Time for trust and unity, not hatred and division

It must have been 6 am last Tuesday morning, when a notification pinged on my mobile. Surprised and with some concern, I saw a message blinking from my friend's son. He was distraught about the events in Pahalgam and berated the government for not taking any retaliatory action immediately after the incident. He expected me to do my bit by mounting a media blitzkrieg to pressure the government into immediate action.

- Shashi Shekhar

I was shocked. I have known him since childhood. He was educated in the best schools India can offer and secured an engineering degree. Before graduating from the institute, he had a plum MNC job in his kitty. He has risen in rank and position and today moves in the charmed circle of upper corporate echelons. He is well respected for his intelligence and wisdom, which is why I wasn't overly perturbed at his outburst.

I advised him to maintain his cool and convinced him to take it easy and trust the government. When the time is right, the world will witness the full range of action. I told him that in 1971, a similar war hysteria was building up in India. The then Prime Minister (PM), Indira Gandhi, summoned the Army chief, General Sam Manekshaw. She asked if the Army could immediately attack East Pakistan and help it become an independent country — Bangladesh. Manekshaw, the brilliant strategist, explained that the monsoon was due in a few months. During the rains, the fields in Bangladesh turn into swamps. The movement of tanks and the army personnel would have been mired in such terrain, making them sitting ducks for the enemy. Attack at such a time would have meant large-scale death of the soldiers. Manekshaw wasn't going to issue any hasty orders. Those at the helm of the State were far more sensitive towards the loss of their men and material than the destruction of the enemy.