The unanimity on Pakistan

Across India’s political divide, there is no tolerance for terror

The government’s decision to change the constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) — by ending its special status, bifurcating the state, and turning it into a Union Territory — has evoked a vibrant democratic debate. There are differing views on the desirability, constitutionality and implications of the move. A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court will take up the issue in October. All of this indicates that there is a process of checks and balances that remains in place.

Narendra Modi’s elevation as prime minister has been accompanied with, and is a reflection of, an upsurge of Indian nationalism. The idea of a strong State, with no tolerance for violence and terror, is now an article of faith (PTI)

But on one question, there is unanimity across India’s political divide — the role of Pakistan. New Delhi has often swung between engagement with Islamabad and refusal to talk till it dismantles its terror networks and infrastructure, and proceeds to take action in cases like the Mumbai attacks. Ever since the changes in J&K, Pakistan has stepped up its rhetoric against India, painting it as “fascist”; mobilising international opinion — without much success; and even resorting to nuclear blackmail. To be sure, these pose diplomatic challenges for India. But if Islamabad thought that it can play within the internal fault lines that exist in Indian politics, it is mistaken. Pakistan’s polemics have no takers within the Indian public sphere. Former Congress president and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi’s tweet, on Tuesday, solely blaming Pakistan for violence in the Valley, reiterating Kashmir is India’s internal affair, is another instance of this unanimity.

This convergence can be attributed to a range of reasons. For one, with its sponsorship of terrorism over the past three decades in multiple forms, Islamabad has hardened Indian public opinion. It has also undermined the cause of Kashmiri autonomy which it claims to champion, and ensured there is little sympathy for it in the rest of India. Two, Narendra Modi’s elevation as prime minister has been accompanied with, and is a reflection of, an upsurge of Indian nationalism. The idea of a strong State, with no tolerance for violence and terror, is now an article of faith. The government has changed the rules of the game on terror — and decided that any attack will be followed by retribution, including by going across the border. This has widespread public support. And finally, even those who disagree with the government’s move on Kashmir know that this is an internal contestation — with no room for an external player. Pakistan will continue to create trouble, but it would do well to know that it faces a united India.