Let’s not take Pakistan Army’s bait and put emotion over reason

It’s terrible. There is no other word for it. What happened in Pahalgam should not have happened. It’s not justified under any circumstances. Just look at the massive repercussions of the attack: 26 killed, and their families devastated. Livelihoods lost, and a regional economy that was hobbling back to life destroyed all over again. A nation engulfed in sorrow, along with anger and frustration at a problem that never seems to go away. An Indian society that risks being fractured all over again on religious lines. Chances of a full-scale war between two nuclear powers.All this brought about by just a few guys with guns, in one afternoon. Are these deranged youth who believe killing innocent Hindus at point-blank range is doing some sort of service to their religion or nation or Kashmir all it takes to destroy the peace of a nation and take the world to the brink of a nuclear war? Then, hopefully, with prospects of a better life, the insurgency would go away. Indeed, that is exactly what was attempted after Article 370 was revoked in 2019, and several policies designed to make Kashmir more integrated with India were brought in. And despite recent events, one cannot deny that some progress was made. Tourist numbers skyrocketed to close to 3 million in 2024. Easing of residency and land acquisition norms perked up the real-estate sector and attracted investments. The Pahalgam incident aside, the Valley remained largely peaceful, even during elections last year. ShowQuotesOf course, the process of rejuvenation of a region’s economy takes time. To expect all of Kashmir’s youth and locals to see massive benefits in five years and no longer be lured towards terrorism or radicalism is naïve. The Pahalgam attacks show us that. But it doesn’t mean that the slow economic rejuvenation policy should be abandoned. No, that should continue and perhaps with more support as the region would require that post-Pahalgam.The Pahalgam incident also shows us that the perpetrators are desperate. They saw that Kashmir was healing, and the only way to stop that was to strike a blow and make it bleed again. This is also why we must be careful in our response to the incident.First, we must understand the perpetrator. Despite multiple denials, a National Investigation Agency report shows that the Pakistan army was involved in the conspiracy. Reports suggest its army is losing popularity amongst the people, and these are two separate entities. For instance, the army is behind the arrest of Imran Khan, who remains popular amongst Pakistani people.Second, and understandably so, our immediate response is emotional. More than anything we want one thing — revenge! We want to “hit them hard!” We want the perfect deterrent.However, what if the perpetrators’ intention is exactly that? What if they want us to “hit them hard” and, thereby, escalate the conflict between the two countries which until now seemed to be at an equilibrium. What if the Pakistan army’s intention is just to ensure that the Pakistan army gets more relevant with the threat of war looming on the nation? What if retaliations and counter-retaliations eventually spiral into a full-fledged war? Wow, won’t that be their dream come true?This is why, no matter what our instinct suggests, we will serve India better by giving a reasoned response vs an emotional one. So, what’s a reasoned response? A reasoned response is far more blunt, far less entertaining (especially for TV channels), far less immediate and far more drawn out. Rather than a reprisal that plays into Pakistan’s hands, a smarter thing to do would be a 360-degree, non-stop, 24x7 response. This involves going after Pakistan’s regime with all kinds of methods including economic sanctions; foreign consensus-building so that Pakistan’s status becomes akin to isolated North Korea; openly supporting insurgencies in Pakistan such as the Baloch movement; using propaganda to turn the Pakistani people against the army; and digging in further on India’s own Hindu-Muslim unity, as well as persisting with Kashmir’s economic revival plan. Essentially, doing everything the Pakistani army would not want us to do.No, that doesn’t mean we don’t retaliate at all. India should do some targeted response, particularly at the Pakistani army hubs, to emphasise the point that we are after the perpetrator and not Pakistani people in general. If we attack Pakistan in general, its people will automatically gravitate towards their army as their saviours. Revenge, although enormously emotionally satisfying in the moment, often doesn’t do the job. This is exactly what they want and hence, not something we want to do. Let’s not take the bait.