s step towards countering terrorism globally. Any country has the legal and internationally accepted rights to safeguard one’s sovereignty and territory. Terrorism should be condemned in all forms regardless of its purpose and no act of terrorism can be justified.
After the Uri attack, the Indian Government has followed both hard and soft strategies to deal with issues with Pakistan – diplomatically and strategically improving its relations with her neighbours, supporting and advocating counter-terrorism at home and in the global platform, isolating Pakistan on one hand and conducting surgical strike/ airstrikes on the other. India’s experience with terrorism is a familiar terrorist as it has dealt with several terrorist attacks. With India’s evolving nature of confronting terrorist attacks – India does not have animosity towards Pakistan but towards the country’s support and funding on terrorist organisations and eventually compel Pakistan to stop their support towards terror financing and terrorist organizations.
