Pakistan is responsible for the deaths of at least 65,000 people in the Indian sub-continent. For a nation as small as Pakistan, the country occupies disproportionate media and mind space. A country can be in the news for creating chaos or prosperity, Pakistan believes in the former.
This article lists the terror attacks in India that originated from or were supported by Pakistan, along with the casualties from each attack. It asks, ‘Pakistan ko gussa kyo aatha hai’. Lastly, it examines the Law of Karma with respect to nations.
Pakistan’s use of violence to achieve its goals is covered in two periods, namely, 1946 to 1971-72, and thereafter.
1946-71
1) 1946 Direct Action to achieve Pakistan: “The ‘Direct Action’ announced by the Muslim League Council to achieve the Muslim League’s demand for the creation of Pakistan (a separate country for Indian Muslims) resulted in the worst communal riots that British India had seen.” Source Click here
2) 1947 Partition: Partition, the killing of half a million people and displacement of 14 million.
3) 1947-48: Invasion of Jammu & Kashmir: Kabayalis (Pakistani tribesmen) action was followed by an Army-backed occupation of large parts of the undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir that had acceded to India.
4) 1965 War: The war started with the Kutch episode that extended to J&K and Punjab.
5) 1971 War: Started over East Pakistan, later extended to J&K and Punjab.
6) 1971 Hijack: Pakistanis facilitated the burning of the plane on the tarmac in Lahore.
1972 onwards
7) 1981 Khalistan Movement: 21,660 Indians died between 1981 and 18 September, 2016. Source click here
8) 1984 Hijack: In July and August, a pistol used by the hijacker, who was eventually handed over to India by the UAE authorities after landing, was traced back to a consignment provided by Germany to Pakistan.
9) 1989 Proxy War in Kashmir: 44,067 lives lost between 1987 and 18 September, 2016. Source http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/data_sheets/annual_casualties.htm
10) Note that the Kashmir insurgency began only after Pakistan acquired nuclear weapons capability. Read about CHINA-PAK NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION by G Parthasarathy, former High Commissioner to Pakistan. Read http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140619/edit.htm#5
11) 1993 Mumbai Riots and Blasts: 257 dead and over 700 injured.
12) 1999 Kargil War: Pakistan’s intrusions into Indian territory cleared.
13) 1999 Kandahar Hijack: External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh accompanied criminals to Kandahar in exchange for release of Indian hostages, a humiliation no Indian must forget.
14) Attacks on Security Forces in J&K: According to a PTI report of September 18, 2016, there have been eighteen attacks since 1999. Read http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/timeline-of-the-major-attacks-on-security-force-sin-jandampk/1/767336.html
15) Not to forget: Charar-e-Sharif was burnt to the ground by Mast Gul; the 1990 killing of an IAF squadron leader and 13 personnel by the JKLF cadres, and the Chittisinghpura massacre of 2000.
16) 2001 Parliament House: Attack on temple of Indian democracy; seven dead.
17) 2002 Godhra: 59 women and children burnt alive. Col. Anil Athale makes a strong argument why Pakistan may have orchestrated Godhra. Read http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/mar/03spec1.htm
18) 2002 Akshardham Temple, Gandhinagar: 37 dead.
19) 2002 Raghunath Mandir, Jammu: 12 dead.
20) 2003 Mumbai’s Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar: Bomb blasts left 52 dead and 149 injured.
21) 2005 Delhi: Serial blasts left 59 dead and 200 injured.
22) 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts: 209 dead and around 1,400 injured. According to a Hindustan Times report of September 12, 2015, the following Pakistanis involved in the blasts are still absconding: Azam Chima of Bahawalpur, Aslam, Hafizullah, Sabir, Abu Kakr, Kasam Ali, Ammu Jaan, Ehsanullah, Abu Hasan and Abdul Rehman.
23) 2008 26/11 Mumbai attacks: 186 dead.
24) 2008 Jaipur: Eight bomb blasts in six different areas; 80 dead and 150 injured.
25) 2008 Ahmadabad: 17 blasts in 10 different areas; 55 dead and 145 injured.
26) 2008 Delhi: Five blasts in three different areas; 24 dead and 151 injured.
27) 2013 Hyderabad blasts: Twin blasts resulting in 17 deaths and 117 injured.
28) 2013 Patna blasts: 7 dead.
29) 2016 Pathankot Attack: 7 dead.
The above is by no means an exhaustive list of terror attacks perpetuated by Pakistan. At least 65,000 people have been killed in India alone. If one adds Afghanistan, the number might well cross 80,000.
Former Joint Director War History Division, Ministry of Defence, Col Anil Athale put it very aptly in a recent article, “Pakistan is in the doghouse as virtually every single terrorist act anywhere in the world has a Pakistani footprint.” G Parthasarathy, former high commissioner to Pakistan, recently wrote, “After 9/11 and the terrorist attack in California involving Pakistani nationals, there is resentment in the US against Pakistan.”
Is there any other country in the world that has made export of terror an instrument of State policy like Pakistan has? No wonder First Secretary Eenam Gambhir said Pakistan is host to the ‘Ivy League of Terrorism’ at the UN General Assembly Debate on 21 September 2016.
Before asking the world to declare Pakistan a ‘terrorist state,’ is the scale of deaths not good enough for India to do so first? The effect of sanctions would not have the same impact as if the U.S. did so, but being the most affected country India must take the first step.
Is this the nation Jinnah fought for? Are Jinnah’s words of being a moth-eaten nation coming true? Former foreign secretary J N Dixit wrote, “Not getting the whole of Bengal and Punjab, Jinnah talked about having got a “moth-eaten and truncated Pakistan”.
Why is there so much anger and negativity? J N Dixit said, “The genesis itself is permeated in bitterness. The seeds of frustration sprouting into hostility were sown at the inception itself”. A nation born out of hatred for others has to keep the hatred alive to bind itself as a nation.
Former military intelligence officer RSN Singh shares an interesting insight, “A respected Pakistani journalist, Khalid Ahmed, earlier in the Pakistan foreign service observes: ‘Pakistan is falling, because it is a warrior state and is not supposed to last. It is wedded to the ideal of war in which ideological rulers accept the possibility of annihilation (shahadat) as a consequence of righteous war.”
Pakistan stands on three legs; China, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Are China and Saudi Arabia waiting for the U.S. equivalent of September 11 before they, like the U.S., learn the hard way and stop supporting a rogue nation? They must understand the Law of Karma, a key belief of the followers of Dharma.
The principle of karma (literally chosen action) is the long chain of choices, causation and consequences. Just as the laws of physics immutably govern the material universe, so also, the principle of karma governs the realm of sentient beings. Choices exercised by sentient beings inexorably produce consequences. The immediate ones are easily recognised, but the delayed effects are mostly not.
The law has worked in Pakistan because it now claims to be a victim of terror from being an exporter. If and how the law will pan out for China and Saudi Arabia is something only time will tell.
So who is to blame? India alone. We are timid and incapable of taking tough action. If India expects the U.S. to declare Pakistan a terrorist state she is mistaken.
We have to fight our own battles for which India must reclaim the Kshatriya mindset from Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Guru Govind Singh, Bajirao Peshwa, Dewan Mokam Chand, Rani of Jhansi, General Zorawar Singh, amongst others.
The author is an independent columnist
First published http://vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=4083
Also read
1. What is a Kshatriya Mindset click here
2. Ten behavioural traits India must change to successfully counter Pakistan
3. The Indian Army Museum Leh needs to go global: The Indian Army was attacked in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Sunday, where 18 jawans were killed in Uri. But, is this the first such attack? It is unfortunate that India speaks to a nation that has made the export of terror an instrument of state policy. India's quest for peace is so strong that we refuse to learn from past betrayals. Actually, we lack a sense of history. Since 1947, our experiences and learnings are inadequately documented and not available in the public domain; thus, the bureaucracy, political class, and civilians make the same mistakes again and again.