Amidst the growing India-Pakistan tensions following the terror attack on Bombay, there are some points of analysis that must be considered. All of Southasian peace is threatened, and what is important is for democratic India to not allow itself to be dragged towards a situation where rancour turns to hostility. It must save itself from the simplistic notions of an anti-democratic evolution within and also ensure that the fragile Pakistani democracy is not shaken. Some may suggest that this fear for Indian democracy is exaggerated, but enough hoary rhetoric has emerged from India's political commentators and satellite channels pandering to the so-called middle class, for us to urge caution.
The hysteria unleashed by most of the Indian satellite channel anchors is unacceptable. Within India, they went overboard in challenging the democratic political process and putting politicians on the defensive, attempting to force their hand. Vis-a-vis Pakistan, they have orchestrated a shrill chorus that seeks an aggressive military posture from the Indian government. In what seems a cynical competition for what are called TRP ratings, the channels have sought to outdo each other with proclamations of patriotism, and have influenced other Indian media, including print, into playing nationalistic catch-up. Given the Subcontinent-wide accessibility of the satellite channels, the media frenzy emanating from India has also influenced some Pakistani media towards extreme posturing.
Given the emblematic nature of the Bombay attacks of late November and the accompanying media hype, the Indian Government has been responsible in not responding with bilious rhetoric such as would affect bilateral relations beyond repair. One need only recall the six month-long massing of Indian troops along the Pakistan border in 2002 by the BJP-led government after the attack on the Indian Parliament. Even as it responds to a provocation as drastic as the terror attacks on public and private spaces of Bombay, New Delhi does have to keep in mind the instability and precariousness of Islamabad's civilian government, and the reality of a Pakistan which too is a nuclear weapons state.
The Bombay attacks have marked a departure in what is expected of the Islamabad establishment as well, with credible information that at least some of the gunmen have origins in Pakistan. There is the expectation that Islamabad will assist in the investigation and prosecution of the militant leaders and handlers who are active in fomenting terror across the eastern border. Any proof of instigation and collaboration by Pakistan's intelligence and military outfits must be acted on. All of which will indeed be a challenge for the fledgling government of Asif Ali Zardari, with its own inherent weaknesses and the legacy of a decade-long military rule, to manage this imbroglio that it has suddenly been handed. The increasing India-US alignment also places President Zardari in a difficult spot, of being seen to be succumbing to concerted international pressures. Within the country, he faces the lionising of the Islamist extremist organisations even as the upcoming Obama Administration seems willing to continue with the 'war on terror' in the Southasian (Afghanistan/Pakistan) theatre.