IT seems that the season of embarrassment has dawned again for Indian Pardhan Mantri Narendra Modi.
Congress is taking stock of the failures with due deliberation. The dramatic orchestration of war against Pakistan could not obtain the intended politicized benefits for Bhartia Janta Party (BJP). Parliamentary debates in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha looked more like a surgical session of narratives built around ‘Operation Sindoor’ by BJP. Victory jubilations, lofty claims, accusations and self-praise have been continuously backfiring from the outset.
The linkage of Pahalgam attackers has not yet been established with Pakistan. This fact is too bitter to swallow for the Modi Cabinet and their pet media outlets. Veteran Congress leader P. Chidambaram finally pushed this particular point vehemently on the floor of parliament, which irked the BJP to the level of insanity. It has now been proven in the Indian Parliament that the Pahalgam-specific set of accusations against Pakistan lacked factual substance. State actors and their aligned media overplayed the cross-border terrorism drama to malign Pakistan without any credible evidence.
Ironically, this was neither an assessment error nor was it speculative. PM Narendra Modi and his aides pursued a dangerous game plan intentionally to gain political objectives. Most evidentially, a victory against Pakistan was much needed to build Modi’s image as a ‘Conqueror’ or ‘Savior.’ This condemnable strategy is much more than insanity because the end state could be a nuclear catastrophe in South Asia. It merits international accountability—how the strategic madness of the overrated largest democracy pushed the region to the brink of nuclear war?
The involvement of the whole state machinery in creating a war scenario proves that the turmoil of extremism has gone too deep into the decision-making tiers of India. Military failures were too big to shroud the deceptive theatrics of the Modi regime. The professional excellence of the armed forces of Pakistan exposed the lies of India in broad daylight. The downing of Rafale jets in the first phase of the Indian misadventure proved irreparable for Modi’s War Cabinet. Ironically, Modi had forcefully advocated in favor of French jets during the post-Pulwama anti-Pakistan campaign, with lofty promises of victory in any future conflict. BJP’s greed for political mileage has made the Indian forces a laughing stock.
The disinformation campaign in Indian media subsequently dented the credibility of the Indian state narrative. Congress specifically questioned the Modi regime for failing in diplomacy, as none of the countries believed India’s stance about Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack. The intense onslaught by Congress irked the top Mantries of BJP to such a level that Interior Minister Amit Shah started doubting the patriotic spirit of the opposition parties. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh never misses a chance to display anti-Pakistan jingoism. He once again threatened strong retaliation for any act of Pakistan. This preset offensive mentality is posing multiple threats to regional peace.
The combination of military, political and diplomatic defeat has turned into the worst challenge for BJP in its third term. The recent verbal cannonade from Trump, especially repeated references to the ceasefire episode, is adding more insult to Modi’s injuries. The extremist ideology of RSS has changed the optics of India—from a democracy to an irresponsible fascist state being ruled by trigger-happy hawks. All credit goes to Pardhan Mantri Modi.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
