Politicians should steer clear of military operations The Statesman 29 Jul 2025 Maj Gen Harsha Kakar
https://epaper.thestatesman.com/4038603/Kolkata-The-Statesman/29-TH-JULY-2025#page/9/2
Politicians should steer clear of military operations The Statesman 29 Jul 2025
In India, a nation always facing elections, everything is politics, whether it be a government decision or an incident or even a military operation. While the government feels it should be credited for everything, the opposition believes its role is to criticize, especially when it is taken advantage of. The game gets murkier when the most respected bastion of the nation, the armed forces, are dragged into political battles.
This is what happened pre and post Operation Sindoor. The government addressed an all-party meet after Pahalgam, where it covered the incident and its proposed retaliation. The intent was to avoid being accused of security lapses which led to the incident. The opposition had little choice but to support the government as not doing so would invite the wrath of the public, already demanding retribution.
Surprisingly, even today, not a single individual has been held responsible for the security lapse, not one head rolled, despite the Lt Governor of J and K, Manoj Sinha, mentioning it was ‘undoubtedly a security failure.’ On the contrary, a security breach which stalled the PM’s convoy on a flyover in Punjab’s Ferozepur in early 2022 led to multiple investigative committees being formed by the state and centre and concerned individuals suspended.
Post Operation Sindoor the opposition was ignored. Their leaders neither briefed nor taken into confidence on what happened. As with Balakote and the cross-border strike post Uri, the BJP exploited military successes for its own political advantage, comparing their offensive approach to those of previous governments. It coined the phrase ‘Ghar mein ghus ke Marange.’ While taking credit for decision-making is its right, its policy of exploiting the opposition led to further distancing between political blocks.
The only option left to the opposition every time this happened was to question the government’s claims of success. Post Balakote the opposition demanded proof of damage caused by the strikes. While this was intended to nullify the political advantage being exploited by the BJP, it played into Pakistan’s hands, which was desperate to cover its losses.
Islamabad succeeded by quoting Indian politicians. The government counterattacked by stating that the opposition was questioning the armed forces, the nation’s most respected organization and singing Pakistan’s tune. It was advantage BJP.
Operation Sindoor was no different. The government exploited it for political mileage leaving the opposition struggling to regain political space. Lessons learnt from Balakote were well applied. This time evidence was aplenty. The heads of operations of the three services briefed the media on the outcome of the strikes, displaying images of destruction of selected targets. It left little doubt on its success.
The opposition, struggling for an answer, began looking for straws to regain political ground. It could not question the success achieved by the armed forces as it would backfire. There had to something else. This came with Trump claiming he brokered the ceasefire debunking the statement of the army DGMO (Director General Military Operations) that the same was announced based on a request from his Pakistani counterpart. Added was the subject of loss of aircraft.
Trump’s comments on mediation and stating that four to five aircraft were lost in the short intense conflict kicked off a political storm. Trump mentioned, ‘You had India, Pakistan, that was going… in fact, planes were being shot out of the air…four or five. But I think five jets were shot down actually.’ Trump never mentioned to which country they belonged, opening doors for its exploitation. Trump’s desperation for a Nobel Peace Prize has made him repeat his claim for almost the 30th time. His most recent comment was when he compared the Thailand-Cambodia conflict to Operation Sindoor.
A desperate opposition, losing political ground, aware that the BJP will exploit Operation Sindoor in forthcoming elections, hiding its other shortcomings, began raising mediation by the US as also material losses. They compared this with 1971, when India refused to accept US demands for a ceasefire. The intent was to embarrass the government and regain some ground. This will become evident in discussions in parliament this week.
No nation ever declares material losses in a conflict, neither will India, no matter from where the demand emerges. The air force spokesperson had already mentioned that ‘all pilots were accounted for.’ This itself implies that losses, if any, were only material, not personnel.
Further, even if Pakistan approached the US for a ceasefire, after its main bases were targeted, and were directed to speak directly to India, the US had no direct role in ending the conflict. Trump never spoke to either national leader. Many countries called for India to ‘exercise restraint,’ post Pahalgam, as also for ending the conflict, once operations began. This does not mean that they were partially responsible for the ceasefire.
The Indian political battle saved Pakistan the blushes. Their strategic air bases were severely damaged and its prized aircraft destroyed in the air and ground. It was desperate to save face. Had Pakistan’s true losses not been hidden, Asim Munir would never have become a field marshal and the government collapsed.
There are reports that China is rushing in units of HQ 9 air defence systems to replace those destroyed by India. Added are inputs that Pakistan is also seeking anti-drone systems from China. These are indicative of the damage caused by Indian strikes as also a fear of further strikes.
Rawalpindi’s saviours were its army of information warriors, who played up on every media network, exploiting statements, including those of Trump and Indian politicians to their advantage. They managed to hide their losses while insisting that Trump’s statement on aircraft losses only involved India, including its famed Rafale. Supporting them were Chinese information handles, desperate to cover the failure of their manufactured equipment, which began losing the market.
To further save face, Pakistan jumped and nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize crediting him with ending the conflict. This announcement and the lunch in the White House of Asim Munir saved Pakistan.
Ultimately, the more Indian politicians’ squabble, the more it benefits our adversaries. For this, no single political party can be blamed. The only solution is that military operations be kept out of political domain but then again, that is never possible in a democracy perpetually in election mode.