Beginning of the end of the Indian Union
SHASHI is back home—a disappointment, as per Indian media.
Shashi Tharoor, a Congress opposition leader and eloquent speaker, was chosen to lead India’s international narrative.
Yet, he presented a complete volte-face.
In his first press conference in the USA, he had nothing new—merely beating the old drums to portray defeat as victory.
He attempted to sell the BJP’s narrative that Operation Sindoor was primarily an anti-terrorist operation, specific and limited.
However, India has failed to present any supporting evidence to date.
The narrative has not resonated internationally and the world isn’t buying it.
A disappointment from a man of his calibre, attempting to promote a version divorced from ground realities.
It also contradicts the stance of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, which has demanded the BJP government present facts and evidence.
Jaishankar and Shashi Tharoor have offered conflicting narratives: From military and strategic perspectives, Operation Sindoor was a full-scale kinetic operation involving land, air and sea components.
Its aim was not just strategic but to cash in domestically.
It ended in humiliation, a result of the Indian planners’ miscalculation of Pakistan’s military capabilities.
Moreover, the claim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism lacked evidence and failed to gain international traction.
As a result, India is left licking its wounds, losing face and its imagined status as a regional superpower.
The world respects real power—not hollow bravado.
India’s actions reflect a regressive mindset, unbecoming of a state that seeks to project military and economic dominance.
The global geo-strategic shift has exposed India’s vulnerabilities and the failure of Operation Sindoor has highlighted deep internal fault lines.
Separatist movements are gaining momentum.
Anti-Pakistan rhetoric now rings hollow, generating ripples in domestic politics and rejection abroad.
The 21st century is a world of cyber, space and multi-domain warfare.
Expertise, not numbers, matters.
Terrorism as a strategic tool is outdated.
While proxy wars continue, they now exist in a hybrid space blending technology, information warfare and kinetic operations, as seen in the Ukraine-Russia and Gaza conflicts.
Since 1947, Indian leadership has been persistently anti-Pakistan.
At the time of the Indian Independence Act, Congress leaders believed Pakistan wouldn’t last more than six months.
Based on that faulty assumption, they accepted partition.
They miscalculated—Pakistan survived and 78 years on, it remains strong.
Early troubles stemmed from the manipulated Radcliffe Award, which deprived Pakistan of Muslim-majority districts in Punjab.
The Kashmir issue arose from India airlifting the Maharaja to Delhi, violating the Standstill Agreement with Jinnah.
Assam too was awarded to India, against expectations.
This history of betrayal poisoned bilateral ties from the outset.
For the past eleven years, the BJP government has aggressively pursued the RSS’s ideological agenda.
Over 150,000 schools and colleges have been established under the RSS education policy.
The BJP is the political arm of the RSS.
Since as early as 1905, Hindu professors from Jammu University theorized that only Hindus were the rightful residents of India—all others were invaders.
Ironically, “Hindu” is not even a religion in the doctrinal sense.
The RSS’s core philosophy is borrowed from Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s fascism, aiming to paint all of Indian society with a Hindu hue while obliterating Muslim contributions.
Despite ruling India for over 1000 years, Muslim rulers were tolerant and secular—otherwise, the entire subcontinent would have been Muslim today.
Hindutva is the path to Hindu nationalism, as described by Walter Anderson.
The Indian subcontinent has only twice been unified: under Emperor Aurangzeb and during British colonial rule.
Even then, Delhi’s control was limited to foreign affairs, finance and territorial integrity; states were internally autonomous.
The current Indian Union suffers from severe internal fissures.
The Congress initially portrayed a secular, inclusive India.
That illusion has evaporated.
Since the BJP came to power, it has pushed to transform secular India into a Hindu state, driven by Hindutva.
Two major laws have facilitated this shift: the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
More recently, the Wakf Act has targeted Muslim shrines and properties.
Though the BJP claims these laws apply universally, the reality is that Muslims have been disproportionately affected.
Hindutva promotes Indian supremacy.
India has never truly been friendly to its minorities or neighbours and attempts to bully them into submission.
Pakistan remains the exception.
Every Pakistani effort—from Liaquat Ali Khan’s outreach to the 1980 no-war pact offer—was rebuffed by India’s narrow nationalist mindset.
Even Jinnah’s attempt to accept the Cabinet Mission Plan was thwarted by Congress.
The arrogance of today’s BJP leadership stems from India’s recent economic and industrial growth.
This arrogance is the root of their imperialist behaviour.
Although India’s large landmass and market attract investors, its economic prosperity is uneven.
Over 90% of GDP belongs to a few industrialist families, while 90% of Indians survive on an annual income of just $1,140.
This economic disparity, combined with the Hindutva ideology, fuels dissent across India.
Assam was meant to be part of Pakistan but was given to India through a rigged Boundary Commission.
Assamese unrest has now turned aggressive, bolstered by China’s rise and international attention.
Culturally and religiously distinct, these states have significant Muslim and Christian populations.
Similarly, Punjab’s Sikh population feels betrayed and the Khalistan Movement continues.
The Naxalite Movement controls over 200 districts, with more than 3,000 casualties so far.
India hosts around 22 separatist movements, 17 of which are active.
Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi all fell victim to the tensions caused by Hindu nationalism and minority suppression.
Many sane voices in India are alarmed at the nation’s drift from secularism.
Researchers warn that India is regressing—physically, mentally and emotionally—due to RSS policies.
Internally, the BJP has spun terrorism narratives for political gain.
The country is fragmenting ethnically, socially and economically.
RSS has spent four decades burrowing into Indian politics, shattering the secular edifice built by India’s founders.
India is a land of diverse ethnicities, religions and languages.
The poison now shows in political and social behaviours—similar to Nazi Germany’s collapse.
The upper-caste Hindus who rule are a minority; Muslims, Dalits and other groups make up 70% of the population.
Secularism held India together—no longer.
The cracks are now wide and visible.
Ashok Chagala, a researcher, warns that unchecked regression could break India from within.
Many other voices echo this fear.
If economic size and military might were sufficient to guarantee survival, the Ottoman, British and Soviet Empires wouldn’t have collapsed.
The superiority myth crafted by Modi and RSS collapsed within four days of the recent Indo-Pak War.
Fault lines have become visible.
A Sikh air chief was assaulted by junior officers; a Muslim defence spokesperson was harassed.
Even Shashi Tharoor, a seasoned and articulate politician, succumbed to the poison of intolerance, making undiplomatic comments about US President Trump while in the United States.
By initiating a water war, Modi has lit a dangerous fuse.
If India fails to reverse its jingoistic course, a breakup seems inevitable.
There is a lesson for Pakistan, too.
A battle may have been won, but the war continues.
The world respects power, but we must also put our own house in order to fully integrate and harness our national strength.
Otherwise, we may face similar challenges.
—The author is a decorated retired Brigadier with over 32 years of combat experience in the 1965 and 1971 wars, followed by 31 years in the corporate sector as MD/COO and advisor. (tariqkhalil21@gmail.com)
