Make no mistake. This is WAR.

In an eerily prescient post a few weeks back, I had written: Our Kurukshetra is approaching fast.

The terrorist attacks in Ahmedabad and Bangalore are merely the latest consequences of a mis-guided, half-hearted approach to tackle terrorism and ignoring the root of the problem – which is the ideology of “Jihad”…and Islamism…This is the ideology that led to 9/11, the massacre of Beslan and numerous attacks since then – a disturbingly large number of them in Bharat.

As long as we don’t recognise this, we will be fighting the wrong enemy (not terrorists but innocents)…on the wrong front (not at the level of ideas, but at the level of physical force)…and with the wrong weapons (not better policing and quick, efficient justice but Dharnas, Bandhs, Satyagraha etc..)

The FIRST STEP though has to be the realisation that this is WAR – nothing less.

At least someone has realised this…

Terror attacks are a war against India…

I salute Shri Modi for having the courage to speak out.

He at least has more spine than the hundreds of others who claim to represent India. But as Radha-ji of Vigil pointed out in an email to me: “His spine is not in question here, it is his understanding of the nature of the threat – jihad…” I think she has hit the nail on its head.

As I had promised to myself, I will say no more on this until such point when I have some idea of how to deal with this menace.

In the meantime, here are some extracts from a letter written by a concerned father* (in the US) to his sons back in 2004. Pl. read and think (emphasis mine).

*** Excerpts begin **

…To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII).

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means.

…So who are we at war with?

There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don’t clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.

now to the two major questions:

1. Can we lose this war?

2. What does losing really mean?

If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions:

We can definitely lose this war and, as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question – What does losing mean?

Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win.

So, how can we lose the war?

Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by “imploding.”

That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose and failing to dig in and lend full support to the war effort. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win.

….

This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights to which we have become accustomed. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently.

And don’t worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory … and, in fact, added many more since that time.

…No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head.

Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose.

I think some actually do. I hasten to add that this isn’t because they are disloyal. It is because they just don’t recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends and it does great damage to our cause.

Democracies don’t have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece.

And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide, that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power.

*** Excerpts End ***

* The letter has been mistakenly attributed to Dr Vernon Chong, ex USAF Major General

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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6 Responses

  1. Ramesh says:

    The letter was inspiring, and inspiration is what we need at this hour. If we think that the war is just against Islamic extremists, we are gravely mistaken. Before we fight the “battle” with guns and bombs “effectively”, we must win a important “battle”. An intellectual battle to convince ourselves of the enemies we face, a battle to educate the masses of the same. Unfortunately, first part is not only difficult, still worse we are failing at it.

  2. anand says:

    Unite the Hindus and Kill the enemies with Non-cooperation
    ————————————————————————

    It is the coward and selfish nature of Hindus which is solely responsible for the slaughter/carnage that Hindus are facing today in the form of daily/weekly/monthly bomb blasts.
    If you fall in 2% of the population of Hindus who are bothered about it and in .001% of this group who really want to do something about it then you can try some of the followings.

    1) Speak about it to as many people as you can and bring up the topic when you sit for tea/bear with your friends/colleagues. The idea is to make people realize that there is problem which can affect any innocent life.

    2) Make people aware as how the corrupt Indian media/government/law is protecting the terrorist in the name of human rights, secularism, non-violence for their own selfish agendas.

    3) Please realize that it is the pseudo-Secular Hindus in the Hindu race that are greatest threat to Hindus and India. Always keep in mind: – internal weakness (like disease, traitors) are much more dangerous then an external enemy.
    This Hindu can be recognized by –
    i) He will talk about Gujarat riots and will be Modi basher but he will not talk about the train burning incident by Muslim Mob which started the riots in the first place.
    ii) According to him BJP/RSS is a communal party.
    iii) This person will have the knowledge of the history of India as it is thought in Indian schools.He will not know that Taj Mahal was a Shiv Temple .He will not know that Muslims invaders destroyed Nalanda University and countless temples of Hindus. This person will not have tried to seek the truth by visiting various sites on the net.

    4) Start practicing non cooperation, non interaction with these pseudo secular Hindus and Muslims, when ever possible .Make the Muslims realize that we consider them as terrorist and don’t have any business with them. If possible, don’t buy goods from Muslim shops. Please realize that no amount of good will/efforts from your end will be able to wash away the hatred against Hindus that has been put in these Muslim minds by Koran/Madrassas.

    5) Try to unity the Hindus –

    i) North /South /regional divides are common at work places. Please realize that we need each other to fight the common enemy. Our looks/language/foods/customs may be different but that is what exactly Hinduism is all about..way of life according to individual beliefs but no one is permitted to kill other because he doesn’t pray the same god as you, does not look like you or speaks a different language or eats different food.

    ii)Stop practicing Caste-ism and start publicly joking/ridiculing people who talk about it or practice it. Make people realize how much harm caste-ism has caused to Hindus. When army of Puru was fighting Alexander’s Greek army , Hindus farmers were calmly cultivating their land …..why?…… because ……. According to them it was their job to do the farming and it was Khatriyas duty to fight the enemy. Result – after Greeks defeated Purus’s army, they slaughtered thousands of Hindu farmers in celebration. The story was repeated every time Muslims armies won against the Hindus army……..Still you don’t want to learn? Choice is yours

    iii) Jealousy is very common among Hindus — you must realize that we are in state of war and by helping your fellow Hindu you are strengthening the Hindu army and securing the future/home/country of your child or else that day is not very far off when your child will be in burqa or look like maulvi with long beards. Help your fellow Hindus when ever you can and try to build trust and good will among the Hindus.

    iv) Form small groups/ association of Hindus who party together and help each other/India when there is a need.

    This war is going to last for 20 – 25 years. If Hindus loose, they will be wiped out of the face of the earth ,forever. Every Hindus must play his part.

    I know Hindus don’t like violence/bloodshed. But …. Will you not kill the Lion which attacks you and wants to eat you .Please try to understand, the great knowledge of 10,000 years old civilization, the noble idea of peace, non-violence, honor and equality of women, innocent smile of your child.. everything will perish, with your death .So please fight and never say die.

    Come again please…….did you say that you don’t have weapons to fight. OOPs ..i think you don’t realize that because you are a Hindu , you have an open Mind ..a Mind which has been changing and getting better with time, which can accept new ideas and is always ready to learn from others. Is not an open mind the most powerful power/weapon on earth?

    Please try to bring in your ideas.. mere crying and talking won’t help ..Its WAR .. Action is needed ..NOW

    Cheers…we are going to win this war.

  3. Pramod Athaley says:

    WAR Means to me:
    W – Wise
    A – Action
    R – Reaction ( 3rd law of motion )

  4. Indian says:

    Yes, I do agree with all the above comments. Hindus must take the responsibility. Hindus and intellectuals showed their cowardness in the name of resilience. Resilience at the expense of innocent lives. Resilience is a propanganda by some crook to make us prepare for our destruction. Resilience is a name given for tolerating that is not tolerable. Crook are stopping us for taking any action by forwarding the name of resilience. Resilience has made us blunt to understand the pian. It has made us insensitive, careless and negligible. It is not the time to move, it is the time to take action. Nothing is impossible! Lets take care of our beloved country. Please unite and make a chain to defete terrorists and Islam. They cannot have upperhand in our country by threat or blasts. Did anyone read their demands and letters sent to authorities and many. Undirectly they are demanding islamisiation of Hindustan. And we wont let them. Just see the Anand’s and other comments above. We are stornger by brain and mind and that is our biggest asset. Make use of our brain and open mind to show them they are inferior in eveyway and connot win. It is time to make use of pen and paper to show our resentments strongly to the world and to the Govt. State govt., police cannot walk alone and do something for us. They need our help. Please help them by writing, suggestion, ideas to combat this monster. Dont sit back thinking I am not affected. Today or tomorrow its going to affect all of us. It is a war. Don’t be stupid like UPA govt. Understand this war against the hindus and country that is Bharat. They are intimidating us, and we wont let them. Lets break their morals and intentions. it is the time to show them our hidden strenghth and super brain power which each and every Hindu has.

    Any one coming forward with good presentation in writing and some brainy actions. I will be the first to join them.

  5. anirudh says:

    This is high time that we understand that what India as an independent country stands for.just 60 yrs of freedom after centuries of slavery and we-the common men along with a push from our so called leaders both political and religious ,are on th verge of loosing it.(many would not agree as they see a growing economy and power and all that).

    But does it really show any signs of freedom from social fallouts or threat to our lives from the ongoing onslaught by these so called mojahideens.Should we really feel proud for a country thats failed in every social and moral aspect as a whole. Corrupt to the core pol. and religious leaders ,corrupt police,bureacracy,down to every common person we never miss a chance to gain something even at the cost of our souls and vitues.bribing,tax stealing money laundering etc. we all do it.the person responsible for simplest of duties is ignorant towards its work.We blame the leaders for being corrupt for police being corrupt but forget that these people hail from wihin us only. maybe we will do the same in their shoes.

    Bomb blasts have become a part of our routine as it keeps happenning time and time again.Again we blame our leaders ,the intellignce sector and police for ineffective methods and attittude but do we as citizens of India react to them in apt manner??? Dont we just take the news as a happening over which we can have a cup of cofee and forget it to get back to our daily lives.The bomb blasts as we all have seen do not stir our leadership.A few groups of people are charged with the security of our nation against terrorism and they too are unmotivated as no one supports them in action.Today the most shocking thing that happnd was BJP alleging that centre was responsible for the blasts to crate diversion from the horse trading or trust vote.

    IMAGINE THT if in this so called democratic independent nation one party can do that and other can allege so openly about that then what are we supposed to feel.Dummies we are o choose such leaders and bin in a society in where being ggod just doesnt work.Even if this islamist jehad doesnt kill the soul of the country we will as we all live with our souls dead.i have so much to speak about but present i am too emotionally high strung to write effectively.will do when i feel more in control of myself.

  6. B Shantanu says:

    Ramesh, Anand, Pramod, Indian and Anirudh: I share your anguish, anger and a sense of deep frustration..

    As I mentioned in my post, I am giving some serious thought to what our response should be (both at an individual level as well as the level of government) and I shall be sharing my thoughts in a post in the next day or two…

    Thanks.