In fact, Myanmar is not unhappy about the wee-hour Indian military action against terrorist groups along Myanmar border killing dozens after the latter attacked an Army convoy inside Indian territory felling at least 20 soldiers. Myanmar would probably welcome the Indian action. Myanmar and its military have little control over its difficult north and north-eastern terrains for a good part of the year. Myanmar’s Kachin and Chin tribes are generally in control. Terrorist groups from north-east India have been known to be operating from this part of Myanmar with the help of its local tribes. The deadly Indian strike-back sent a clear message to terrorist outfits in the region that India’s well-equipped and organized armed forces and para-military personnel are going to pay them back in the same coin, with harder and precision hits. The message is clear that India has long suffered the non-sense in the hands of terrorists, state-sponsored or otherwise, but it won’t anymore.

Few will deny that India’s pacifist posture had led to the division of Kashmir and allowed constant Pakistani state-sponsored terrorist attacks on the Indian soil, be they in Kashmir, or in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was probably deliberately blunt during his speech at the Dhaka university that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists hijacked an Indian passenger aircraft to Kabul to get one of its leaders, captured in India, released and decamp with him safely to Pakistan whereas India released some 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war after the Bangladesh war with dignity. But, Pakistan learnt nothing. India had always striven for peace. Pakistan, on the contrary, favoured to fight India, openly or by proxy. India’s prime minister had also said in Dhaka that India never fought a war to expand its territory.

For India, the highly successful anti-terrorist operation through a hot chase into the difficult north-eastern terrain in Myanmar boosted the morale of our military as well as the people of the country and raised the fight-back spirit which the previous governments, in their own wisdom, thought to be against political restraint and peace. Historically, the government avoided conflict and looked for a lasting solution of the problem through dialogue with terrorist groups and their international providers. Such a policy produced little to tackle the situation. India’s military and strategic support of the Sri Lankan government during its anti-LTTE operation in Jafna and other northern parts of the state in the mid 1990s yielded little for India. The world was struck with horror when an Indian prime minister was riffle-butted in Sri Lanka by a soldier at a guard of honour ceremony held in his ‘honour’ there on arrival. India’s reaction against the most disgustful incident was considered to be unusually mild as the Indian government left the issue to be tacked by the Sri Lankan government. India did not pull back or pull up. Resultantly, India’s neighbours and neighbouring anti-Indian terrorist groups took India for granted. However, Bhutan and Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have acted tough on terrorist groups, especially on those using their land to strike at India.

The public outburst of Pakistani prime minister Nawaj Sharif attacking “irresponsible and impudent “statements from the Indian leadership was understandable. Sharif’s belligerent reaction in this regard shows, if anything, the fear and guilty mindset of the Pakistan government and military. A possible Myanmar-style operation by India in Pakistan in hot chase of its home-grown terrorist groups may have shaken the minds of the government and military there. Sharif said statements made by Indian leadership vitiated the atmosphere of peace between the two countries although there is little to recognize that the Pakistani prime minister has contributed anything tangible so far to believe that such an atmosphere did really exist. India’s Defence Minister Monohar Parrikar has aptly responded by saying that those who “fear India’s new posture” have started reacting. It may be interesting that none of the other members of the SAARC group and China, which shares a long border with India, have not yet seen anything wrong in the Indian act or statements. The hot chase into Myanmar borders to nab and destroy anti-India terrorist outfits along its borders ushers in a new and positive role of India to fight terrorism in the region. (IPA Service)