Editorials

India Today, June 7, 1999
June 7, 1999

Don't Mess with Borders

A desire for peace and a defence of the realm are not mutually incompatible

Edits India's congenitally griping classes will lose no time in pointing out the danger inherent in air strikes along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kargil. Following the shooting down of an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane by Pakistan, the ominous warnings of escalated hostilities going out of control and two nations blundering into war may even sound cogent. In truth, India's calibrated response to a Pakistan-backed invasion aimed at redrawing the LoC was the only one possible. A prolonged ground war would have meant playing into the enemy's hands. The Indian military would have had to cope with another Siachen-type bleeding wound. This could also have allowed an intrusive West to attempt an involvement in the Kashmir dispute. The calculated risk of an air operation -- lethal but short-term -- was worth it. Given the decade-long infiltration of Kashmir by militants from Pakistan, the inclusion of the IAF in the resultant defence missions was only a matter of time. The final decision was that of a BJP-led government with a caretaker status; it could as easily have been that of a Congress or a Janata Dal regime. To disparage such a strategy as brinkmanship and adventurism is to be unmindful of national security concerns. Even the United States appears to have appreciated India's compulsions.

The subcontinent's mood has not been this bellicose in a long time. The major casualty of flashpoint Kargil would appear to be the peace process that began with the prime minister's bus journey to Lahore. This too is somewhat overstated. After all, the search for amity with Pakistan never did presuppose India lowering its guard. Rather, the argument was that settling smaller quarrels and encouraging civilian and commercial contact would build the base for an enduring friendship. Pakistan, if only to show that its cussedness is intact, is determined to push Kashmir to the top of the agenda yet again. Well, Islamabad has won the toss -- Delhi will dictate the rest of the match.

From Sky to Village

Space technology can make a material difference to the poorest Indian. Let it.

Edits This past week's launch of polar satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C2 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh represented a quantum jump for India. That three satellites were put into orbit -- two of them belonging to other countries -- makes it clear the days when Indian rocket science was still in the experimental, trial-and-error stage are well and truly over. At rates competitive to those of its rivals, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is potentially a niche player in a big market. Admittedly sending satellites into space is no longer the preserve of just two or three agencies. In recent times, there has been a proliferation in the number of countries with such capability. As India has come to realise, even neighbouring China has a headstart and is able to handle much larger satellites. Where ISRO can score is in attractive but profit-making pricing and foolproof performance. Should it succeed, it will do wonders not just for Indian science but also for Indian enterprise.

There has been understandable pride in the fact that remote-sensing data from Indian satellites has found buyers even in the United States. It would be prudent to add here that the remote-sensing data did not fetch India the price it should have. It would be silly if a humbug-imposed divorce of science and commerce is persisted with. The other word of caution pertains -- paradoxically -- to the end-use of technology. The Indian state's great adventure with science began in the 1950s as part of a larger social mission. Television, for instance, was seen as an education facilitator. Then policy swung to the other extreme, leaving television no more than a cornerstone of the entertainment industry. In the ultimate reckoning, India's pathfinding satellites have to tell its farmers where to find water, they have to refashion themselves as tools for literacy. Of course that is not just a task for ISRO; it is a mandate for India.

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