THE “new normal” India is working at currently is a condition that every Indian had always wanted. And to everybody’s delight, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi is leading this “new normal” initiative against terrorism. The current period, thus, may be described as the most awaited phase in India’s counter-terrorism measures -- that the Prime Minister wants to be “bigger and stronger”. The purpose of this initiative is clear: India must communicate to terrorists that no place in Pakistan is ever safe for them, no matter where they hide, no matter how well-protected they keep themselves. So, whatever the terrorists -- or their political master Pakistan -- do in India, the response will be bigger and stronger: Wahan Se Goli Chalegi, Toh Yahan Se Gola Chalega(‘If you fire a bullet, we will hurl a bomb’ -- in loose translation in Hindi). This is the “new normal” ! In the past some years, India has amply demonstrated to the world its ability to raise the bar and set “new normals”. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, it was India that remained the least affected. In addition to remaining safer than most other places in the world, India also assumed global leadership in medical measures to counter the scourge.

 

The Government led by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi adopted new standards -- “new normal” -- for itself and the people to be followed in a no-nonsense manner. So, setting newer and higher standards is something India achieves habitually. As regards fighting terrorism, now India has set a new normal for itself. No matter what the terrorists do, India’s response will be bigger, stronger -- specific, responsible and non-escalatory. And that this “new normal” is not poetry, but a practical doctrine was proved with the manner and method of India’s response to act of terror at Pahalgam (and also other places previously). As per that doctrinal framework, “Operation Sindoor” will go on -- at least for some time until India achieves its chosen goals (for whatever length of time). “New normal” also has many facets. One of those is how India made debilitating strikes on Pakistan’s critical installations (when provoked severely by Pakistan) and ensured that Islamabad’s nuclear bluff was exposed. Some of the precision-strikes by India deep into the Pakistani territory -- close to its military head-quarter at Rawalpindi -- hit nuclear-critical installations and facilities that Pakistan could not protect.

 

The haste with which Pakistan sought a ceasefire was due to those debilitating strikes, as some experts assess. In the altered Indian parlance, thus, “new normal” constitutes all such endeavours. True, India promised the world that it would not hit civilian people and Pakistan’s military targets -- since its fight is against terrorism. The world believed India fully -- which is also a mark of the global acceptance of the “new normal” set in practice by Pakistan. The world believes that if India promises to achieve certain goal, then it will go full distance to fulfill its own promise -- as part of the “new normal”. Let alone what happened during “Operation Sindoor” as a consequence of the Pahalgam terror attack, but it is important to know Indian response to it will become a landmark for all of its future counter-terrorism actions. India has seen a full scale military mobilisation in the past as well. Some of those phases were as long as 21-plus months. Yet, at the end, there was no action. But this time, the Indian response was comprehensive but paradoxically sharper. That is the “new normal” the Modi Government is talking about, and the nation is gloating about. If this “new normal” remains operational all along, Pakistan will think many times before it indulges in sponsoring more acts of terror.