Citizens for Democracy Calls for Diplomacy Between India and Pakistan

Citizens for Democracy expresses its alarm at the aftermath of the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, which endangers world peace and leads to further breakdown in the rule of international law, as well as poses a further threat to democracy within India itself.

What happened in Pahalgam was undoubtedly the use of terror to achieve political objectives and it was rightly condemned by all sections of the Indian population, led by local Kashmiri Muslims themselves, who rushed to the aid of the victims and held huge demonstrations against the act. The response of the Government of India was, however, neither measured nor balanced, but was dictated by the ideology and domestic political objectives of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar. Though the Prime Minister cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and rushed back, he did not address the meeting of all parties that was convened by the government itself. In the all-party meeting, the major security lapses in Pahalgam which allowed the terror attack to happen were not adequately explained, nor was any modality of enquiry announced. The finger of blame was immediately pointed at Pakistan, along with actions like putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, thereby inflicting collective punishment on all Pakistani people for the purported action of a few terrorists. No effort was made to gather hard evidence to show the Pakistani state’s involvement in the terror attack and present it to the UN Security Council.

Instead, a path of unilateral military action against Pakistan, ostensibly to hit terrorist bases with a pious hope that it would not escalate, was adopted. It is equally unfortunate that all the opposition parties went along with the government on this course of action. Even the Left parties with whom there is a tradition associated with anti-war stance, went along with the Government’s option. It is well known by now through experience the world over, that military action against terrorism never succeeds. In effect, the government of India was aping the American war on terror, which also failed. It merely led to the invasion and destruction of two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, without eradicating terrorism. Operation Sindoor, a name chosen with religious and regressive patriarchal connotations, was aimed squarely at the BJP’s domestic political constituency, considering the worsening economic situation in the country which was leading to disquiet, and the approaching elections like in Bihar.

From the outset, the military option was fraught with danger because when two nuclear powers confront each other militarily, the possibility of escalation not only cannot be ruled out, but the escalation itself has the potential to threaten the very existence of both countries and the region.

We in India realize that Pakistan is not a monolith. It is a badly divided country. The people of Pakistan and the businesses in Pakistan want peace, normalcy and trade with India. But sections of the Army and the ISI support non-state terror groups which carry out attacks in India. The experience of the past has been that whenever the desire for peace and normalcy from both Indian and Pakistani sides result in substantial progress through talks, there is a terror incident which derails the whole process and resets it to square one. But the BJP – Sangh Parivar combine used the Pahalgam terror attack to foment communal sentiment against Kashmiri Muslims in particular and Muslims in general as verbal and physical attacks took place all over the country against them. Television channels and social media were made use of to create a war hysteria. At this juncture, civil society groups and India-Pakistan people’s friendship groups were the lone voices of sanity, counselling ceasefire, restraint and a return to peace and dialogue. Far from attempting to restrain irresponsible TV anchors and social media actors, the Government took actions of widespread censorship of those digital media outlets including YouTube and certain X accounts, which were asking critical questions and presenting news fairly. This censorship was imposed on the pretext of protecting national security in a time of war.

The so-called precision strikes against terror targets escalated into war which resulted in the death and injury and loss of property of civilians on both sides of the border. While mock drills were being held all over the country, it is inexplicable why the Government did not evacuate the civilian population in border villages knowing fully well that a situation of cross-border shelling was in the offing. When the situation further escalated into both sides attacking each other’s military facilities, the unspoken question was who would take the initiative to de-escalate without losing face in their domestic political constituency.

From the beginning both India and Pakistan were in constant touch with American leaders in government, apprising them of every step taken and appeasing them to keep them on their side. Taking advantage of this situation, the U.S., whose Vice President JD Vance had just a little earlier said that the conflict was only the business of the two countries involved- India and Pakistan, took a sudden turn through President Donald Trump’s statements on social media. With the knowledge that the military leaders of both countries were going to communicate in order to de-escalate, President Trump, ever the opportunist and ever economical with the truth, announced that a ceasefire was being accomplished through American mediation.

The intent and timing of Trump’s announcement led to considerable loss of face for the BJP leadership in the government, as it brought in the US as a mediator in what was, till then, firmly established as a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan alone. This resulted in war-frenzied BJP supporters attacking even the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister himself on social media as traitors to the Indian cause. As an exercise in damage control, Prime Minister Modi, in his address to the country, said that Operation Sindoor had not been withdrawn but was only paused. He also said that India had laid down a new war doctrine that whenever there was any terror attack on Indian soil, there would be a retaliation in the form of an attack on Pakistan.

From this it appears that a state of perpetual war is going to be the new normal in India, which has grave repercussions on both world peace and international democracy, as well as democracy within India. The post Second World War international consensus on avoiding war and maintaining peace through the use of the United Nations institutional system as a means of conflict resolution, already thoroughly weakened by the irresponsible actions of the United States through its multiple military interventions in various countries without reference to the United Nations, has resulted in weakening of the UN system to a state where war in Ukraine and genocide in Palestine are now proceeding without any end in sight. A principle of “might alone is right” is gaining ground in international relations. Prime Minister Modi’s announcement of a new Indian war doctrine takes us further down this path of global conflagration without any mechanisms of peaceful resolution. Also, national security in a situation of war will undoubtedly be used as a pretext to clamp down further on civil liberties of citizens, the freedom of media to operate independently, and the autonomy of universities to think critically. This will further weaken democracy within India.

The Indian ruling classes have a long-standing ambition to be recognized as a regional superpower, as a subordinate ally of the United States in our region of the world. This is also evident in the BJP government’s moves to align with the American-led Quad group of countries, ostensibly to counter China. The other important step taken by the BJP government is to militarize the economy further through creating a military-industrial complex. Not only has India become one of the largest importers of arms and armaments, there is also a concerted move to produce arms and armaments domestically through joint ventures between Indian corporates and multinationals like those of Israel. From experience, we know that such a militarization of the economy will only strengthen the tendency to use war and military means at every opportunity. This dovetails well with the long-standing ideological agenda of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar to militarize Hinduism and to Hinduize Indian society and the state. In effect, it will mean crushing all democratic dissent in the name of national unity and security.

·       Citizens for Democracy stands resolutely against any use of terror to resolve the situation in Kashmir. We recognize that terror is a tactic of low intensity war with plausible deniability which is used by both state and non-state actors. It is in no way a legitimate political modality but its very opposite.

·       We demand of the government to completely cease Operation Sindoor, institute a high-level inquiry into the security lapses which led to the terror incident in Pahalgam, fix responsibility for the lapses, and act against errant officials.

·       We call upon all civil society organizations and all people to take a clear stand against unilateral military action and for solutions only through diplomacy and international law. The Government of India must gather and submit concrete evidence against the persons responsible for masterminding and carrying out the terror attack in Pahalgam. Military force must be used only in self-defence, on Indian soil.

·       We demand of the government that all the unlawful censorship imposed on digital and social media be immediately withdrawn, and resolute exemplary action be taken against the purveyors of fake news and hate speech. We call upon television channels to introspect on the war hysteria that was spread through them and to lay down a new code of conduct for themselves.

Anand Kumar, President                                                                                       

Shashi Shekhar Prasad Singh,General Secretary

Citizens for Democracy was formed at an inaugural conference held in New Delhi on April 13-14, 1974, under the Presidentship of Jayaprakash Narayan. It was formed in response to the political, moral and economic crisis in which the country found itself then. Citizens for Democracy seeks to preserve, defend and strengthen democracy in the country. It also works for the attainment of the higher ideal of a comprehensive political, economic and social democracy. It strives to bring together all those who cherish the democratic values of liberty, equality and fraternity, and who are not interested in power politics.