The unity in 145 crore Indians, who were outraged by the sponsored events of terror in Pahalgam, must count for something as the nation absorbed one more wanton hit of Islamist terror, encouraged, funded, trained and operated by shadowy spy wings of the Pakistan army with the blessings of the political establishment that kowtows to its army brass
It may seem ironic that it took a terrible event like a terror attack to unify all sections of India. But it is to be welcomed that the Opposition is standing united with the government in the matter of showing solidarity in the face of the violent killing of innocent civilians who were tourists in the Kashmir Valley.
The Opposition parties spoke in one voice at the all-party meeting supporting the measures that the government of India had to take in its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan. The world, with the exception of a guilty Pakistan, had also indicated that it stands behind India in its hour of tragedy.
The unity in 145 crore Indians, who were outraged by the sponsored events of terror in Pahalgam, must count for something as the nation absorbed one more wanton hit of Islamist terror, encouraged, funded, trained and operated by shadowy spy wings of the Pakistan army with the blessings of the political establishment that kowtows to its army brass.
It is not just the principal Opposition party Congress, its Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi and its president Mallikarjun Kharge who expressed their support to India’s response to the Pahalgam incident. All parties, irrespective of the adversarial stand that they take against the NDA-ruled Centre, indicated their willingness to stand behind the powers in acting to oppose Pakistan for its nefarious activities.
In fact, Pakistan’s defence minister has admitted in an interview, which went viral, that his country has been supporting terror for decades, though he tended to blame others for its terror-sponsoring role, saying this “dirty work” of harbouring terror groups was done on behalf of the US and the West.
Even so, the fact should not be lost sight of that a huge intelligence and security failure had exposed tourists who visit the Baisaran valley in huge numbers without the noticeable presence of members of the police or security forces. And since all security matters in Jammu & Kashmir are handled by the Centre through the lieutenant governor, this is more of New Delhi’s failure.
Of course, it will be tragic that the Valley and Jammu will now return to the days of heightened security that will be a far cry from the near normalcy at which the residents of the Valley were living in and receiving summer tourists who are their economic lifeline. It is the return towards normalcy, as evidenced in the economic progress of J&K, as well as the return to political normalcy in the holding of Assembly elections and people electing a popular government that may have made the region more of a target for those who plotted the latest instance of sponsored terror.
There is nothing to suggest that things may have been different if only J&K were to be a full-fledged state with popular rule. But it is time for the Centre to make this happen quickly so that the ruling National Conference government under Omar Abdullah is given an equal share and responsibility in handling the state in peace as well as in the need to sustain an eternal vigil against terror. This would be the right thing to do and the just thing too.
