The debate on Operation Sindoor in both houses of Parliament served little purpose. A directionless, polarised and manifestly unproductive discussion, with partisan grandstanding on both sides, revealed nothing new, and demonstrated once again how completely the institution is broken, in terms of its constitutional functions. The government stonewalled all substantive questions, with the Minister of Defence arguing facetiously “Results matter in any exam, not whether a pencil broke or pen is lost.” The ‘broken or lost pencil or pen’, in the present case, possibly includes three Rafale jets, each acquired at a cost of over `2,300 crore. More significantly, in suppressing this information, the government also refuses to disclose the lives that may have been lost, and others who were grievously wounded, because they were forced to go into action under irrational conditions imposed by the political leadership. It would truly be a national disgrace if we fail to honour the fallen pilots, simply to cover up incompetence and promote the false narrative of an untainted victory.
But while nothing may have been learned in Parliament, the truth is crystallising bit by bit in the national and international discourse. Among the realities that are being exposed, perhaps the most significant relate to the maelstrom of unintended consequences Op Sindoor, and reactions to it, have unleashed.
Perhaps the most visible is India’s utter isolation in the world, and the relative improvement in Pakistan’s position. In this, the souring of relations between Washington and New Delhi have already had significant impact. A delusional Trump, who feels swindled out of a Nobel Peace Prize, has publicly repeated his claim of having mediated the Indo-Pak ceasefire at least 29 times. The Indian side continues to rebuff these claims, albeit without directly confronting Trump, as in Prime Minister Modi’s statement in Parliament, that no other country intervened and stopped India from carrying out the strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, and that India stopped its offensive after achieving 100 per cent of its objectives. Crucially, there is clear evidence that New Delhi now stands alienated from all of the three great powers: US, China and Russia. Further, all the nonsense we have swallowed over the past decade of emerging as a counter to China, should be immediately and completely abandoned.
The unthinking adventurism of Op Sindoor has also exposed national vulnerabilities and the sheer folly of military theatrics, absent a reality-based evaluation of capacities, capabilities and preparedness. The limited tactical success of destroying nine targeted terrorist locations, and even of fighting off the Pakistani retaliation across a wide front along our western borders—after the first losses to our air resources—may be conceded, but the strategic vulnerabilities that have subsequently been laid bare have been devastating to India’s global standing and the nation’s sense of security. It is now common knowledge that China shared critical surveillance, targeting and jamming resources with Pakistan during Op Sindoor, and the two countries have now been brought even closer together. Pakistan has an accelerated weapons and capabilities acquisition programme with China, which far outstrips the pace of anything India would be able to devise. Crucially, moreover, China has declared its commitment to protect Pakistan’s ‘security and sovereignty’ against any future challenge.
It must be abundantly clear that India is in no position whatsoever to confront China’s burgeoning capabilities—neither on its own, nor with any magnitude of its fitful weapons’ acquisitions. India’s future wars are overwhelmingly going to be fought in the sphere of horizon technologies, including robotics, cyber and outer space, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Our conventional capabilities—which are also outstripped by China—offer no defence in these spheres.
But a crisis may also be an opportunity, though only if the political leadership can find the sagacity, the persistence and the vision to pursue strategies and policies at a pace, scale and variety that vastly outstrips the elephantine gait that has long characterised Indian responses.
