International Relations on Indian Borders: On the Second Anniversary of Balakot Air Strike
On the morning of February 26, 2019, I had just returned to the US from a series of conferences and seminars held in India. Actually, I was in India a few days before the Balakot Strike and traveled between New Delhi and Southern India, Hyderabad. I participated in ARTH Seminar-conference at Indira Gandhi Center for the Arts in Delhi. Here, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Actress Ravina Tandon, and I – discussed Feminism in India on a panel about the historical and modern understanding of women. I then traveled to Hyderabad to deliver my lecture on historical methods as the honorary guest and keynote speaker for the Valedictory session of the South Indian History Congress at Osmania university. Hence, recently returned from India at that time I have understood the magnitude of the Balakot airstrike within India and its bearing on International relations on the borders of India.
The Balakot Air Strike in the early hours of February 26, 2019, was brisk and destroyed a terrorist camp near Balakot in Pakistan. There is are numerous efforts on the Pakistan side to deny the occurrence of the Indian Air Strike in its efforts to limit the enormity of Indian action. However, as a longtime Indo-Pacific policy analyst, I trust the statement of the Indian Military that an airstrike was launched that day, which attacked and destroyed a terrorist camp in Balakot, Pakistan. Soon after the Air Strike Indian administration briefed international diplomats sharing information about the Air Strike and its goal of destroying a terrorist camp of JeM (Jaish E Mohammad), which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack in Kashmir earlier that month. This is a major military operation launched to attack terrorists in Pakistan, since the last attack launched by the US military SEAL forces killing Osama in May 2011.
In this type of military operation, it is difficult to know the exact number of casualties, discrepancies always exist. The death toll ranges between 250-450 people depending on who you are talking to at any time. However, it should range between 300-350 as a rough estimation based on the size of the camp. However, it could be said that no civilian casualties are reported from the nearby town of Balakot. The Air Strike targeted and destroyed a terror camp on the hills without affecting anything nearby.
The Balakot Air Strikes leave India and the international community with many impacts. However, most importantly, India took control of highly strategic locations; shows India’s commitment to secure borders. To this day, the terrorists have not been able to launch another attack that demonstrates security on the Indian borders.
And furthermore, this shows India’s commitment to open and honest warfare. India’s commitment to open and honest warfare is known for millennia. In the Arthasastra (Book VII chapter 13) Chanakya discusses how open and honest warfare is preferable to covert tactics. India’s open and honest sharing of data following the Air Strike is appreciable. India’s commitment to lasting peace also comes to the fore in this effort.
The Balakot Air Strike also leaves a lasting impact on the Indian region as well as Indo-Pacific regional cooperation. India balances its western borders with Pakistan and eastern borders with China. Both of which have previously cooperated and shared Indian territory of occupied Kashmir. Hence, international relations in this high mountain region are complex. It is important to establish peace in this region by supporting the only strong and large democratic nation in this region. It is important for the international community to maintain peace in this region.
