M.K. Bhadrakumar
The Indian media reports make out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reception for the seven parliamentary delegations waging the war on terror turned into a social occasion to celebrate the flashes of ‘national unity’ before the hurly-burly of politics returns as the election cycle picks up.
The PMO did not issue any press release on PM’s remarks. We wouldn’t know whether this event on Tuesday is a substitute for a special session of the parliament to discuss Pahalgam incident, which opposition parties demanded.
Regrettably, we won’t even know the international reaction to our war on terror against Pakistan. There have been no public statements. How can a war be waged when there is no clarity about the enemy?
Terrorism is a dicey subject with a complicated history. It is not only China which maintains “ambiguity or double standards”on terrorism — per EAM S. Jaishankar’s allegation — but even within India there are misconceptions. The contesting legacies of Bhagat Singh and Savarkarbear testimony to it.
We need to tread softly. Proposals are being mooted lately that India should rally the Global South in the war on terror. There is great risk that we may lethally erode our article of faith that Kashmir is an internal matter. The world-wide perception is already that the periodic eruption of India-Pakistan violence stems from the unresolved Kashmir problem. (See my article Operation Sindoor Outreach: What Did Panda & Co Achieve In West Asia? Rediff, June 5, 2025)
Our solution lies in diligently picking up the thread of negotiations during the time of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf. But no serious attempt has been made in this direction in the past decade or more — nor is it ever likely by the ideology-driven present government.
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