KV Rao wrote:
I think you don't really 'get' India.
* Hindu-Muslim friction, badmouthing of Muslims by Hindus and vice versa, concerns about power distribution, ideological conflicts and worries about survival etc. are always going to be there. But the essential nature of the Indian state is pluralistic and democratic, not the pretend-propaganda kind but the real thing. And India the country is the physical manifestation of this concept of an Indian state. That means (a) the Indian state will go to any lengths to defend its territorial integrity and (b) Indian Muslims are very much a part of India and the democratic system, therefore there can be no question of waging a war against their core interests, therefore the idea of India attacking Mecca would be preposterous.
Quite possible. That is the one short-coming of relying on books to learn about a country as vast as India. While the Indian-porki relations may not be a hindu-mslem issue for you (indians), it certainly is a hindu-moslem issue for porkis.
I could answer the second part of your comment above but that would serve to side-track this thread even further (than i already have). Suffice to say that at least a couple of threads on this forum suggest that even after living together for a millenia, moslems in India have not really assimilated into India. If not, why the need to worry about moslem demographics etc.
So, while I may not "get" india, i dont believe my knowledge of india is so thin as to not "get" a few basic facts right.
KV Rao wrote:
It is easy for an outsider who doesn't actually know India to mistake India's lackadaisical attitude as a lack of national 'steel' a quality that you acknowledge in the army, but pointedly left out in your evaluation of the larger political system. Are you really naive enough to think the Indian army comes from somewhere other than India? Or that it is not an integral element of Indian society?
I think the last leader that india had who really had cojones was Ms. Indra Gandhi. Rather ironic, dont you think? After her, the only "uncharacteristic" thing India has done were the nuclear tests. That jolted the world out of the complacence of taking India for granted. As regards to the "steel" of india politicos, i am not the only one who has questioned it. There are any number of indians on this forum who have questioned this "steel" in even harsher terms than i have. Perhaps they are naive as well, eh?
KV Rao wrote:
We already know what India (the country not the army) will do when overtly confronted with aggression. What you are seeing here is the process of evolution of a national doctrine of what to do with this kind of covert warfare that Pakistan has been waging. We'll make a lot of mistakes, take a lot of losses, experience a lot of frustration, but eventually we'll prevail.
Quite agree. India will have to learn its way around this mess. However, i have yet to see any "evolution" of a doctrine that you allude to. It appears (and i stress appears) that India is caught with its pants down (no offence, so were we vs. the hezbis) after every terror attack and seems basically to shake its fist and make threatening noises each time. IOW, basically reacts. Again, i stress it "appears" so. So, you may be right. There may be a behind the scenes evolution of a doctrine. Or just possibly, you might be pissing all over your feet and have convinced yourself it is raining. Time will tell. FWIW, I will EAT CROW big time should India prove otherwise. Again, FWIW, it would give me great personal satisfaction to see some of this "steel" that you claim your politicians have.
KV Rao wrote:
And never believe that we are about to go around having a civil war with our own Muslim compatriots no matter how much frustration and resentment you see expressed here.
Takes two to tango. you may not have wanted a civil war, but you did get one despite the likes of gandhi during your independence.
Getting back to FU/NFU: I will re-iterate what i said earlier. Beside words, i have seen no evidence of any resolve on the part of GOIn that would suggest a FU. And in case of a P-JDAM, i still maintain that your decision to retaliate would be seriously hampered by political considerations. There will be enough morons who, for whatever axes they have to grind, will advocate restraint and will likely succeed. A retaliatory strike by India is by no means a certainty.