It was legitimate and sanguine for Nirmala Sitharaman not to put a time-line on her promise to make “Pakistan pay” for the terror strike it sponsored at Sunjuwan (Jammu). Army reprisals cannot be knee-jerk reactions, counter-measures are taken at a time and place of its choosing.
Alas, the absence of any indication by when the forces would begin receiving the small arms whose purchase was announced with considerable fanfare on Tuesday would lead critics to suspect that the announcement was merely an attempt to divert public attention away from the disappointing provisions for defence in the budget for 2018-19, and the Army’s tough-talk having little impact on militancy in J & K or the continuing fire-assaults across the Line of Control.
The military’s morale cannot be high when Pakistan faces neither military nor diplomatic punishment, and in popular perception India is at the receiving end. It is a moot point if that perception will be altered by announcement of a second instalment of small-arms acquisitions to tackle an unfavourable situation. The soldier would prefer to hold upgraded weaponry in his hands, rather than read media reports that it was on its way.
To be honest, Tuesday’s announcement was really the second phase of an acquisition project that has yet to materialise ~ some experts contend the assault-rifles, carbines and light machine-guns are still some years away. What seems apparent is that the Army’s “junking” the Ordnance Factory Board’s INSAS weapons (Indian Small Arms System) is becoming a reality, though details of the next range of rifles etc have not been disclosed.
That a large number of them will be domestically produced is not significant; long before “make in India” became a political buzzword the 7.62 Self-Loading Rifle (the basic weapon till the INSAS was introduced during the Kargil conflict) of Belgian-design had been manufactured in the country. What might prove a game-changer is that the private sector will be involved in the production ~ competition could contribute to efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Still, it must be a matter of concern, if not shame, that the DRDO and Ordnance Factories could not come up with a rifle that would have automatically replaced the INSAS range. Indigenous “development” has tended to be top-heavy, the scientists not overly concerned about what the troops really need.
Back to basics. Belligerence has run it course, neither the Pakistani army nor the militants have proved chicken ~ despite what the political establishment screams from the rooftops. Three wars have not proved decisive, the international community will not permit another now that both nations are nuclearised.
Maybe it is time to quit seeking political dividends in the rest of the country, put false pride in the pocket, and try what both Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah have been advocating. It takes fortitude to make peace, even if it does sometimes invite charges of sedition.