The argument that India should mount full scale military attack on the sources of terrorism wherever they are is a result of frus­tration, utter sense of helplessness, a feeling of insecurity among all citizens irrespective of one’s financial position, Jatin Khanduja expression of anger against innocent killings and the commonly shared assertion that if we anyway have to die by the bullet or bomb of a fanatic either religious or ideological whose only motive in life is to kill and get killed then why not die killing these fanatics due to a series of terrorist strikes across the country which has had the common man, the primary targets of these terror strikes distur­bed, traumatised, shattered and seeth­ing with rage and waiting for an opportunity to vent their ire on the perpetrators, supporters and orga­nisers of such dastardly acts wher­ever they are.

Soon after the Mumbai attack the country unanimously echoed the words ‘Enough is Enough’ and asked the country’s leadership to destroy the sources of such attacks at what­ever cost. But we with a calm mind have to consider certain key ques­tions before taking any action that could have far reaching consequences on the demographic, social, ideo­logical and financial health of our country. We also need to take a close look at our own internal security apparatus and also evaluate the supposed effects of such an action on the world arena which is standing on the threshold of devastation.

First, we need to understand that the terror targets we intend to destroy are nurtured in a country that has no clear leadership; the civilian government has only a token control of the army which has a sizeable number of religious extremists at the top hierarchy and also has control over the country’s nukes.

Secondly, we need to consider the international ramifications of such an action. We are surrounded by two hostile neighbours, China on one side and Pakistan on the other. China is an all weather ally of Pakistan, has aided it with sophisticated defence tech­nologies and has considerable influ­ence on Pakistan’s army which in itself is a government of its own. The civilian government in Pakistan is under Washington’s influence but the military takes its orders from China. If India attacks terror camps in Pakistan the army (Pro-China) is bound to retaliate and the nuclear option for them is always on the table since Pakistan has ‘no first use of nuclear weapons’ policy like India’s and nuclear weapons if used will kill everyone except the extremists and the terrorists. If this happens we would end up killing more people than protecting.

The deliberation on the war option should not be viewed as our weakness to attack. One thing needs to be figured out that the war with nukes is not the same as fighting with bullets. No doubt we will fight and give a befitting reply to the enemy if a war is thrust upon us, but the enemy is not raging a war; rather it is clandestinely supporting terrorist activities carried out by nefarious people in our own homeland.

We further need to understand that Pakistan is facing a civil war. Its economy is on the verge of collapse and is only supported by the benevolence of the US. The terrorists and extremists from Afghanistan and Pakistan are uniting and fighting to take control of the beleaguered nation. If India takes an isolated and unilateral action then situation can go out of control and jehadis could take rein of Pakistan and if that happens it could jeopardise the peace and security not only of Indian Peninsular region but of the entire world.

Before pulling ourselves into a war we should consider the pros and cons of such an action and also learn lessons from the American misde-manours in Iraq which has had the entire Muslim population rallied against America in addition to incurring billions of dollars in war money and loss of many of its men. We need to ask ourselves : do we have the financial, political and social resources to fund a war ?

We need to acknowledge that India is not America, we are a country of close to a hundred billion people plagued with poverty, illiteracy, inef­ficient leadership, rusted bureaucracy and separatist factional religious politics. We are a country in which a significant portion of population still lives below the poverty line, where many children still do not get even basic education, where women’s representation in mainstream politics, business and education is low and female foeticideis on the rise. We are a country in which every action is viewed through communal lens. We are still a developing nation and with our past experiences of three wars with Pakistan and one with China we very well understand that getting into a war is not as simple as asking the forces to attack. The after-effects of war are felt even long after the war ends in the form of over-burdened economy, devasted homes, orphaned children and widowed women.

Before we get manipulated into war hysteria by our very own leaders who have failed yet again to protect us we need to ask ourselves why it is so easy for any armed religious extremist to come into our country, kill hundreds of people, cause mayhem and attack the very idea of India.