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I understand and agree with your point; however, my primary focus is to begin venturing out and showcasing our capabilities. We are capable of sustaining long and costly expeditions. Let us take a measured step to develop a new logistical framework that ensures our forces are ready to act within 48 hours, with a clear objective that can be followed by proper mobilisation. This was the essence of the Cold Start Doctrine, which was overshadowed by its own hype. Perhaps a different name would have helped. Nomenclature matters.
Whether it was deploying boots on the ground in Afghanistan, enforcing our authority in southern Nepal, extending our operational reach in Burma to restore democracy, capturing Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula, or asserting influence in the Maldives, we have remained restrained.
The IPKF setback was not catastrophic, but our risk aversion and fear of negative press fundamentally altered our approach. What haunted us more was the involvement of a third party. Instead of learning from the experience and improving, we abandoned that doctrine entirely. In the U.S., they call it “body bag syndrome,” a term we’ve also adopted. Many do not know that this contributed to the assassination of our former Prime Minister, driven by misplaced guilt.
Most of our troubles in the neighbourhood stem from our predictability, as we are seen as unwilling to wield hard power.
This may indeed be a capability issue. Take the Kandahar hijacking: once the plane left our territory, we lacked the means to rescue the hostages. Post-Kandahar, we further erred by not debriefing passengers and shaping a narrative that supported our story. It is shameful that a nation victimised by Islamic terrorism was portrayed as the villain later on.
Analysts blame individuals, but the real fault lies with the government, which possesses vast resources but lacks the vision or resolve to pursue broader objectives; what I call the Hindu Rashtra Lens or Akhand Bharat Lens.
Be the constitutional democracy the way you want and keep bowing down to the constitution, but for god sake, have an ideological foundation in Akhand Bharat to guide your Hard Power.
… I hope they aren’t eating that Parle Marie
