Attack By Terrorists On Israel: A Warning Signal To India – OpEd

The 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 twin tower 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 Kashmir region  and Indian army is yet to stop the act of such terrorists, inspite 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  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 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 attack 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 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 into Kashmir in huge number, 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 mob invasion, which is bound to be resisted by 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 by  providing lip sympathy for India. Of course, China could provide 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.

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 appear to be  of the view that  what has happened in Israel may  happen to India too.  In the unfortunate event of such 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 the recent time, there have been sort of unrest in Israel  due to difference 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 campaign against the Prime Minister Modi by the opposition parties .  Islamic terrorists could think that this will be the right condition to launch attack against India.