India’s Illusion of Strength in the Face of Pakistan’s Provocations

By Mukesh Devrari

Most Indians would forget that Pakistan exists next to them in a few years, but the Pakistani military ensures, by launching terrorist attacks in Kashmir, that it remains a hot topic of discussion in India. Despite its many weaknesses, one thing is certain: successive governments in India have shown no interest in bickering with Pakistan and prefer to focus on economic development. India is generally ready to accept the killing of Hindus, Sikhs, and security personnel in Kashmir through random small-scale terrorist attacks by Islamic terrorists trained, funded, and armed by the Pakistani military establishment.

It remains true that despite Modi’s government’s rhetoric, Pakistan has continued its policy of targeting India without any pause. As the Kashmir issue was becoming irrelevant and peace in the valley was making global headlines—and with the Indian government messaging that Kashmir had been normalized and militancy largely eliminated—Pakistan decided to change the narrative. These are the same tactics Pakistan adopted in the 2000s. The Mumbai terror attacks destroyed India’s international tourism. Jews were specifically targeted, as Israelis were increasingly flocking to India. The Congress government, then in power, was reaping the benefits of economic reforms introduced by the BJP before 2004.

Congress, however, destroyed the economy during its ten-year rule. It won the elections by pursuing quota politics for OBCs and launching many schemes for the poor, though it did nothing to create wealth. Corporate India was frustrated with corruption and policy paralysis. As far as Pakistan is concerned, its hostility continued unabated regardless of which party was in power in India. During the BJP's rule, they even attempted to eliminate the top brass of Indian political leadership by sending terrorists to attack the Indian Parliament. It was sheer luck that the attack did not succeed. Otherwise, the Pakistani military might have wiped out India’s elected leadership in one strike. The terrorists' plan was either to kill the parliamentarians or to force India to vacate the Kashmir valley.

Indians made a lot of noise, but did nothing. The BJP helplessly watched, mobilized troops to the border, but lacked the courage and confidence to act against Pakistan. Pakistani military leaders, like General Musharraf, laughed at the helplessness of Indians and openly declared their military support for Kashmiri militants, even calling them "freedom fighters" while on Indian soil. The stupidity, inability, and cowardice of Indian leadership knows no bounds. Even as late as 2018, Kashmiri cable operators were freely relaying Pakistani news channels, including those spreading extreme Wahhabi Islam—an ideology even the current Saudi ruler has decided to slowly abandon.

The latest confrontation between India and Pakistan began after the Pakistani military decided to internationalize the Kashmir conflict again by killing tourists traveling to the valley. The Islamic terrorists asked their religion before shooting the men, telling their wives and children, “We are leaving you to tell the story to Modi.”

An eye for an eye is the perfect form of justice. Had 26 white Americans been killed in such a way, the world would have discussed it for weeks, and the American public would have backed an invasion of the country responsible. Any Caucasian nation would have retaliated with full NATO support. But India is not America or Israel. The Pakistani Muslims who want to kill Indians and finish off Hinduism—a religion of their own forefathers—are mostly Hindu converts. They suffer from an inferiority complex and compete with each other to prove they descend from Arabs, Turks, or other invaders who came before the British.

The Modi government launched a symbolic strike after the Pulwama suicide bombing. India lost more military and air force personnel than Pakistan in its attempt to bomb Balakot terror camps. The outcome this time was no different. Five years ago, Pakistan shot down Indian jets using F-16 planes; five years later, they reportedly shot down up to six fighter jets, including a Rafale, while India attempted to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack by using Chinese fighter jets J10.

Many Kashmiri Muslims continue to support Islamic terrorism. The Indian government, unlike the Chinese in Xinjiang province, is not strict enough to deal with troublemakers. It has no capacity to monitor the activities of radicalized Kashmiris online. Kashmiris freely use anonymous social media accounts to spread propaganda. Terrorists communicate through Chinese apps on Indian telecom networks, and near the border, signals from Pakistani telecom companies are also accessible.

As for what happened during the Sindoor operation and Pakistan’s response, there's little point in delving into the details. One thing is absolutely clear: India did not achieve its objectives. Truth was the first casualty of the conflict. Indian officials resorted to hiding facts and making exaggerated claims. Simple holes in runways used by the Pakistani Air Force were showcased as daring and successful attacks, while news about debris from Indian jets shot down by Pakistan was buried. The number of downed jets was so high that the military had to acknowledge the losses, but refused to confirm the exact numbers.

Pakistan also made exaggerated claims and launched propaganda, highlighting Indian aircraft losses. It is true that Pakistani attacks created panic in India: all airports from Kashmir to Rajasthan were shut down by the Indian government. An IPL match in Himachal Pradesh was stalled; people and players ran away. The world was shocked by the courage and audacity of the Pakistani military, which not only retaliated forcefully but also attacked targets near Haryana—just kilometers from Delhi. Had the war continued, they could have brought India’s economic activity to a standstill, driven away all foreign tourists, and inflicted billions of dollars in losses.

Many nationalists demanded targeting Field Marshal Asim Munir, but the Indian government knew that doing so would almost certainly provoke a retaliatory attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s top Army leadership. If India eliminated Asim Munir, Pakistan would assassinate Narendra Modi. The BJP had no choice but to accept a humiliating ceasefire. Pakistan had already secured U.S. support in return for backing U.S. and Israeli plans for an attack on Iran. India found itself in another tricky situation. With almost no military capacity without Western support, Pakistan could easily defeat India in any confrontation using Chinese weapons and Turkish drones. Thus, Prime Minister Modi accepted the humiliating ceasefire.

The net result: Pakistan killed 26 tourists by checking their religion in Kashmir, disrupted tourism, internationalized the Kashmir issue again, forced India to focus on Pakistan internally, proved itself a battle-ready nation, showcased the superiority of Pakistani weaponry over India’s Western systems, and compelled the world to take note.

India launched symbolic strikes, informing Pakistan in advance to minimize retaliation. After six Indian fighter jets were lost on the first day of retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, India launched BrahMos missiles with limited payloads targeting some large tin sheds used by the Pakistani Air Force and some runways. What was our trophy? Some grainy pictures of partially damaged buildings—not even fully destroyed. Any honest observer can see the truth.

Now, the latest rhetoric from Modi revolves around the Indus Water Treaty and continued operation Sindoor. The Indian government hasn’t even dared to desilt existing dams to increase their capacity, let alone sanction and build new dams on a war footing. If you are a patriot and love this country, you must recognize the helplessness and cowardice of our ruling elite—whether Congress or BJP, they are the same.

What Should Be Our Long-Term Strategy?

We must stop fooling ourselves and our gullible masses that India is a great power. The truth is, we are not. We are a third-world country growing at a decent pace but far below our potential due to our limited collective intelligence. India will never become a developed country—that's an unchangeable truth. Still, a large section of Indians, despite their lack of civility, may live good lives, while the majority will continue living in sub-human conditions. The first condition for development is peace—without peace, there can be no progress.

Now, in panic, as made clear in a press conference by Defence Secretary A.K. Singh, India will spend $25 billion on weaponry in the next year and increase its defense budget. That means Indian money will flow to Western arms manufacturers, as India has no domestic capacity to build weapons capable of countering Chinese systems used by Pakistan. Forget fighter jets—India cannot even manufacture civilian helicopters.

Worse still, last year, Honda officials visiting India refused to fully build their top-selling two-wheeler here. They informed the media that some engine components require precision manufacturing technology not available in India. Think about it—Honda sold over 2.5 million Activa scooters (that's only one model) in India and still refused to manufacture them fully here. Now, imagine our capability to produce helicopters, civilian aircraft, fighter jets, or other complex machines.

Those who believe India will soon catch up economically are delusional. India's economy today is around $4 trillion. China's economy was $4.6 trillion back in 2008—nearly 20 years ago. Even then, China had launched a civilian aircraft program. Today, its ARJ21, COMAC 909, and COMAC 919 are ready to compete with Airbus and Boeing. Soon, they will develop their own engines too. This is true across all sectors. The foresight and vision of Chinese Communist Party leadership are unmatched. They've extended their frontiers into science, technology, and innovation.

By contrast, India has grounded all its Dhruv helicopters due to unreliable engines—many crashed, killing army personnel and civilians. Even Ecuador canceled and returned the Dhruv helicopters after multiple crashes. Built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, these helicopters are a symbol of public sector inefficiency—a problem well-known for decades.

So, What Is the Solution?

For long-term peace, hand over the Kashmir valley to Pakistan and buy peace. Then, Pakistan will no longer have a reason to send terrorists. Pakistan can then hand over Ladakh to China, and we should accept Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh. Once these disputes are over, India can maintain a minimal military, keep defense spending around 1%, and focus on economic growth. Indian DNA lacks the capacity to fight the enemy, so surrender might feel humiliating, but it will solve the problem. We must focus on becoming a civilized nation. War in today’s world is not our cup of tea. We are wasting resources, manpower, and mental energy on something fruitless. The country is needlessly obsessing over Operation Sindoor—which didn’t even achieve 1% of its goals. Another option is that we need to develop self-respect and learn how to confront our enemies. We need to learn from Pakistan, even China. China fought with the United States for three years in Korea, when it was nothing in front of the US military's strength. Even Pakistan shows courage to destabilize India without worrying about retaliation, they are always ready to confront India on all fronts. 

When I look at the Indian leadership today, I deeply admire Prime Minister Indira Gandhi how she outsmarted Pakistan in 1971 when it was larger, richer, and better equipped—and split it into two parts. Look at Modi’s helplessness today. Despite his strong desire to punish Pakistan, he failed to bring the perpetrators of the Pahalgam killings to justice.