N.S.Venkataraman
Sudden and unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas , who are viewed as Islamic terrorists by several countries , has caught the world by shock and surprise .
This is not the first time that Islamic terrorists have struck in the world causing death and destruction. Of course, the most tragic attack was the September 11 attack on the twin towers in Newyork that killed thousands of innocent Americans. The next brutal attack of the Islamic terrorists was 26/11 attack in Mumbai in India in 2008 when 175 people were killed and later on another brutal attack on Easter day in Churches in Sri Lanka took place, when more than 250 people were killed. In between , there were so many other brutal attacks , particularly in Europe and India.
The fact is that the world appears to remain helpless in the face of such Islamic terrorist attacks .
Perhaps, next to Israel, the biggest target for Islamic terrorists is India. Almost everyday , India is witnessing violent attacks by Islamic terrorists in the Kashmir region and the Indian army is yet to stop the act of such terrorists, in spite of its best efforts.
The attack on Israel and other places show that the terrorists have gained enormous expertise and possess tools and arsenal to hit wherever and whenever they want , without their acts being detected in advance. In spite of the fact that Israel has a strong intelligence system and battle ready army , terrorists had their way in sending thousands of rockets into Israel and invading the country from land , sea and air.
Considering the plight of Israel in the wake of such a brutal attack, there is considerable concern in India about such Islamic terrorist attacks happening against India in Kashmir and other places.
The ground reality is that India is much more vulnerable to such hate filled brutal attacks by Islamic terrorists than Israel.
In India’s neighbouring countries namely Pakistan and Afghanistan, Islamic terrorists are well entrenched and have built a strong base. There is a strong view in India that such terrorists get some sort of support from the governments in Pakistan and Afghanistan directly or indirectly. These terrorists have made no secret of their plans to enter and occupy Kashmir by force and also destabilise India by provoking religious conflicts. Unlike Israel, there are news appearing frequently in India about the recruitments being made by terrorists by brainwashing the Indian youth.
The question is whether the Indian army and the government are ready to face a terrorist attack , which could be with the type of intensity that has been seen in Israel.
There is now fear in India that terrorists could launch surprise rocket attacks and invade Kashmir in huge numbers, particularly after being emboldened by the initial success in Israel. The terrorists are unlikely to be concerned about their loss of lives due to such a mob invasion , which is bound to be resisted by the Indian army.
Like Israel, India is unlikely to get spontaneous support from USA, Canada and West European countries in case of such attacks. This would be so, since India has maintained its neutrality in international relations and the Western countries would not like to displease Pakistan and some Arab countries by openly coming out with support for India against terrorists. Perhaps, they would end up providing lip sympathy for India. Of course, China could provide some sort of support to the Islamic terrorists for their attacks against India indirectly , as it would meet China’s desire to weaken India in whatever way possible. China’s support and attitude would be similar to the response of Iran supporting the terrorists against Israel. The Arab countries may also remain largely silent , if India were to be attacked by the Islamic terrorists , since they would not like to antagonise the Islamic extremists.
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Prime Minister Modi has been the first person to condemn the attack on Israel and pledge India’s support to Israel in this difficult time. Mr. Modi has read the writing on the wall and appears to be of the view that what has happened in Israel may happen to India too. In the unfortunate event of such a terrorist act taking place, , it appears that India has to fight against the terrorists on its own. Israel could be the only country that would voice its support for India openly.
In recent times, there have been sort of unrest in Israel due to differences on various issues and strikes and demonstrations have taken place. It is said that even some military personnel could have been against the government for certain policies. Probably, Islamic terrorists could have thought that it is the right time to hit Israel when there are political dissensions in the country. The situation in India is also not much different. India has a noisy democracy and with the forthcoming parliamentary election in the next few months, there have been considerable hate campaigns against Prime Minister Modi by the opposition parties . Islamic terrorists could think that this will be the right condition to launch an attack against India.