When a ‘Gentleman State’ is pitted against a ‘Rogue State’, the result is always the same -- the victory of the gentleman and the defeat of the rogue. This is what human history has shown, and this is what future, too, will show. This is in the nutshell the story of the extended conflict between India and Pakistan -- which got endorsed in recent weeks once again -- in full public glare of the international community. Pakistan indulged in a habitual misadventure -- and got a terrible slap on its dirty face. But what happened actually beneath the surface was not just the decisive defeat of Pakistan in a short, but intense conflict of an entirely different nature. True, India showed to Pakistan its technological, tactical, strategic and diplomatic superiority. But it also showed to some other countries -- such as China, the United States, and Turkey, for example -- what India of today is. Those countries realised in clear terms the technological and tactical superiority India has achieved before the world could even realise it. No matter the propaganda war Pakistan launched as a last-ditch face-saving, the world saw all by itself how India established a clear edge over the Rogue State of Pakistan.

 

Hence the Chinese concern. Hence the American worry. For, those two countries saw their weapons and technologies getting defeated decisively by the passionate Indian mix of offence and defence in a short war of just 96 hours. That Chinese and American realisation led Pakistan to seek an urgent ceasefire. Beijing and Washington realised that if the conflict continued, India would annihilate not just their weapons and defence systems but also their reputation. So precise were the Indian strikes -- and so purposeful. No Chinese or American weapons and systems and gadgets or Turkish war appliances could stop the Indian strikes even deep inside Pakistan. Within hours of the start of the conflict, Pakistan -- and the world -- realised that India had established a complete technological, tactical and strategic superiority over the enemy. So came, the tearing hurry with which Pakistan’s Director General Military Operations sought a telephonic meeting with Lt. General Rajiv Ghai, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) India. An immediate ceasefire was the only point on the Pakistani agenda. Responding to the Pakistani request, India took firm steps -- ceasefire could not be the issue, but stoppage of military action could be considered. Sure that any delay could further annihilate its assets and humiliate the country -- as well as its Chinese and American friends -- Pakistan said ‘yes’ to the Indian approach.

 

That urgent agreement was, thus, a face-saving measure. Factually, that was a moment that endorsed the Indian superiority, all right. Yet, unenamoured by that momentary enticement, India insisted that Pakistan first stop its attacks on Indian installations as well as civilians, and that any breach would invite a tough, no-nonsense ire from the Indian Forces. That happened, too, and Pakistan got the terse message ! And the world, too, understood that it was dealing with a ‘different’ India. That messaging was as much as for the United States as it was for Pakistan. For, to the diplomatic hyperbole of US President Donald Trump, India had one clear response: Sorry, we agreed only for the stoppage of military action, and not a ceasefire per se ! Sorry, you did not broker the ceasefire -- since we do not accept any third-party intervention in Kashmir! Sorry, we make no promise of a discontinuance of Operation Sindoor -- which will go on ceaselessly, relentlessly. More of a deal-maker he is than a statesman, President Trump got his message in straight terms, though he may still keep blabbering about how he cobbled the so-called truce. To such a superficiality, all India could do was to offer only a wry smile that comes to a community elder if there is a boisterous youngster pushing things.

 

N o matter those details -- which otherwise, too, India was never to admit or the US would never confess -- the American acquiescence came because (India’s precision strikes were described to have hit even Pakistan’s nuclear facility near its military headquarter Rawalpindi. That happened after the Indian strikes demolished the air defence systems given to Pakistan by China and the United States! If the Indians could pierce through the Chinese and the American systems, then they are bloody dangerous! For, earlier, the Indian strikes and defence systems were able to thwart every possible Pakistani overture through missile and drone attacks and even sent crashing as many as two Chinese-made JF-17 and one American-made F-16 fighter jets. That was not damaging just the Pakistani arsenal, but also the Chinese and American reputation. And that was possible with the completely Indian-made ‘Akashteers’ and ‘Bhargavastras’ and the Russian-made S-400 defence systems and the ‘Pinakas’ ...! Indian Forces used whatever they had -- by way their legacyweapons as well as the new-gen appliances -- with stunning accuracy, shocking precision, and amazing sense of purpose. Nothing was shot in the dark. Every war appliance that left the Indian installations was fired with absolute focus -- not just technically and technologically but also as part of the Indian philosophy of not hitting any non-terrorist and civilian targets. India hit back at some military targets only when the Pakistanis tried to attack India’s military or other targets. Indian resolve was clear and visible right from the word ‘Go’. It took time to organise its thought and action after the Pahalgam terror attack. Once those were very properly and completely defined, the Indian forces went to wipe out as many as nine terror sites in Occupied Kashmir and deep inside Pakistan (which did not spare sites near even Islamabad --the political capital -- and Rawalpindi --the military capital).

 

Very frankly, nobody -- even the Chinese or the Americans -- expected such a precision, such a clarity of purpose, such a sense of focus. Everything India did was almost like a text-book conduct of a short but deadly conflict: The engagement of India’s political, social, strategic, diplomatic and military leadership in the planning and subsequent execution, the complete involvement of India’s Army, the Air Force and the Navy in planning and precision-execution of “Operation Sindoor”, the complete psychological engagement of Indian people across the massive landscape in war-preparedness (the civil defence exercise et al)...! Everything was clinically planned and correctly executed. Everything was handled completely professionally -- without a trace of uncalled for emotion and political tall talk. Even the daily briefings -- led by none other than Foreign Secretary Vikram Misry -- were a precise affair. No-nonsense. Precise. Terse. Very purposeful. Initially even media questions were not allowed. But when the media was finally allowed to ask questions, the answers were to the point -- betraying no unnecessary emotionalism and propagandism. The story of how the national leadership prepared the nation for the eventual action is of immense maturity, of deep thinking, of longdistance planning, of dealing closely with every detail no matter how small or how big, of endless consultation among every segment of decision-makers, of taking into confidence every segment of opinion-makers, of full utilisation of the democratic advantage the country often enjoyed, of enlisting a complete and unflinching support of the entire country beyond any political divide or social faultlines... ! True, as part of the democratic discourse the country has always had, there were questioners who sought to know why the Government was delaying action in response to Pahalgam terror attack. Some of those questions were also rather thoughtless. But most of the people who raised questions were keen that India gave a hard blow to Pakistan the like of which it had not had in many decades.

 

The beauty of the national leadership’s maturity was that it did not react to any questions right or wrong, nor did it seek to explain what was happening under the wraps of official efforts. It knew that such expression of public opinion was integral to democracy. It knew fully well that once action began, the whole nation would get galvanised into the proverbial ‘One Person’. Everybody came on board -- including those who were stiff political opponents of those in power. Each forgot petty differences. Each felt elevated that he/she was part of the national effort to restore Indian pride and dignity -- no matter the differences of ideology or ideas. Achievement of such unity, such dignity has always happened in India -- and this time was no exception. Of course, there was one difference -- a major difference, so to say. And it was in the military domain: The famed Indian Armed Forces had kept themselves in full readiness even for a traditional, conventional warfare. But they finally chose to fight a hi-tech war (taking the fullest advantage of the green signal the national leadership had given them) and chose the method and manner and time of their own choosing to respond to the need of the moment.

 

In sharp contrast, Pakistan actually did not know how to protect itself when India responded. Its military action, its political initiative, its diplomatic engagement -- everything looked in turmoil. And to make matters worse, it indulged in lots of nonsensical propaganda and lie-telling about how its Forces destroyed Indian assets. Offering pictorial evidence, the Indian spokespersons -- men and women -- proved every Pakistani word wrong and false. The calm confidence of the Indian spokespersons, their choice of words, the overall seriousness of their presentation -- yet tinged with a little smile -- communicated to the world that it was witnessing the picture of a New India, a different India. The repeated assertion by the Indian spokespersons that the Pakistanis could inflict no damage on the Indian infrastructure or assets got endorsed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at the Adampur Air Force base where MiG 29 fighters and S-400 air defence systems offered a great backdrop against the leader stood and delivered his address. The Pakistani claims that its Forces had destroyed the Adampur base were proved totally wrong -- which the world would never miss noticing. The world’s recognition of Indian superiority also came through statements of experts that global media voiced prominently. Of course, “Operation Sindoor” will continue until India achieves its objective fully. But that decision will of India’s choosing -- no matter what anybody may have to say. For, the “Operation Sindoor” is not just a military operation, but an assertion of India’s unquestionable sovereignty! ■