The eagle strikes.. and strikes hard
Decades of withering. Decades of " sochenge, dekhenge." Decades of inaction.
We grew up in an age when the Punjab terrorist problem was taken for granted, the Kashmir problem flared up and the weakness of successive governments became painfully evident.
And then, in later years, terrorist strikes in Delhi, 2008. Mumbai attacks, 2008. Hyderabad blasts, 2013. Sick. Nauseating. All we could do was look in anger, while the usual "protests " by our government in International fora,went on.
I remember standing at the Gateway of India in 2011 and shivering at the audacity of foreign terrorists to cross over and strike at will.
It never abated. Every year, a humiliating strike would take place. Pampore. Gurdaspur. Pathankot. Our soldiers suffered. Our nation suffered. Our image as a self- respecting nation suffered.
Uri was the final flash point. The collective anger of a nation spilled over. And finally, we have a government that walks the talk. These surgical strikes were unthinkable even five years back.
For the first time , I am hearing no dissension amongst the opposition. That itself shows the enormity of this event.
I believe in peace. War brings hardships. But not in peace at the cost of self respect, national integrity and security, and mindless terrorist violence. India has struck terrorists, not the Pakistani army ,and in a carefully controlled operation, avoiding civilian casualties in POK. In any case, POK is illegally occupied territory and not Pakistani territory in my viewpoint. We have a right to ensure security in our backyard. If those retards don't get the subtle message, and go to war, so be it ( my own guess is that they will be too scared to do- India has nothing to lose; Pakistan has nothing to gain in an already morally and financially impoverished nation, and their recent tone shows they are on the backfoot ) . And so, I don't give a damn if there is a war tax or war hardships. It will affect my financials adversely , but I will gladly bear it. There can be no price tag on the self respect of a nation. To quote Benjamin Franklin," “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
A nation that does not respect the blood of its soldiers does not deserve to be called a nation. I am glad we don't belong to that category. Proud to be an Indian.
Thank you ,PM Modiji and the present government You have showed us once again why you are the most effective PM we have had in decades. And a big thumbs up to our armed forces. The entire nation is behind you.
The show has just begun and Pakistan is well on the way to becoming surrounded diplomatically , strategically and militarily. I don't hate Pakistan .You can despise your equals, not your inferiors.I pity them for being a failed state ,and the product of a fatally flawed " two nation" theory.Contrast the unity of Indian political parties on this issue with the bickering between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharief, and you have the recipe for a failed nation state. And then there is Balochistan and the pathetic track record on minorities. As Ms. Sushma Swaraj correctly pointed out, people staying in glass houses should not throw stones at others'' houses.
Let Pakistan beg for peace now- on India's terms.
Call it "Freedom at Midnight" if you will, because this strike at midnight signals the freedom by the government from decades of reluctance to call a spade a spade.The government has finally signalled that enough is bloody enough.
Jai Hind ! Jai Jawan and Jai Kisan !
http://www.newindianexpress.com/…/…/09/29/article3632735.ece
P.S.
I sent this as a letter to the editor of Dawn, Pakistan's largest newspaper. You can send in your inputs too : editor@dawn.com, web@dawn.com, blog@dawn.com. Do your bit for the nation.
We grew up in an age when the Punjab terrorist problem was taken for granted, the Kashmir problem flared up and the weakness of successive governments became painfully evident.
And then, in later years, terrorist strikes in Delhi, 2008. Mumbai attacks, 2008. Hyderabad blasts, 2013. Sick. Nauseating. All we could do was look in anger, while the usual "protests " by our government in International fora,went on.
I remember standing at the Gateway of India in 2011 and shivering at the audacity of foreign terrorists to cross over and strike at will.
It never abated. Every year, a humiliating strike would take place. Pampore. Gurdaspur. Pathankot. Our soldiers suffered. Our nation suffered. Our image as a self- respecting nation suffered.
Uri was the final flash point. The collective anger of a nation spilled over. And finally, we have a government that walks the talk. These surgical strikes were unthinkable even five years back.
For the first time , I am hearing no dissension amongst the opposition. That itself shows the enormity of this event.
I believe in peace. War brings hardships. But not in peace at the cost of self respect, national integrity and security, and mindless terrorist violence. India has struck terrorists, not the Pakistani army ,and in a carefully controlled operation, avoiding civilian casualties in POK. In any case, POK is illegally occupied territory and not Pakistani territory in my viewpoint. We have a right to ensure security in our backyard. If those retards don't get the subtle message, and go to war, so be it ( my own guess is that they will be too scared to do- India has nothing to lose; Pakistan has nothing to gain in an already morally and financially impoverished nation, and their recent tone shows they are on the backfoot ) . And so, I don't give a damn if there is a war tax or war hardships. It will affect my financials adversely , but I will gladly bear it. There can be no price tag on the self respect of a nation. To quote Benjamin Franklin," “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
A nation that does not respect the blood of its soldiers does not deserve to be called a nation. I am glad we don't belong to that category. Proud to be an Indian.
Thank you ,PM Modiji and the present government You have showed us once again why you are the most effective PM we have had in decades. And a big thumbs up to our armed forces. The entire nation is behind you.
The show has just begun and Pakistan is well on the way to becoming surrounded diplomatically , strategically and militarily. I don't hate Pakistan .You can despise your equals, not your inferiors.I pity them for being a failed state ,and the product of a fatally flawed " two nation" theory.Contrast the unity of Indian political parties on this issue with the bickering between Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharief, and you have the recipe for a failed nation state. And then there is Balochistan and the pathetic track record on minorities. As Ms. Sushma Swaraj correctly pointed out, people staying in glass houses should not throw stones at others'' houses.
Let Pakistan beg for peace now- on India's terms.
Call it "Freedom at Midnight" if you will, because this strike at midnight signals the freedom by the government from decades of reluctance to call a spade a spade.The government has finally signalled that enough is bloody enough.
Jai Hind ! Jai Jawan and Jai Kisan !
http://www.newindianexpress.com/…/…/09/29/article3632735.ece
P.S.
I sent this as a letter to the editor of Dawn, Pakistan's largest newspaper. You can send in your inputs too : editor@dawn.com, web@dawn.com, blog@dawn.com. Do your bit for the nation.
Finally, India has responded with some guts and decisiveness. Our moralistic high ground was correct; but we have painfully realised that it didn't yield any results. On the contrary it was being seen as a weakness and made use of.
ReplyDeleteHopefully now the stage will be set for everlasting peace.
Excellent write-up.You have voiced the sentiments of every Indian.This was loooooong overdue.
ReplyDelete