Will India take responsibility for its missile accident?

Such accidental firings of missiles gravely question the safety and credibility of India’s weapons systems.

In yet another ‘technological glitch’, India misfired three missiles during their annual firing exercise in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan on March 24, 2023. The missiles fell into neighbouring villages, this time in India, causing loud explosions and producing large craters in the fields.

Taking into account Operation Brasstacks of 1984-1985, in which India amassed some 500,000 troops near Pakistan’s border under the guise of conducting its largest ever military exercise, this latest misadventure sent shockwaves to the entire region whose security fabric is already tampered with due to the highly volatile nuclear environment.

Over a year ago, the moment of March 9^th is a flashback wherein a BrahMos cruise missile landed 124km deep into Pakistani territory, travelling three minutes into Pakistani space. India attributed the accidental firing of a missile to a ‘technical malfunction’ during routine maintenance, later sacking three of its air force officers on account of violating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that led to the horrendous episode. The irresponsible firing of the missile while endangering human life and civilian property could have led to even more disastrous consequences as two airway routes were active, with several commercial airlines operating in the area at that time.

Pakistan had demonstrated exemplary restraint as a testament to its systemic maturity and unflinching commitment to peace as a responsible nuclear state, but the egregious lack of technical prowess and procedural efficacy on the part of India is casting aspersions on an already festering security dilemma in the region.

From such accidental firings of nuclear-capable missiles to the theft and illegal smuggling of Uranium – The Diplomat reports that some 200kgs of nuclear and radioactive material has gone missing from Indian facilities in the last two decades alone – security and safety of India’s weapons systems and the credibility of its command-and-control system gravely pose a question of concern and speculation for the entire region and hence the international community.

In February 2023, eight people, including two Indians, were apprehended in Nepal for illegally possessing Uranium, which had been reportedly smuggled from India, stoking fears regarding the existence of nuclear black markets with transnational links in India. Smuggling of this sort, if continued unhindered, might end up at the hands of militants, which would consequently mean becoming the tool of terrorism and hence a final blow to any successes in the war against terrorism. It is the need of time and requisite of peace therefore that India addresses concerns regarding its security protocols and technical safeguards against all such incidents to avoid any strategic misadventure in the highly volatile nuclear environment of the region.

India’s ‘animus dominandi’ is festering security dilemma in the region

India, specifically under the RSS-lead BJP regime, is leaving no stone unturned to satisfy its insatiable desire for power (animus dominandi). Even if such aforementioned gestures are overlooked as India’s callousness and inaptitude, such Indian offensives as that of Balakot Strike (2019) – in which it confidently breached Pakistan’s territorial integrity sending some 12 Mirage-2000 fighters with Spice 2000 and Crystal Maze missiles into Pakistani airspace, to its own detriment – is emblematic of both the state’s hawkish policies and practice and also its utter disregard to the peace, security and development of the region.

It is also reflective of the structural, technological and administrative loopholes and technical inefficacy daunting the entire Indian defence system. In the subsequent one-on-one air combat revered as Operation Swift Retort, not only Russian-available SU-30 and MiG-21 were downed, but India’s Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had also been captured.

Pakistan, in the spirit of traversing the path of peace, later released the captured pilot back to India, but it is not possible for any one state to uphold its international obligations concerning peace and regionalism, specifically when others are continuously detracting to the course of hostility and belligerence. Not only India but the entire world must acknowledge that any such misadventures might result in haphazard consequences for the entire region and the world. Pakistan reserves all rights to act proportionately, specifically in instances where it is unaware of the payload that might follow such ‘technical glitches’ let alone the intentions of the transgressor.

There is a need for the international community to respond to the gravity of the situation accordingly, to tend to the volatility of the region, hindering peace and prosperity of the entire world.