Even as the Nation mourns the sacrifice of the 44 Braves of the CRPF in the dastardly Fidayeen attack carried out by a local Kashmiri youth Adil Dar, the anger, the rage and the frustration arising out of this situation is assuming dangerous proportions. The emotional outburst is understandable, this is not the first one and if the Nation doesn’t draw Red Lines, this will not be the last either.
The intemperate cries for revenge, complete destruction of Pakistan, the clamour for nothing short of War and similar demands, overladen by emotions make a heady mix. The nonstop coverage of the last rites of the the Braves by the Channels have also contributed to the raging protests around the country. All this is a natural reaction to the suicide attack, however, it is the Social Media which has exploded!
We have the multitude baying for blood, calling upon the Armed Forces to annihilate the Pakistanis, we have other set calling upon the political rulers to declare War, let loose the might of the State to bleed Pakistan, bleed Islamic forces in Kashmir, repeal Art370, 35A, so on and so forth.
The emotions, of course are on par with the ghastly attack on the CRPF convoy, but do these Warriors realise that even as they numb their fingers on the keyboard, the War count continues unabated. Two days later, Major Chitresh Bisht lays down his life in service of the Nation while clearing the IEDs in Kashmir, and as I write this on 18 February, four Army soldiers are martyred in Pulwama in an encounter against the perpetrators of the ghastly Pulwama Suicide Attack. The perpetrators are killed, but at what cost ?
The bodies count in the suicide attack is now 49, with five more succumbing to injuries and the four who laid down their lives to avenge their brothers in arms. It’s nobody’s case that the perpetrators and their Masters sitting in Pakistan should be allowed to carry out such brazen attacks with impunity but,
Do people on the Social Media know the costs of an all out War with Pakistan?
Are you ready for the casualties which may occur due to an all out War?
Do our Keyboard Warriors have any idea how a War is made?
I use the word ‘made’ with emphasis on the construction of a War, it is not some video game where you sitting on a Keyboard or a console can wipe out the adversary and with no repercussions to you or the country.
It’s not the Economic Cost of War which I speak of, it’s the Human Cost which is in question here. A nation cannot just push an entire generation into the whirlpools of death to satisfy the primeval urge of Man, Revenge. And, revenge at what cost?
A nation which has failed to expostulate a National Security Doctrine in 70 years of its existence, a country which has not been able to define the Red Lines whose violation will be assumed to be an Act Of War cannot be expected to act in any decisive manner whatsoever.
We have faced an asymmetrical war since Punjab erupted in early 80s to this more vicious militancy which has its ideological moorings in the International Jihad in Kashmir since late 80s. Interestingly, both these militancies have their origins in the Religio-Politico issues. The Punjab or the Khalistani militancy died its own death as it failed to create the kind of communal divide which Pakistan hopes to achieve but in Kashmir, Pakistan has been far more successful. Pakistan since independence has coveted Kashmir as its own for the simple reason that it has Muslim majority, notwithstanding the fact that major part of the erstwhile State Of J&K had both Hindus and Buddhists in geographically distinct regions.
Social Media at times like this becomes a fiend which feeds off your rage and produces rabid individuals who have absolutely no idea of how a reponse to such adversities is framed. Blood lust clouds the outraged mind, sanity takes leave and we are encumbered by lunacy. Take a break O mighty warriors else the keyboards will run threadbare.