“There are not too many bad people in India, but the problem is that there are too many good people in India who do not speak up about, bad deeds, of bad people.” — Mahatma Gandhi
It is now learnt from reliable sources that Pakistan fired Shaheen-2 as a testing missile on Delhi on the night of May 9/10, 2025. It was intercepted by S-400 and destroyed over Sirsa. Shaheen-2 has a range of around 900 km. It was a prelude to a nuclear strike by Pakistan, which India pre-empted.
Had Pakistan’s test strike succeeded, Delhi would have faced a ‘nuclear holocaust’. Mulla-dominated Pakistan Army’s ‘irrationality’ is well known. Even Pakistani politicians are irrational and irresponsible. Pakistan’s so-called defence minister Khawaja Asif said in a statement, “If Pakistanis don’t live, no one else in the world would.” He repeatedly boasted of Pakistan’s nukes. Therefore, Pakistan’s Shaheen-2 firing was enough proof for India to respond appropriately before it was too late.
In the meantime, Indian satellites also picked up activities at Noor Khan Airbase and Kirana Hills. India hit all 11 airbases and Kirana/Chagai Hills, and 16 BrahMos missiles were fired on pin-pointed targets to put them out of action and disarm Pakistan’s nuclear capability. Depending on further action by Pakistan, after the warning strikes by India, it was ready to go for the final ‘disarming strike’ on Pakistan’s nukes.
It seems post-Indian strikes on airbases, the news of nukes cooking at Noor Khan & Kirana/Chugai hills had made Pakistan’s nuclear assets unapproachable & unsafe. Reports of radiation made them panic and the CIA, an intimate friend of ISI, was alerted. The CIA asked US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to intervene. Both of them either did not expect India to cross ‘nuclear Laxman Rekha’ or were not properly briefed about Kirana/Chugai Hills nuclear assets. Alarmed, JD Vance contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told them to ask Pakistan to directly contact India. This is how the ‘Stoppage’ of further action took place.
India must realise that power projection is not achieved by hiding facts or getting overwhelmed by ethical and moral questions of peace and harmony. If India has to become Vishwa Guru, as the BJP and its leadership drumbeat about it, then real muscle flexing in the world is an utmost necessity
It might be noted that India was not interested in escalation. It was graduating, step by step, as a reaction to Pakistan’s degree of retaliation. In fact, right after opening strikes on May 7, 2025, on nine terrorist camps, India informed Pakistan that no military assets were targeted and only so-called ‘non-state actors’ were hit. Even the Indian DGMO had stated so in his press briefing after the Indian strikes on terrorist camps. It was to tell Pakistan not to further escalate.
Unfortunately, some politicians in India accuse External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that he leaked out operational plans to Pakistan. One Congressman went to the extent of calling him a ‘traitor’. It is a sad reflection of Indian politicians. One wonders, how low this grand old party, under present leadership, can stoop by distorting facts. It is very well known that Pakistan was informed after the first strike on May 7, 2025, as a legitimate warning. But vote bank politics has made its leadership not only mislead Indian people but also work against the national interests.
Besides, I do not understand why India underplayed its perfect hits on Pakistan’s likely nuclear assets and resultant radiation leak, however small it was. India has to realise that power projection is not achieved by hiding facts or getting overwhelmed by ethical and moral questions of peace and harmony. Realpolitik demands India to adopt a pragmatic approach. If India has to become Vishwa Guru, as BJP and its leadership drum beat about it, then, real flexing of muscles in the world is an utmost necessity.
Operation Sindoor proved that no nation openly supported India, despite everyone knowing that Pakistan is a house of ‘Jihadis’ and a ‘nuclear bully’. The world knows Pakistan’s misadventure may push the world into a ‘nuclear holocaust’ — the end result may lead to making the planet Earth unliveable. Still, the world remained silent
Gandhian era of ‘peace hymns’ is long dead. Today’s social media world is governed by building appropriate narratives. It is the narrative that leads to people’s perceptions, which recognises one’s status or otherwise. Former US President Barack Obama, in his Noble Peace Prize acceptance speech in 2009, said, “Whatever you might say, ‘evil’ did exist in the world.” He called it human imperfection. Thus, he made this distinction between perfection and imperfection like this:
“…For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince Al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.”
India must also realise that there are no permanent friends but permanent interests of nations. It is an era of geoeconomics that pushes forward the philosophy of ‘Give and Take’. Today’s friendship, whether individual or of nations, is defined by the principle of mutual benefits. The basic principle is: “What is in it for me?” Friendship of nations is not determined by the kind of ‘award’ which was given to one’s ‘leader’ but by how the ‘fellow nation’ stands with you during a crisis.
Operation Sindoor proved that no nation openly supported India, despite everyone knowing that Pakistan was not only a house of ‘Jihadis’ but also a ‘nuclear bully’. The world also knows that Pakistan’s misadventure one day might push the world into a ‘nuclear holocaust’ — the end result may lead to making the planet Earth unliveable. Even in the face of human extinction, the world remained silent. This is the reality of today’s world.
In this ‘Give and Take’ world of today, one ought to realise that neither China nor the USA/West would stand with India. Pakistan, in fact, was a creation of British intrigues of ‘divide and rule’, post-1857 War of Independence. It is also visible from the British role in the 1947-49 Indo-Pakistan war. British officers in the State forces of J&K had helped Pakistan annexing Gilgit Baltistan (GB). The Kashmir dispute was created by Lord Mountbatten, who misguided Prime Minister Nehru by dilly-dallying Indian intervention.
China appears to have outsourced its war against India to Pakistan. During Operation Sindoor, China provided weaponry and all the information from its satellites to Pakistan. It is also known now that China and Turkey provided technical manpower to operate air defence systems and drones
Thereafter, the USA had taken over from the declining power of the UK, which was described by Inder Kumar Gujral, India’s Prime Minister in the mid-90s, as a ‘third rate nation’. Therefore, the West and the USA would never openly support India against Pakistan. In fact, it allows Pakistan to use its F-16 aircraft against India, though it had promised India, it won’t allow it to do so. But it is an open fakery.
As far as China is concerned, it has outsourced its war on India to Pakistan. Therefore, it works towards providing Pakistan all the needs to checkmate India militarily. During Operation Sindoor, China provided weaponry and all the information from its satellites to Pakistan. It is also known now that China and Turkey provided technical manpower to operate air defence systems and drones. China considers India its ‘all-time enemy’. It is for Indian leadership to understand this and reduce its trade with China. Realistic analysis says that China would never be a friend. It was a Nehruvian mistake to say ‘Hindu-Chini Bhai Bhai’ till he was stabbed in the back in 1962.
India ought to meet Chinese power with greater power. It should mince no words in supporting Taiwan. It is time to tell China as to how ‘Tit for Tat’ works. China is also spreading its tentacles in the Indian neighbourhood — from Nepal to Bangladesh and Myanmar. Even it has set its footprints in Afghanistan. It is learnt that the old US Airbase at Bargham has been taken over by China. It is time to play realpolitik and showcase Indian power to ‘nit bits’ in the Indian neighbourhood. I will sum it up by quoting from ‘Unlimited Power’ by Anthony Robbins:
“Ultimate power is the ability to produce results you desire most and create value for others in the process. Power is the ability to change your life, to shape your perceptions, to make things work for you and not against you.”
-An ex-NDA and Wellington Staff College graduate, Col Rajinder Singh is a renowned author and security analyst. He has authored four books, two individually and two in collaboration. His best-selling books are Kashmir – A Different Perspective and The ULFA Insurgency. The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
