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Unlike Vajpayee & Manmohan, PM Modi thinks prudence in conflict is a self-imposed fetter

There is a continuing clamour for the Modi government to escalate further, if only to preserve the reputation of the ‘new India’.

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The Pakistan government’s decision to release the captured Indian pilot as a ‘gesture of peace’ opens a window of opportunity to defuse the ongoing crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should seize it. Meanwhile, as the country awaits the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, we could usefully ponder the choices—strategic and political—that have brought us to this juncture. 

The core strategic challenge for India over the past two decades has been to deter Pakistan from fomenting terrorism while standing behind the shield of its nuclear weapons. Previous governments learnt the difficulties of doing so over time and through serious crises. Recall that soon after the Indian nuclear tests of May 1998, then Home Minister L.K. Advani proclaimed India’s willingness to carry out ‘hot pursuit’ of terrorists beyond the Line of Control. Pakistan’s nuclear test put paid such ideas and forced New Delhi to reckon with the new reality.

If former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee eschewed the option of air strikes across the LoC during the Kargil conflict or after the attack on Parliament in December 2001, it was owing to the assessment that this could quickly escalate. Conversely, such strikes were deemed incapable of altering Pakistan’s strategic behaviour in any significant fashion. Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s response to the Mumbai attacks of 2008 was conditioned by similar considerations. Neither Vajpayee nor Manmohan Singh saw the threat of force as useless, but rather they grasped that it had to be one element in a longer-term strategy that encompassed other tools. 


Also read: Despite Imran Khan’s offer, Pakistan’s track record is why India has to escalate


Deterrence works better in the context of terrorism not by threats of punishment but by denial: by strengthening our counter-terrorism capabilities and infrastructure to the point where the adversary realises the futility of attempting to strike us. Equally important was directing international pressure on Pakistan. Indeed, India’s threats of force in these crises were primarily useful in catalysing international action to rein in Pakistan. Neither denial nor diplomacy could ‘solve’ the problem of terrorism, but they could help manage it better. 

The Modi government, however, regarded such prudence as self-imposed fetters—if not downright pusillanimity. Following the Uri attacks in 2016, the government carried out ‘surgical strikes’ across the LoC. Although such ground action had been carried out in the past as well, these strikes were stronger and carefully coordinated. Unlike earlier, the government not only announced them but embarked on an assiduous publicity campaign over the next two years and more. 

This had strategic and political consequences. Pakistan’s unwillingness to respond militarily after these strikes gave the government the unwarranted confidence that it could inflict severe punishment on Pakistan without incurring any serious costs itself. Politically, the hoopla around surgical strikes set inordinate expectations among domestic audiences about what the government would do in the event of future terror attacks. Perhaps the most unsavoury, if not necessarily the most consequential, upshot was the spawning of a brood of chicken hawks on Indian television and social media that worked itself into a lather over fantasies of ever stronger strikes on Pakistan. 

In consequence, when the biggest ever attack on Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir took place in Pulwama in February, the government was not only expected to do something more spectacular than the surgical strikes, but apparently believed it could do so at minimal cost. Air strikes seemed to fit the bill both strategically and politically. 


Also read: The way Pakistan sees it, Modi govt is playing a risky game & must de-escalate soon


In the immediate aftermath of the Indian Air Force strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in Balakot, there was a widespread assumption that Pakistan was unlikely to retaliate owing to its parlous economic situation or the absence of suitable non-military, non-populated targets of the kind that India had struck. But this failed to read the situation from Pakistan’s standpoint. Writing about limited conflicts in a nuclear context, American economist Thomas Schelling perceptively observed that these tended to be limited at certain clearly identifiable thresholds: geographic features, cartographic lines or weapon systems used. This, he argued, was a form of a tacit bargain between the two adversaries—it need not be explicitly agreed upon, but both sides limit their actions to a clear threshold.

In using airpower to strike the camp inside Pakistan in peacetime, India had breached several thresholds. If Pakistan failed to respond at the same level, it would encourage India to carry out future air strikes with impunity. It is important to note that Pakistan not only responded in the air, but consciously did so in a manner that signalled its willingness to run even higher risks: the Pakistani strike was attempted in broad daylight and in just over 24 hours after the Indian attacks, when Indian alert levels were still high. In so doing, Pakistan sought to convey both that the use of airpower by India could be escalatory and that India too would incur costs.

Yet, there is a continuing clamour for the government to escalate further, if only to preserve the reputation of the ‘new India’. Worse, diplomatic efforts are dismissed as ‘backing down’. The reality is that the pursuit of ‘escalation dominance’ is an illusion. The very idea of an ‘escalation ladder’, which can be climbed rung by rung to mete out ever higher punishment on Pakistan, is an oxymoron. The metaphor of escalation reminds us that once we get aboard an escalator, we can only get out at the top. Bismarck, who knew a thing or two about the use of force, rightly said that pre-emptive war was ‘suicide from the fear of death’.


Also read: Why air strikes on Pakistan may not help Narendra Modi win the election


The claim that we need to preserve our reputation is discredited by reams of research, which show that a reputation for resolve is a highly over-rated factor in international politics. If anything, reputation matters only inasmuch as we should be careful about where we stake it in the first place. A poorly thought-through strategic action will be far more injurious to India’s reputation than exploring a diplomatic route to disengagement from the crisis. Diplomacy is essential to demonstrate our resolve to fight terrorism without recklessness. In the current moment, it is also imperative to stop both sides from blundering to the brink of war. Prime Minister Modi can reciprocate the overture of his Pakistani counterpart without compromising on India’s fight against terrorism. 

The BJP, of course, has an election to fight too. But pandering to their domestic constituencies is likely to miscarry. Speaking in the British Parliament during the Second World War, Winston Churchill warned against politicians keeping their ears to the ground in a grave crisis: “All I can say is that the British nation will find it very hard to look up to leaders who are detected in that somewhat ungainly posture.” And the Indian nation too. 

The author is Professor of International Relations and History at Ashoka University and a Senior Fellow at Carnegie India. Views are personal.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. I agree with the writer. War is not the solution. There is too much collateral damage & innocent lives lost. Economic diplomacy & threat of complete isolation is the only way to force the Pakistan government to reign in the military. It’s a moment of truth now for all the global outreach Modi has done these past 4 years.

  2. If Pakistan is so Peace Gesture loving country why the hell there is continue ceasefire violation from pakistan while handling over wc last night to India leading death of 2 civilians.

  3. It would be a gross miscalculation to follow the advice of naive and gullible liberals and so-called peaceniks. Pakistan was left with no option other than releasing the air warrior and, hence, was no peace gesture. It’s amazing to witness gullibility in some of our enlightened journos. Our primary and sole objective is dismantling and degrading terror infrastructure and, to that end, India has much work to do.

  4. Despite the polished language. The writer’s message is unmistakable. He is advocating cowardice. He should take a quick look at the world history. No nation has risen to prosperity without hitting back on external aggressors, without taking calculated risks and without a willingness to spill own and others’ blood. Wishing for peace does not bring peace. Tough action is a necessary step to achieve peace. Modi got it right on this issue.

  5. All the jingoism – why dont you all carry a gun and attend LoC. The terror by Pakistan in India favours your narrative and no one of you is honest, brave enough to admit the terror constantly carried out by RAW is Pakistan. Just remember, the indian spy Kulbashan is in Pakistani jail !! The indians havent got a single Pakisatni spy in their jails. I am sure all the RAW agents are not in Pakistan sharing mithai – they are doing exactly what you accuse ISI of.
    Lastly, no one, not any of you sitting in your cosy homes and no where near LoC will survive a nuclear war. Wake up and face / accept the reality and stop living a bollywood life. Its Pakistan, who in day light “andher gus ker mara hai” while IAF attacked in the middle of the night.

  6. Actually, if one would take the trouble to place one’s ear to the ground, or one ‘s finger to the nation’s pulse, there is not the faintest heartbeat for war. It is a complete misreading of the situation to believe that Indians – no more suicidal than anyone else on the planet – are itching for an Aar Paar ki ladhai with Pakistan. Some channels are first tasked to create gusts of hot air in the studios and we then persuade ourselves that what they snarl is the truth. A widespread impression – however untrue – that this mahaul is being created to win the next election serves no one’s interest.

  7. Let us not get carried away by this faux image some have created. One pilot in captivity – with almost complete assurance that he would not be harmed physically – and the national mood darkened. Had Wing Commander Abhinandan been detained for a fortnight, there would have been a very high price to pay.

  8. I suspect what this person would teach his students. He seems ignoramus of the ground realities of Indo-Pak situation.

    New innovative ways must be sought out to deal with a persistent problem which is what modi government is doing.

    Yet, these so called self proclaimed intellectuals just for the sake of saying something speaks rubbish.

    The print should analyze the contents of the article before publishing to maintain the standard of journalism and its own reputation, if any.

    Thanks

  9. All such people expressing such shitty opinions as if they are the wisest.. Pl ..the new Hindusthan does not rqr yr breed..pl get lost

  10. Stylish literature and insightful politico-military analysis of a botched up stalemate.Reasoned advisories for a dignified forward path.Together with Happymon’s article in today’s Hindu should make a nice gather for all patriots praying for peace without called names. Thanks Srinath for making us hope and believe that sanity too can be an escalatory ladder worthy to ride on.

  11. Had Chamberlain continued as PM of UK and followed his policy of appeasement, Hitler would have conquered the world. UK was fortunate to get Churchill just as India got Modi.

  12. A typical article coming from a pacifist. He is toeing the line that let everything remain as it was before. Let Pakistan bleed us by thousand cuts and let us always extend the hand of friendship. I would say time for pacifism come but we have ensured safety to Indians. The problem with Indian liberals is that that start talking way before their time to talks should come.

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