So what is so special about Rajnath Singh’s announcement? Nothing except raising the political heat in the run up to the state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand etc early next year. Just as the Narendra Modi government went to town proclaiming the successful surgical strikes across the LoC, it followed up soon with the announcement about sealing the border. The ostensible reason is to show that it is different from other governments in the past and that the nation has never been safer than it is now.

The idea of sealing the border dates back to the Punjab militancy days in the late seventies and early eighties when the then government under late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to strengthen border security. Hordes of Punjab militants then went across the border for arms and training and subsequently created problems of law and order in the state. Apart from erecting hundreds of BSF pickets along the border then, the government took special steps to set up wire fencing all along the border wherever physically possible, depending upon the topography. Riverine border, for example, was treated differently as no physical fencing was possible.

Since then, all subsequent governments have taken steps to strengthen the international border with Pakistan in states like Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Even those days, the prospect of sealing the border with high security walls came up now and then. There were site visits of technical experts and according to reports then, the idea of erecting a high wall did not find favour as it posed more problems than it solved. Border vigil with wire mesh security fencing was considered to be safer and better than closed wall.

There was no question of any wall formation in the riverine belt. Such vulnerable spots had to be managed with special devices like laser equipment. Consider the recent Pathankot attack by terrorists. They sneaked into the Indian territory via the riverine belt breaching high security.

The situation in the J and K sector is totally different where erecting a border wall is unthinkable with high snowy mountains all along. The Home Minister seemed to suggest that the walls would be erected in the J and K sector as well coming as his announcement did soon after the surgical strike. The idea of a wall in the J and K sector is quixotic, to say the least. That is the reason why the Home Minister’s announcement has to be taken more as political than physical.

There are inaccessible snow laden mountain passes in the Kashmir region which open briefly for two to three months during which infiltrators try to cross over into the Kashmir valley. The Government should take steps to contain infiltration from these passes by help of modern technology rather than indulge in cheap histrionics. This will lead the country nowhere.

It is not for no reason that even after Kargil, leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee toyed the idea of borderless Kashmir to let the people of two sides interact freely under joint supervision. The idea was taken further during the UPA government of Dr Manmohan Singh with back channel diplomacy under ace diplomat Satinder Lamba. It is believed in the diplomatic circles that had General Musharraf remained in power for a few more months and not ousted unceremoniously, things would have been perhaps different.

The hint was definitely towards some kind of border arrangement under which the two Kashmirs could have coalesced without any firm political settlement. This, it is said, could have been a big leap forward in the relations between the two warring neighbors.

It would seem Prime Minister Narendra Modi was acutely aware of the narrowly missed opportunities. Was his unannounced visit to Pakistan a step in that direction? He deserves some credit for his attempts in the beginning. Pakistan did not take the bait, much due to its perennially anti-India Army. India has now changed tack following events like Uri and Pathankot. Domestic politics in the country have further exacerbated the situation.

While India-Pakistan relations continue to be in limbo with the Uri attack and the retaliatory surgical strike, the Kashmir issue and the proposed sealing of the border have come in handy for the rulers to play politics. The BJP is already basking under the surgical strike success and has made it a poll issue in UP and elsewhere. The issue, as usual, will die down after it serves the political purpose. India-Pakistan tension has always been an emotive issue with voters and no ruling party has failed to exploit it. So why should the Narendra Modi government lag behind? (IPA Service)