The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – Indian Army’s Myanmar Operation
The Indian Army under a unique ‘Hot Pursuit’ agreement with Myanmar conducted a special forces operation across the border, inside Myanmar. This has lead to the extermination of 100 odd militants who were allegedly responsible for plotting and executing an attack against the Indian army less than a week ago where the Indian Army lost a few of its men. However, the Indian Army suffered no casualties in this surprise raid that was executed at around 3AM on Wednesday morning and was reportedly supported by the Air Force.
As a patriotic Indian I can hardly contain my excitement for more than one reason. Two of the foremost have to be the proactive and pragmatic decision making of the present Indian government and the fact that the Indian Army is finally being allowed to avenge its losses, which one has to admit, is good for morale.
Having said that, on the ‘international reaction’ front, here is what I think is the Good, Bad and Ugly of an operation like the one in Myanmar.
The Good – #jaihind
An operation like the one in Myanmar sends a strong message to the international community! It tells them that India, owing to its economic prowess, well engineered foreign affairs handling and diplomacy and sheer military strength is not be taken lightly. It says much about India’s posture in the South Asia region, and that it doesn’t only believe in maintaining a defensive stance, but believes in controlled offense when the situation warrants. This is clearly, GOOD for the country and is in line with the way a responsible world power behaves.
The Bad
Diplomacy is very subjective and the way other nations perceive this operation is just as subjective. One fears that this sudden change in stance of the Indian Government, because of the change in government last year, may be a little too bold. One has to remember that the Manmohan Government did nothing short of politely asking the militants to not mess around with the sovereignty of India. Going from that, to a full blown special forces response, may just give some of the world powers ‘cold feet.’ Food for thought, I’d like to read your responses to this in the comments section.
The Ugly
Insurgency knows no limits. Militants engaged in insurgency at the behest of some pretty obvious and very questionable nations, hardly operate under military-like norms and rules. Suicide bombings, killing women and children, its all alright by their book. An aggressive reaction like Myanmar by the Indian Army may just send these insurgent factions into overdrive, this time with personal motivations and recent defeat looming over their heads. Could that be good for a growing Economic power like India? One begs to think if continuing to be defensive during this mammoth Indian growth story is a more pragmatic way of dealing with things.
Keep the comments coming! Let’s discuss this. Jai Hind! #jaihind
