Belligerent rhetoric

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took the bluster up a notch by threatening to invade Pakistan “if the need arises”. Instead of threatening to invade Pakistan or violate the Line of Control, Singh would do well to concentrate on his actual job.

However, it is somewhat reassuring that Singh has a well-established reputation for crackpot theories and telling bare-faced lies, starting with his time as a state education minister, when he tried to ‘Saffronise’ mathematics by introducing discredited religio-scientific theories into the curriculum. As president of the BJP, he expelled party cofounder Jaswant Singh for writing a book in which he mostly praised Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, even though academics said the book was fair, and most of the praise was from other sources Singh was quoting. It is worth noting, however, that Jaswant Singh’s sacking is acknowledged as helping then-Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi rise in prominence in the party, culminating in his becoming the prime minister. As home minister, he accused pro-democracy university students and rights activists of being supported by Hafiz Saeed, who is currently in jail in Pakistan for terror financing.

However, for India, his biggest failing may be the Agnipath Scheme for recruiting soldiers, which was introduced without any white papers or public debate. The four-year service term helps avoid military pensions — including for the heirs of those killed in action — and other benefits, but will lead to less professional soldiers and may increase gang recruitment, as ex-Agniveers struggle to put their skills to use. It is thus surprising that Rajnath Singh would try to talk a big game, given his role in potentially weakening the Indian military and setting it up for embarrassment once the virtual conscripts and mercenaries begin replacing professional soldiers. But for these same reasons, he may also be Pakistan and China’s ‘best friend’ in the Indian government.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2023.

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