Pakistani mercenaries have gunned down at least 35 persons and injured an unspecified number of labourers in a village in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Terrorist killings are always unexpected but in the present case the tragic happening close to the Himachal border with Jammu and Kashmir throws up a regrettable element of security lapse. For years Pakistan has tried to divert the attention of people from domestic problems and justified the two-nation theory through violence. It has consistently portrayed India as an enemy and manufactured causes for the purpose of propaganda at international forums. When Kashmir was first attacked, mature politicians in this country said that "Junagadh was seen to be supplemented with Kashmir". "It could be India's Munich," a historian said, and added: "But we have our Munichs behind us and we may thank God that Kashmir is an early warning. We must prepare or perish.... We do not want to perish and we do not want freedom to perish. Kashmir is a symbol of our dangers and hopes." India has not been fighting for the people of Kashmir or the tranquillity of Kashmir alone. From its first ordeal it has gone through Pakistani belligerence wisely, courageously and with moderation. It has moved on with shining armour and watched the perpetrators of war crimes, propagandists of lies and architects of fear who have gone their Nazi way to Nazi doom. History will not forgive either Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Gen Zia-ul-Haq for their role in keeping the subcontinent unstable and peaceless. In the present context, we wish to reproduce here what we said in these columns on July 30 while referring to the latest and indiscriminate killing of 18 persons in two Pakistani terrorist attacks in the Kishtwar area of Doda district. "Doda is a soft target. Look at the map of northern India and you will find its visual proximity to Jammu and the Himachal border glaringly clear. If the authorities are not able to protect Doda, they would allow free play to the proxy war wagers in the plains and the relatively peaceful hill state called Himachal Pradesh. Move your eyes from Himachal to Punjab, a territory ravaged by terrorism for more than a decade, and see the implications."

The Chamba killings could have been prevented had the Central and state governments paid due heed to the situation projected by us. It is not enough to mourn the dead of Doda or to state officially: "It is very difficult to foil the militants' plans as they are exploiting the religious sentiments of young people and provide financial support to their perpetrators". The Jammu region is spread over an area of 26,000 sq km. It has six districts—Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, Kathua, Udhampur and Doda. Doda district alone has an area of 11,600 sq km. It is easy for terrorists to sneak into Himachal Pradesh and unleash terror in places close to the border. The time to talk about crisis management is over. The proxy war is taking an extreme shape. Since Thursday, Pakistani guns have pounded several Indian positions across the Line of Control (LoC). About 40 civilians have been killed so far. The martyrs belonging to the security forces have been mentioned merely in casualty lists. In view of the magnitude of aggressiveness from the Pakistani side, the retaliatory or protective response from the Indian Army personnel has to be more telling. Pakistan has disowned the Shimla Agreement and shunned bilateralism. Its nuclear might is capable of destroying it from within because there is no genuine respite from military interference in the civilian rule in that country. The Manila and Colombo proceedings have shown the futility of Pakistani propaganda against India. Certain powers in the world may be opportunistic enough to support India's enemies; but if the subcontinent is not peaceful, the world in general cannot be tranquil. Pakistani guns must be silenced. We do not want to see the repetition of the Chamba episode. The defenders of our freedom are capable of taking on the attackers even in the Tangdhar, Uri, Poonch and Gurez sectors. The LoC is a reality and it cannot be lost in the smoke that comes after gunfire. It is freedom's battle in Kashmir. So it is in any other part of India where the ISI has spread its tentacles. Our calendar of evolution, like that of revolution, shows that no inimical force will be able to affect the high morale of our people or securitymen in sensitive areas. Our powder remains dry.

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Courtesy: The Tribune: 4 August, 2019