Hamas attack in South Israel and its lessons for India
By Colonel Kritya Nand Das, Retd
Israel was caught sleeping on the morning of Eighth October Twenty Twenty Three. All devices of its border management whether mere obstructions in form of concrete walls and pillars or barbed wire fences or electronic ears and eyes were in deep slumber.
So were its troops from their posts on dancing floors or in wild concerts, post religious prayers and festivities. It was repeat of Yom Kippur war time that had happened few decades back and hence easily forgotten. Only faith in prayer won’t suffice, you have to keep your powder dry as well!
And it is applicable for all including super smart state like Israel as well!
And what was Mossad doing all these days? Just preparing to be caught pants down? And be laughed at!
And what have these lapses generated? Deaths of many innocents, rapes of helpless women, tortures and humiliations to many and kidnapping of men, women, children and the elderly to be used as ransom later on.
Further, the Israeli bombing of the that narrow strip of densely populated land of unfortunate people will only increase the miseries to millions many folds. And there are chances of these clashes and conflicts enlarging itself into a bigger war, with many Islamic outfits joining it to show off their importance and creating instability for many regimes in the region and may be beyond.
War in Ukraine is one, going on into second year, chances here are more to prolong the conflict as this region has chronic conflict embedded in its soil over three quarters of a century. And there are many Islamic terror groups sitting idle these days in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Africa.
Our Subcontinental fate isn’t much different from this Middle Eastern malady, that started almost in same span of time some seven and half decades back.
There, it was to prevent a group that had been forced to flee their home land that is Palestine long back and were constantly subjected to hate and humiliation and even death almost every where except one that is India. It reached its ugly heights in Germany when under Hitler over six million of them were killed in gas chambers, infamous as Holocaust.
Their arrival from Europe and elsewhere into Palestine with the British approval boosted up the Jewish poulation from existing 15% to beyond 30% in a very short time. This was opposed and resisted by local Arab population. The concept of two states was opposed by the local Arabs and it faced armed resistance that continues till date.
In the subcontinent, long Muslim rule left a sizable Muslim population. They were mostly local converts who had succumbed to perks and pressures of a fanatic foreign rulers. Their elite who considered themselves of foreign extraction retained their aloofness. They some how couldn’t consider themselves to be part of the subcontinent even after staying here for many centuries and wanted to retain their foreignness in every possible way. This feeling of differentness was exploited by the British as part of their divide and rule tactics. When their differences with USSR couldn’t be resolved then the retreating British helped the Muslim elites to adopt violent tactics against the majority community where ever they were in minority so as to scare the majority community’s elite to agree to the partition of the subcontinent on religious grounds. Their religious differences were so wide and varied that the two could not exist together leave alone to continue as one nation. Two Nation Theory ran supreme.
And the subcontinent was partitioned followed with such brutalities and forced migration whose examples aren’t found in history, where millions died at the hands of their neighbours and many millions migrated loosing every thing that they had. History has no such misfortune in the past and should not have one in future either.
There in Palestine Two States Theory was rejected and here in the subcontinent Two Nations Theory was accepted.
But even after partition, peace is a mirage and conflict, the on going reality in the subcontinent on daily basis since the late 40s of the last century as it is in the Palestine.
And the mayhem created in Southern Israel was almost repeat of one that happened in the late 40s of last century in the subcontinent.
How far Israel will go beyond bombing that unfortunate strip called Gaza and when, where and how the end to this conflict will come, will be known in days and hopefully not in months and years like Ukraine.
Many factors and characters will influence all that.
However for India there are lessons to be learnt. As our story is strangely similar and we have hostilities that continues since the late 40s of last century, we have an oozing blister in Kashmir and the present tricks and tactics can be used to create similar situations there again and else where as well.
There, in the Middle East its only a stateless organisation involved but here we have a “State” as well doing the same acts of ” Human Animals” as the Israeli defence minister has termed the Hamas terrorists.
In end 90s a minority (part of dominant majority) was evicted out from Kashmir with a Muslim majority and their plight was similar to those of end 40s of last century and one of now in South Israel. And the state stood a mute witness through out.
Punjab over the years has been drugged and a separatist movement has resurfaced there. It is not only getting support from Pakistan but tacit ones from the Anglo-Saxon nations specially Canada. Similar acts against India may, move beyond Kashmir and Punjab.
If it could happen in Mumbai and the government of that time spent its energy pleading the perpetrators to punish the master minds and not taking any retaliatory action themselves, spoke very poor of India as a nation.
Similar action can be taken by our adversary in states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Over the years Gujarat has become a major economic hub. This has been attracting foreign investments and is rapidly growing its industries and will be the point port from where India – Middle East – European Economic Corridor will start. The port of Gujarat is connected to East – West Corridor, which now extends to Thailand and may in near future reach Vietnam.
All these may not suit our adversary far up in the north. Whose own such infrastructure plan hasn’t made much head way. We have to plan to protect such areas from attack by terrorists from our immediate neighbourhood.
If ever in case such misfortunate episode occurs there due to our laxity in terms of poor intelligence and surveillance then it will cause embarrassment of some other kind as well, as both Prime Minister and Home Minister are from Gujarat. And that region is taken as granted to be generally a peaceful one. But it can be approached and infiltrated by all three dimensions that is land, sea and air.
It has been seen, how cheap and readily available means have been used by Hamas terrorists to enter south Israel.
Pakistan has its sympathizers in our population and ISI has been active over the years. It has its sleeper cells who can be activated at very short notice. We need to keep our internal vigil as well.
With China to back any and every anti India forces and with Pakistan as a over inflated Gaza strip in the west, connected directly with China through an illegally occupied land corridor, we can expect many such actions. And when they have done it in Mumbai in the past, so they can do it now or any time, any where of their choosing.
We have no other option but to remain alert and thwart it when ever our adversary tries it and then take punitive retaliatory actions which must be very painful psychologically and very harmful economically.
Price tag for any misadventure must be heavier than that our adversary can pay.
But nothing can be better than our intelligence and surveillance systems remaining far ahead of our adversaries.
That alone can save us.
