Bombs for Bullet

Yesterday when I first saw the tweets on Indian Army's surgical strikes in POK,a very different feeling,the type of which i never experienced in my life took over me.This was the moment I was dying to hear ever since 2006 serial train blast on Mumbai locals.When the blast took place,I was standing near Cooper Hospital- a Major Muncipal Hospital in Mumbai.I saw scores of ambulance going past me.I could clearly see the ambulance filled with blood of injured or in most cases dead people.Since then I was eagerly waiting for the news bulletin that we all saw yesterday.My blood was all charged up.I am sure every Indian felt the same way.That feeling can never be described it can only be experienced.Every Indian is proud of our Army for carrying out the strike in POK.

The public declaration of the strike marks a paridgm shift in India's approach towards Pakistan.It is now upto Modi government to ensure that we are always on higher side of moral ascendancy.The ball is now in Pakistan's court.Now that we have sent the message to the men in Rawalpindi,it's time to prepare for another retaliation because in all reality Pakistan Army will retaliate.Pakistan Army COAS General Raheel Sharif is set to retire on November 30.He will not retire with this taint of having been humilated by India.Pakistani's have always mastered the art of initiation.Following are some of the options that General Sharif will  probably explore,

1. Carrying out serial blast simultaneously in our major cities like Mumbai,Pune,Delhi,Hyderabad & Bangalore.This can be easily done through sleeper cells that Pakistan has created and used them before.To deny their involvement Pak Army will influence Indian Mujahideen to claim responsibility for the attack.It can also use ISIS card.If this option is explored by Pak Army,then they will hit us when it will hurt us the most.With Dussehra and Diwali coming up in October the terror strike most probably will be carried out at that time.
2. With Pakistan denying India's claim over Surgical Strike and terming it as usual cross border firing,it is probably biding it's time to carry out similar strike.
3. Stroking communal tension through fake images and videos on social media.Already Pakistan Social Media warriors have started uploading videos of terrorist attacking Pak Army personnel as that attack on Indian Army soldiers by Pak Army.In days ahead many fake videos will be uploaded on Social media.

We are fighting the most devious nation on the planet.We have kicked their butt.We know they will retaliate,and we will kick their butt again.Their will be dark days ahead.We are fighting a proxy war.In war there will be casualties.Remember our intelligence agency & our security apparatus has to be right always,but the terrorist have to be right only once,As initiation is from their end.Yesterday's strike brings a welcome change from the way earlier government conducted themselves.We should keep the tempo up.Every strike by Pakistan based terrorist organisation howsoever small it will be should be retaliated with brutal force.The casualties on Pakistan end should be way way more than what we will sustain.In Punjab,it was Bullet for Bullet that killed the militancy,in case of Pakistan only Bombs for bullet will keep them in their hole.

For Uri Attack-Blame the Gandhi in Us

Yesterday on 18-September-2016 terrorist from Pakistan attacked one of the Army Brigade HQ at Uri.Time and again we have absorbed such attacks and needless to say our Army has done a brilliant job in restoring normalcy to the valley which once was teeming with nearly 2000 terrorist in 90's.By not going for offensive raids into Pakistan we have ensured that a conducive environment is there for our economic growth.But this has also equally hurt us.We must agree-Pakistan strategy of bleeding India with thousand cuts has been successful so far.

For instance,our Army was not allowed to cross LOC during Kargil War.The erstwhile Vajpayee Government alarmed by the growing casualties of our men was considering to open another front where we will have strategic advantage.Many Ex-Military experts feel,had we explored this option earlier then we could have taught Pakistan a much needed lesson.We had another opportunity to pay Pakistan back when "Jaish-e-Mohammed" terrorist attacked our temple of Democracy-The Parliament.Many felt that the die has been cast for a full scale war with Pakistan.We failed miserably in what was India's was first Military Coercion as our Army units took nearly 20-days to get deployed on the border.By this time,Pakistan had shored up it's defences.Pakistan called our bluff and after many months on border,our units were called back.

Indian Army subsequently developed Cold-start Doctrine despite not acknowledging it.It involved swift mobilisation of strike corps to deliver a punitive blow to Pakistan before nuclear threshold is crossed.Recently Indian Army conducted a major exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan "Chakravyuh-2".The exercise was aimed to validate the battle readiness and operational effectivenessof the Pivot formation and Rapid Division of the Army along with all its affliated components.

But what is the use of all so called "Cold Doctrine" when we don't use it even after we were humilated during 26/11 attacks.We had a golden opportunity to reverse the mistakes of 1947.Yes,I agree we didn't have the military edge reuquisite for a full scale war in 2008 thanks to the Saint Anthony's stint as Defense Minister.In his bid to keep his clean image,Anthony put our Defence back by 10 years.By executing 26/11 attacks,Pakistan showed the entire world that Indian policy malkers are not only incompetent but also impotent.It was the most humilating attack on we Indians,more humilating than the defeat with China in 1962 war.The beheading of Lance Naik Hemraj was another incident which Pakistan showed to the world our incompetence.

BJP which was in opposition during the above two gruesome terror attack had advocated giving befiiting reply to Pakistan and openly proclaimed that had they been in the power things would have been different.

Modi's Lahore stopover while returning from Afghanistan was seen by many as following in Vajpayee's legacy of taking initiative to bring ever-lasting peace in the Sub-Continent.Modi said that by engaging Pakistan he was trying to change the course of INDIA-PAKISTAN relations.The Pathankot attack was expected by everyone.India-Pakistan relations have always been 1 step forward,2 steps backward.Contrary to what many feel,Indian government was right in not taking any hostile stand with Pakistan because it would have made Modi's Lahore sojourn a complete failure and had we taken any aggressive stance we would have played right into the hands of Pakistan Army and it's notorious ISI.But what followed was a repeat of our foolishness,we allowed Pakistan investigation team to inspect Pathankot Air-Base,The Pakistani team came to India not to investigate the attacks but to study their failure in not able to penetrate the Technical Area and achieving their goals.Time and again we have been fooled by Pakistan.The Haji-Pir pass gives Pakistan an advantage in the area for infiltration.We foolishly returned it to Pakistan.We Indians are the biggest fools in the world.People including me blame Gandhi for the Partition and rightly so,but in reality we Indians should blame the Gandhi in us.Our tolerance level is often seen by the world as cowardiness and rightly so.

Which country would have acted like how we did post 26/11 attacks.We had a golden opportunity then,we have a golden opportunity now.But sadly we didn't have military edge in 2008,we don't have it now.Our Air-Force has become obsolete.Our Government has admitted that Indian Army has ammunition for only 19 days of intense fighting.This even after we being the largest importer of arms.The only way forward is self-reliance and in this regard the recent steps taken by Modi Government is really commendable.

Uri Attack has left Modi Govenment in a deep fix.The promises made by his party prior to elections of handling Pakistan strongly will definately play a part in Modi's next move.He has completed half of his term.If he doesn't order for retaliation attack,it will be seen as a sign of weakness.This is our chance to teach Pakistan a life-long lesson like we did in 1971.Everyone knows we don't have the capability for a full scale war which in any case is likely to end in stalemate bcoz both sides pocess Nuclear weapons.Surgical Airstrikes is another option but we don't have enough fighter jets to thwart retaliatory air-strikes on our cities.Covert Operation is another arena which will be possibly considered.Though Ex-Military officers like Gen V.K.Singh is right in saying Military decision should never be taken with emotion qoutient but if we don't retaliate and avenge the deaths of our boys,it will be seen as a sign of weakness by Pakistan.

We must not forget,"We have allowed ourselves to be victim of terrorism".People may say people like me who are eagerly waiting for retaliatory strikes as war mongers but the truth is in fighting the most devious nation on the earth,Moral ascendency is always required.

Listening to our DGMO's press briefing,It clearly indicates either there will be no retaliation or there is going to be a massive retaliation.Looking at the way Modi has conducted Pakistan Policy it looks like there will be no retaliation but i am praying that it's the other way round.


I will be most happy if my conjecture turns out wrong.

Why we don't deserve to be a Superpower!

The reason why we can only dream of being a superpower is because we Indian's don't have it in us what Americans have,the respect and care for the Military personnel.

People remember God only when they or a member of their family is in trouble.Likewise,people remember Soldiers only when the enemy is at the gates or whenever there is a natural calamity like earthquake or floods.But what does our government do once the conflict gets over or after the rescue operation launched following the calamity gets over,it denies them their rightful due.We deny them OROP(ONE RANK ONE PENSION) despite knowing that military personnel start retiring at the age of 36 years.Worse even we civilians turn a blind eye to our men who did violence on our behalf on many occasions so that we could sleep safely in our house.Last year on the eve of Independence Day,agitating ex-servicemen demanding OROP were manhandled by the Delhi Police ironically for security purpose.

Not only our government , but we as a nation have always denied our soldiers their due.Worse, we
have even forgotten that 56 of our men are languishing  in Pakistan jails since 1971.We Indians have
always failed miserably when it comes to negotiation.We released more than 92000 Pakistan soldiers following Shimla agreement without getting our men back who were captured by Pakistan during the
1971 war despite knowing that Pakistan had captured some of our men.What baffles me is why a leader like Indira Gandhi and COAS Maneckshaw couldn't get our 56 men repatriated when we released more than 92000 Pakistan soldiers.

Pakistan has always denied our charge.They have always done so not only when it came to POW but also denied that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan or for that matter.

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.Indira Gandhi discontinued
#OROP in 1973,Two years after 1971 war.We have always been foolish when it comes to negotiation,Whether it was 1965 where we gave away to Soviet Union Pressure for signing a peace agreement in Tashkent or  Shimla Agreement,where Indira Gandhi could have bargained for POK in return for repatriation of over 92000 Pakistan soldiers.

No Prime Minister except for P.V.Narasimha Rao showed any interest in bringing back our soldiers.None of our COAS all these years did nothing for the cause.

It will always remain a mystery how a leader like Indira Gandhi failed to get our men back.This when there was clear proof of our men being held in Pakistan jails.

On December 9, 1974, M L Bhaskar, an Indian spy who was repatriated under the Shimla Agreement of 1972 after spending seven years in Pakistani jails told the Indian government that about 40-50 Indian Defense personnel were being held at the time at Attock Fort.


Take for example Major A.K.Ghosh

The above picture is that of Major A.K.Ghosh in Pakistan Jail.This picture was published in Time Magazine dated December 27,1971.

Major Ashok Suri:-
On January 7, 1972, the capture of Ashok Suri of Faridabad was mentioned in the Punjabi Darbar program of Radio Lahore.On December 26, 1974,Ashok Suri's father, received a handwritten note by Ashok Suri dated December 7, 1974.On August 13, 1975, R.S. Suri received a note dated 14, 15 and 16 June 1975 from Karachi written by Ashok Suri disclosing that there were 20 officers detained in Pakistan.

Flight Lieutenant V.V. Tambay:- 
The Sunday Pakistan Observer, dated December 5, 1971, published from Rawalpindi that five Indian pilots have been captured alive. One of the names published was that of Flight Lieutenant Tambay.Tambay's wife had a chance meeting in 1978 with a Bangladeshi Naval Officer who was taken prisoner in Pakistan during the war. In Lyallpur jail, he had come across a person named Tambay. The Officer remembered that Tambay had a scar on the chin (which was true she confirmed).Daljit Singh, who was repatriated from Pakistan on March 24, 1988, saw Flight Lieutenant Tambay at the Lahore Interrogation Centre in February,1978.Tambay's name was mentioned in Karachi Sunday Observer as Flt Lt Tombay among four pilots captured alive..

Captain Ravinder Kaura:-
Captain Ravinder Kaura's name was announced on Radio Lahore on December 7, 1971.
Mukhtiar Singh,who was repatriated from Pakistan on July 5, 1988, said that Captain Kaura was in Multan jail around 1981 and was presently in Kot Lakhpat jail.

Government on many occasions has publicly acknowledged that our men are still languishing in Pakistan Jails,But did nothing for their return.

In 1979, Union minister of state for defence production,Samarendra Kundu told Parliament that 40 Indian defence personnel were still in Pakistan jails.

On September 4, 1996, two members of the Rajya Sabha, O.P. Kohli and Satish Pradhan, asked I.K. Gujral, then minister of external affairs, Whether the government was aware that as many as 40 defense personnel were Captured by Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict were still in Pakistan custody. The minister replied that according to available, 54 missing Indian defense personnel were believed to be in Pakistan's custody.

Chuck Yeager,the US Air-Force pilot who was the first person to exceed the speed of sound also revealed in an autobiography that during the 1971 war that he had personally interviewed Indian pilots captured by the Pakistanis. IAF Pilots were of particular interest to the Americans because, at the height of the Cold War, the men had attended training 

in Soviet Union and were flying Soviet designed and manufactured aircraft.

Other Nations have always gone out of the way when it came to the lives of their soldier's.
The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange was a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 terrorists.

On June 3, 1973,Israel exchanged 46 Syrian prisoners for 3 Israeli Air Force pilots who were in Syrian captivity for three years.

Robert Bergdahl,the lone American soldier captured by Taliban was released in exchange of 5 Taliban detainees.

Pakistan has always stabbed us not from back,but from front but we Indian's never learn.
Those who don't learn from History are condemned to repeat it.

Government has taken a bold move to engage with Pakistan,but we should extend our hand only if Pakistan releases our men,which in all probability they will never do.We have chosen to forget the very same men who gave us a decisive victory in 1971.Do u still think,we can become a Superpower?Or Do we deserve to a Superpower.The answer is no.

Don't blame Pakistan,We should blame ourselves first

Don't blame Pakistan,We should blame ourselves first

Today, all of us woke up to the news of the terrorist attack on INDIAN AIR-FORCE forward Air-Base Pathankot AFS.I was watching a news channel when one reporter asked Maj Gen G D Bakshi (retd) for his comments,I was surprised to hear that he was shocked that Pakistan has back-stabbed us even after PM Modi's diplomatic masterstroke of visiting Lahore which took the entire world by surprise.

Well, frankly speaking, I think everyone in the government, IB & R&AW were expecting A major terror strike because over the last decade a pattern has emerged whenever India-Pak Peace Talks are initiated, terrorist organizations

 across the border send in their fidayeen to disrupt The Peace-Process.News agencies report that after Gurudaspur SP car was hijacked at gun-point Security was beefed up across Punjab,Also there was specific intelligence reports that terrorist will target strategic military installations and a NSG team was deployed in the Pathankot Air-Base.Despite all this,the fact that terrorist managed to enter the Air-Base and killed 3 sentries and a Garud commondo shows that we are lacking somewhere.

The Garud Commando Force is the Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed after an attempt by terrorists to attack two major air bases in Jammu and Kashmir in 2001, Indian Air Force commanders felt the need for a specialized force to protect these critical elements and to have a dedicated Commando Force trained in Special Forces techniques, Combat Search and Rescue, Reconnaissance, Counter Insurgency (COIN) Operations and Emergency in response to terror-threats to airfields.

While the Army provides some Special forces units to the Air Force,its units were always subject to being posted out on rotation to other areas as per the Army's requirements.

It was felt that the specialized training the air force would have provided to such

units would have to be repeated again and again for the replacement Units.As a result,The

Garud Commando Force was formed in September 2004.After Today's attack where terrorist managed to sneak into the base,the base Garud Commando Force officer will have a lot to answer.

Whenever a major terrorist strike occurs,we blame Pakistan.Yes,indeed Pakistan is the culprit,  

But before blaming Pakistan,We should blame ourselves.Yes you read it right,we should blame 

Ourselves.The reason for that is our lack of retaliation.We  did nothing when  terrorist

Planted the bombs in Mumbai Local Trains in 2006,we did nothing when Lashkar-E-Toiba's men

Held Mumbai hostage for 3 days during 26/11 attacks.We only prepare dossier on Pakistan involvement in 26/11 attacks.Hafiz Saeed the  mastermind of 26/11 attack openly challenges India in his rallies in Lahore which is less than 50 km from Indian Border.Had it been Israel,Hafiz Saeed would have been long dead.Bullet for Bullet is the only strategy that will work against Pakistan.

Yes the Army special forces action in Myanmar in 2015 was indeed a rare instance of Government directing the Army to go after militants after Manipur ambush.We are always at the receiving

end of Pakistan sponsored terrorism.There are many reasons for that.

1-The biggest reason is politics played by IAS lobby in the procurement of new & advanced

    War machinery,IAS lobby has managed to keep Military begging for Arms since independence.

2-Equally responsible are the supine military top brass.

3-Import Lobby among the bureaucrats ,corrupt Military officers.Though on this front we are

   Progressing,after PM Modi's campaign for Make-In-India,we are seeing lots of positive moves

   Which we should have done decades ago.

4-Lack of importance given to the rising casualties.Only Americans & Israel main priority is

   Minimizing casualties.They base their all Military operations on having minimum casualties of

   Their personnel.India,frankly speaking treats its soldiers as mere cannon fodder.

5-Obsolete Air-Force.In today's warfare,it is the Air-Force which plays the decisive factor

    In the final outcome.We  have never used our Air-Force to its true potential.Our AIR-FORCE

    Squadron strength is presently at 33 squadrons when the sanctioned strength is 42.

6- Considering our dependence on Gulf for Oil,the Navy also plays an equally important role.

    Though we have acquired state of the art  Boeing P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft,it has its         own limits. Our depleting submarine fleet is a matter of grave concern.One should not forget the         role   of INDIAN NAVY during Kargil War.INDIAN NAVY had blocked oil supplies of                   Pakistan resulting in only six days of oil left.Today China can do the same to us in case it decides       to support Pakistan in case of INDIA-PAKISTAN war.It can block our Oil supplies and also they     can humiliate us at will across LAC.

7-Our lack of learning from past mistakes.Take for eg:-Operation Parakram Disaster

  India’s first attempt at military coercion achieved only limited success. Operation Parakram,

  Launched in the wake of the December 13, 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament, was the first

  sull-Scale mobilisation since the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It began on December 15, 2001 after the

  Cabinet Committee for Security’s (CCS) decision and was completed on January 3, 2002. It finally

  Ended on October 16, 2002 when CCS belatedly recognized that the law of diminishing returns         had been operative for many months already. In a face-saving move, CCS declared that troops

  were being “strategically relocated” and constant vigil would be maintained, especially in                   J&K.While the formations responsible to defend the border – “holding”or “pivot” corps – were           ready for battle within 72 to 96 hours of receiving orders, the three“strike corps” (1, 2 and 21 Corps)   took almost three weeks to complete their mobilization because their fighting echelons are based at     long distances from the border. Hence, it was only in the first week of January 2002 that major           offensive action could have been undertaken by the land forces. The most important lesson that           emerged from the standoff was the inordinately long time that strike corps needed to mobilize for       war. By the time these elite formations were ready to deliver a massive punch, the international           community had prevailed upon India to give General Musharraf an opportunity to prove his                 sincerity in curbing cross-border terrorism.

  These strike corps is designed to penetrate deep into Pakistan and run the risk of crossing

  Pakistan’s nuclear threshold early during an offensive campaign.The “recurrent political

  Controversies on military procurement in the last 25 years” has “crippled the army’s

  modernization programme.” Sadly, not much has changed in the last decade despite

  Well-intentioned reforms in defense procurement procedures. Inordinate delays in decision-making

  and bureaucratic red tape continue to mar acquisitions,A large chunk of the defense budget is

  still surrendered year after year, large equipment shortages continue to persist.

  Former air chief A. Y. Tipnis said at that time: “We have shown enormous patience,

  Inaction is damaging our credibility; people have begun to believe India incapable of taking

  any action.

  The harsh truth is that the government played a game of bluff not just with Pakistan but also

  with its own military When a nation enjoys credibility, it can usually achieve its objectives

  with a mere threat to use force.However, when there are serious credibility problems,

  even modest objectives are difficult to accomplish.

  The only way out is making Pakistan pay for its mischief.The truth is People of Pakistan hate us.

  Despite both country's PM remark that the people of both country want peace.The truth is people of

  Pakistan hate us.They rejoice when we bleed.It will be interesting to see Modi's next move.We had

  a golden opportunity to retaliate post 26/11 but the then government did nothing.What I am writing

  may be not practical,but the truth for everlasting peace in the sub-continent can be achieved only

  through complete destruction of Pakistan and realizing Veer Savarkar dream of 'Akhand                       Bharat',which can be achieved only through force.In day's ahead we will face many such terror           incidents.If something spectacular attack takes place like 26/11,we should retaliate massively.

  Talks should go on but we should not be hesitant for coercive action when some major terror               strikes take place in coming days,which in all probability will take place.