War and Peace

 

I have been guzzling down news from different sources since May 6, 2025, more precisely since the Pahalgam terror attack that shook the nation on 22nd April. Reading fiction has taken a backseat for now but the bibliophile in me bought a copy of Ramacharitamanas, thanks to Air Marshal AK Bharti. Yes, only a book lover can turn the country's DGAO into a book influencer. 

In the press meet dated May 12, when a journalist shared lines penned by the famous poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in his question, the DGAO replied with a couplet from Ramacharitamanas (in pic shared above) adding that for the intelligent, a hint is enough. Cultural significance aside, what stood out  garnering applause from even journalists who were not at the venue to be wooed was how the Air Marshal explained the 'why' behind Operation Sindoor and our strategy using just two lines from Tulsidas’s epic poem. I still have copies of ACK Valmiki’s Ramayana and C Rajagopalachari’s Ramayana published by Bharathi Vidya Bhavan from my childhood days in the book shelf, but I couldn't resist my temptation to grab a copy of Ramacharitamanas (this copy published by Gita Press Gorakhpur) after listening to Air Marshal AK Bharti.  

No one wants war, everyone wants peace. And yet, they do appear together as in the title of Leo Tolstoy’s popular classic. For the considerable sample space in fiction I have explored from the genres - historical fiction/war fiction, I have a fair understanding of the environmental destruction, losses of all sorts - financial and emotional associated with a war. I don't have a family member serving in the Indian Armed Forces, I don't reside anywhere close to the border or conflict zone, but just the sound of the siren and visuals of blackout on my TV screen are enough to leave me with a churn in my stomach. 

Pakistan has been actively breeding and fomenting terror and religious fanaticism on its soil for decades, ‘a dirty work’ they themselves have admitted doing. There isn't an iota of doubt about this for what else can explain the country borrowing money 28 times in 35 years from the IMF and yet unable to improve its economic health earning itself the tag ‘a debtor too big to fail’.

Operation Sindoor isn’t a war on our neighbour Pakistan that we started or waged with an intent to threaten their sovereignty or territorial integrity, it's a fitting reply and resounding slap to the terror they unleashed on innocents in Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam on 22nd April. Even when Pak shelled Indian towns across the border and showered drones on our cities, we thwarted those attacks and struck their military bases in a highly calibrated and precise fashion. 

To me, this book will remain a token of memory of Operation Sindoor. It's my way of saluting the Indian Armed forces for all that they achieved, a humble expression of respect, gratitude and admiration for their efforts, grit, valour and precision in their successful mission to safeguard their countrymen and avenge the wrong done to them. The book will also remind me of how vulnerable people are in areas close to our border with Pakistan, always the first ones to bear the brunt of our enemy's actions. It's a way of remembering that the Prime Minister and his cabinet did not just stop with diplomatic measures/exchange of files and dossiers to tackle terror but resorted to firm retaliatory action by striking the terror establishments when the nation was  pushed to the corner, no mean feat given how tricky and difficult the political situation/equations between the nations in the subcontinent and world are. 

I am not one for blind adulation for an elected premier, it's clearly not a healthy attribute of a vigilant citizen in a democracy. I have been skeptical, even critical of our PM on many occasions, but there is no taking away credit here, where it’s due. Even as I write this post, there are grey areas and no clear cut answers for many questions, but whenever I pick this 1200 pages book/tome for a read, I will remember Operation Sindoor as a turning point, a successful one, in Indian response & its zero tolerance to terrorism.

(PS: I sincerely hope we don't make a movie out of this operation starring Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana and their likes)