Uri wake-up call for Modi and his team

It has been close to a week since Pakistan-backed terrorists attacked the Indian Army camp at Uri. We lost 18 of our brave men in the terror attack while taking down four of theirs. The country is outraged and rightfully so, expecting the Government to give a befitting response to Pakistan for this attack. The country stands united, across political lines in supporting the Government to take steps that they best deem fit. This attack comes after Gurdaspur and Pathankot besides the several attempts from Pakistan’s side to breach the ceasefire that prevails at the LoC. Some questions need to be asked and replies sought as to how did the Government allow for things to come to such a pass. Also where does the buck for repeated failures to safeguard our borders stop at? Jammu & Kashmir under PDP-BJP has come to a grinding halt for months since July. The number of violence-related deaths has now reached 87 in the strife torn valley. The failure of Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP Government to handle the situation has led to widespread unrest in the region, giving Pakistan an unfair advantage. The doublespeak of both the parties in the State and the boastful statements coming repeatedly from the top echelons of the Modi Cabinet have also added to the confusion that prevails in the Government. Prior to the 2014 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi consistently accused the then UPA Government of writing love letters to Pakistan and how if voted to power he would bring it to an end. The BJP spoke of bringing 10 heads back in exchange of one, besides asking the then Government to "answer Pakistan in the language they understand". However, after the election on becoming Prime Minister, Modi did a quick turnaround from being hawkish about Pakistan to trying to be a statesman by inviting the Pakistani Prime Minister to India for his swearing-in ceremony. This was soon to be followed by the now infamous ‘Saree-Shawl’ diplomacy and his unscheduled visit to Pakistan to personally greet Nawaz Sharif on his birthday. The consequence of this unthought out strategy since Modi took charge followed soon after.  The facts speak for themselves: there have been over 900 border ceasefire violations. India has borne the brunt of unchecked terrorist attacks coming from Pakistan in Udhampur, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Pampore, leading to heavy casualties of Army and police, including senior officers. In the last 25 months, 156 Indian soldiers have attained martyrdom. In the most recent incident at Uri, reports suggest intelligence and operational failure. The Modi Government needs to answer as to why preventive measures were not taken despite credible information available, considering the vulnerability of the Uri Brigade’s proximity to the Line of Control. Who leaked the information regarding troop movement and changeover, the fact that 10 Dogra Regiment was in the process of making space for 6 Bihar Regiment? There have been two failures with this Government’s strategy, or rather lack of it. One is that of internal security compromised time and again with no accountability being sought from either the Defence Minister or the National Security Advisor. The second is of its foreign policy failure vis a vis Pakistan, its inability to get strong support from other countries to denounce Pakistan unequivocally. The Prime Minister’s foreign travel does not seem to have got the intended results in getting countries to support our cause -- whether it was to declare Masood Azhar a terrorist by the UN or securing NSG membership. This latest incident should be a wakeup call for the Prime Minister and his Government. He needs to traverse the distance from rhetoric to reality. The need of the hour is to focus less on creating media headlines and more on safeguarding our national interests and internal security.