Surgical Strikes By India: An Account Of Taming The Beast By It’s Neck

“I wonder whether those of our political masters who have been put in charge of the defence of the country can distinguish a mortar from a motor; a gun from a howitzer; a guerrilla from a gorilla, although a great many resemble the latter.”

~ S.H.F.J Manekshaw

It’s been 38 years, since India won the 1971 war against Pakistan and brought it down to its knees by capturing 93,000 Pakistani Prisoners of War (POW). Fast forward it to the Kargil encounter in 1999, India was again seen to have tackled the non-state actors (as claimed by Pakistan) creating terrorism in the Kashmir Valley.

Even in the 21^st Century, our dear neighbor has not learned and still carries out such petty war tactics, which lead to a loss of life & property in India. It has been seen in the month of September 2016, that terrorists, along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), have attacked the Indian Army bases at Poonch and Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a Press Conference conducted on 29^th September 2016, the Director General of Military Operations, India stated that they have found items including global positioning systems (GPS) having Pakistani markings. Also that the terrorists hailing from Pakistan or PoK, who have been captured by Indian Army, have confessed to their training in Pakistan or territories under its control. India has made multiple efforts to cooperate with Pakistan in assisting their investigations with respect to such terrorists and those killed in the Poonch and Uri attacks, but the infiltration attempts of the terrorists kept rising.

The Indian Army on 28^th September 2016 received evidence and information regarding terrorist units positioned across LoC in PoK which was planning to infiltrate into the Indian Territory. On September 29, 2016, the Indian Army had conducted surgical strikes on the terrorist camps across the LoC in PoK, destroying seven terror launch pads used for launching nuclear missiles. It has been clarified by the Indian Army that the motive behind this surgical measure was to maintain peace and tranquility in the Indian Territory and to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks on Indian Territory and not to initiate any cross border firing and ceasefire violation.

With all due respect to the UN Charter of 1945 & the Shimla Agreement of 1972, in my opinion, such surgical strikes should be made legal and should stand justified at the International Scenario. The mutilation of Capt. Saurabh Kalia, and denial of the same by Pakistan is an exemplary example of the fact that why such acts undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces need to justified and internationally recognized. For how long, are we to tolerate such acts of violence against our soldiers who die in the line of action, despite not being at war with Pakistan. The only way to move forward and to tackle such nuisance is to carry out more of these strikes and set an example for the rest of the world that India, being one of the largest democracies of the world, will not sit silently and watch.

It’s high time we give a free hand to our forces rather than waiting for many more martyrs to lay down their lives.

Jai Hind!

Written By:

Gaurav Hooda
V Year