The new Indian army chief, General Dalbir Singh Suhag, as gleefully reported by that country's media, issued a stern 'warning' to Pakistan on his very first day in office. Addressing journalists at his inaugural ceremony, he said India's response to any provocation like the [alleged] beheading last year of a soldier would be "more than adequate, intense and immediate." The warning comes as a rude shock at a time new governments in both countries have decided to resume the moribund peace process, starting with foreign secretaries' talks in Islamabad later this month, and also when all is quiet on the Line of Control in Kashmir. There is nothing happening at this time to call for belligerent posturing.
Details, however, suggest he is not to blame for articulation of an aggressive intent against this country. It turns out that he had offered comments only on matters pertaining to his professional duties, which were of no use for the TRP hungry TV journalists as well as newspaper reporters. They needed something provocative to sell to their audiences. Anti-India rhetoric may be passé in Pakistan, but the reverse is true on the other side of the border. The General was inundated with questions such as, how his predecessor General Bikram Singh had given a "befitting reply" to Pakistan over the alleged beheading of an Indian soldier? How would he respond to such an incident in the future? Anyone in his place would respond as he did. Terming it a warning is a bit misleading.
Unfortunately, when it comes to matters dealing with Pakistan, Indian media are far too chauvinistic. Despite its stated desire to resume the composite dialogue peace process, derailed by the Mumbai bombings, the previous Congress government could not do so due to fear of, aside from political opposition, hostile media reaction. On occasion, certain senior leaders in Dr Manmohan Singh's government openly complained about the problem. For obvious reasons Prime Minister Narendra Modi is free of such constraints. Still, the promotion of anti-Pakistan belligerence does not help renewed efforts to push the peace process forward. Also, high profile coverage of events like the present one may not be so good for the health of Indian democracy itself. By giving so much importance to the utterances of army chief the Indian media may unwittingly be encouraging him to issue headline grabbing statements of his own accord, thereby undermining the civilian leadership's prerogative to make all decisions regarding matters of war and peace. Already, the Indian army is said to have resisted the previous government's interest in finding a mutually acceptable resolution with Pakistan of the Siachen standoff. Saner elements in that country's media need to take a pause and think if that is in the larger interest of their own side as also the cause of peace in the region.