A national security doctrine is only as good as the national will to enforce it. Our response to every terror attack emanating from Pakistan has become predictably routine — there is a wave of public anger demanding revenge against Pakistan and the government vowing a suitable retaliation (Editorial – “Responding to Uri”, Sept.20). However, nothing happens afterwards as the masterminds of terror in Pakistan wait for the fury and indignation to subside before launching their next attack. The Uri attack should be dealt with differently. Since the terrorists are trained by Pakistan’s military-security establishment, they are nothing but proxies for the Pakistani Army. India has all the evidence of the Pakistani military’s involvement, and it has the right to hit back in a manner and at a time of its choice. India needs to change Pakistan’s perception that there are no costs to be paid for maintaining two armies — the regular army kept in the barracks and another irregular army of brainwashed youth sent to die in India.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
After the initial demand for the “whole jaw for a tooth”, it is clear that the Modi government does not seem, as of now, inclined to resort to any retributive military action. While it is true that a military offensive, whatever its scale, has its own unpredictable cost, its absence, despite repeated provocations from Pakistan, does betray a sense of helplessness. It raises questions about our claim of being a “ strong nation” under a “strong leader”. How long do we keep watching our soldiers bleeding on our soil?
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
