United we stand

Better late than never. After a fortnight and more of regrettable Congress doublespeak on the Kargil crisis, party president Sonia Gandhi...

Better late than never. After a fortnight and more of regrettable Congress doublespeak on the Kargil crisis, party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday affirmed 8220;full support8221; to the government in its endeavour to evict the Pakistani intruders. This is reassuring.

Sound politics and responsible statesmanship demands that leaders 8212; both in government and in the opposition 8212; abjure easy pointscoring and petty quibbles as the Indian armed forces engage in one of their most arduous missions in almost three decades. Sobriety is perhaps near impossible in the most tranquil of times, but in a frenetic, long-drawn-out electoral campaign, the urge to invoke fiery rhetoric, to voice sanctimonious warnings of catastrophe can be overwhelming. This is a temptation that must be resisted.

Admittedly, a post-mortem of the build-up to the audacious occupation of strategic heights along the Line of Control is critical; but it can be constructive only with the benefit of hindsight, authentic information and soberanalysis. Levelling charges on the basis of conjecture would not only amount to messy mud-slinging, it would have a deleterious effect on a nation8217;s resolve to fight the intruders and to seize the diplomatic initiative.

Indeed, political unity is imperative in modulating expressions of outrage. As grieving villages and towns around the country receive the remains of valiant jawans, as the country braces itself for the cryptic message in the delivery of the mutilated bodies of six soldiers, popular indignation could escalate into demands for New Delhi to give as good as it gets 8212; demands that would delight the infiltrators.

The logistics and long-term intent of the intruders and their masters are still hazy, but it is amply clear that brinkmanship and provocation are part of the agenda. India has done well so far to exhibit restraint, to keep its operations limited to its territory and to hush any mention of the N word; but in what is sure to be a months-long and incredibly bloody military campaign, itwill take a great measure of political will to sustain such moderation.

On the diplomatic front too, political consensus 8212; which fortunately has not wavered so far 8212; can slowly but surely deliver significant gains. When in the last 52 years has Pakistan ever been so visibly isolated? In fact, after the successful normalisation of daily life in the Valley, Islamabad8217;s hopes of keeping Kashmir on the boil hinge on internationalising the issue.

The Kargil treachery, the blatant attempt to undo the careful rationalisation of the Line of Control at Shimla and the repeated acts of provocation are clearly aimed at paving the way for third-party mediation. And yet, the West has been unequivocal in calling for the sanctity of the LOC and in labelling Pakistan8217;s quot;Mujahideenquot; as infiltrators. New Delhi should push Pakistan further into the corner it is already in. And today as Sartaj Aziz drops by for talks, he should not go back to his people with optimistic tales of a divided polity lacking in will to unitedlythwart any misadventures on its borders.