'Modi personally studied images, maps of terror sites before Operation Sindoor’

In his top-level interactions with military commanders after the terrorist outrage on April 22 at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister gave the armed forces a free hand to decide on the means and methods to inflict suitable punishment on Pakistan in keeping with his pledge that the retaliation will be beyond the imagination of the perpetrators. Once the military commanders led by chief of defence staff Gen Anil Chauhan and overseen by National Security Advisors drew up a blue print, Modi carefully studied images and maps of 21 main terror sites operated by Pakistan of which the nine were finally hit in the early hours of May 7.

A new book by noted author Berjis Desai “Modi’s Mission” that explores the Prime Minister’s social and political thinking provides a peep into the crucial decisions that have marked Modi’s career including reprisals to Pakistan-sponsored terror attacks at Uri, Pulwama and Pahalgam. After the April 22 terrorist attack where 26 tourists were killed by segregation on the basis of religion, a war set up under the day to day supervision of the Prime Minister, Doval and Gen Chauhan.

“The PM, as in each such earlier action, personally studied the images and maps of the 21 main terrorist sites operated by Pakistan. None in the war room would have been surprised had the PM recited by heart each of the sites, the names, locations, functions and affiliations, and the reasons for their selection,” the book states. The nine targets included Shawai Nallah in Muzaffarabad, where the Pahalgam module had trained, this was the first target that was hit by three Rafale fighter jets among a cohort that took off from a base in north Kashmir. The jets employed radar blackouts as they had for 10 days to prevent the enemy from reading a pattern.

The details about the aircraft used – while subject to speculation – cast new light on the May 7-10 Operation Sindoor and provide insights into Modi’s monitoring of the missions. “The PM oversaw in the minutest detail a tri-service military operation to target terrorist infrastructure and neutralize their operational capability,” Desai, who seems to have been provided access to the details, writes. He notes that Modi’s involvement reflects his deep unhappiness over the civilian and security casualties due to acts of terrorism. “While it is true that in military campaigns, one cannot count bodies, or loss of hardware like planes, the mindless cycle of terrorist attacks, followed by retaliation and counter-retaliation, resulting in loss of lives of the armed forces as well as civilians, disturbs Narendra Modi to the core,” the chapter “Jai Ma Bhawani” states.

Calibrated Action

Desai writes that Modi side-stepped impulsive calls from hotheads, including within the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar, who offered “unsolicited advice” to end Pakistan presence in occupied Kashmir or target its nuclear installations. “Modi is conscious that he is dealing with a morbidly irrational enemy, with no checks and balances, and therefore caliberates every strategic decision only with long term national interest in mind.” It is a pertinent observation as in his speeches after Operation Sindoor, the Prime Minister said he would act with a cool mind even as he declared his determination summed up by his “ghar me ghus ke marenge (will hit you by entering your homes)” remarks. Desai points to a hardening of India’s stance with regard to Pakistan with Modi moving from strategic restraint to punitive deterrence and raises the question whether India could reconsider its no first use policy on nuclear weapons.

“Pakistan has forward deployed short range tactical nuclear weapons to blunt a significant Indian conventional incursion. Faced with such an existential policy, India may well have to soon review its no-first-use policy and actively seek first strike capability. Some informed hints have been dropped to this effect in diplomatic circles,” Desai writes, though his conclusions are not sourced to any official viewpoint. He further states Modi’s recent tone and tenor against Pakistan is evidently more strident with decisions to set up an Indian Iron Dome and public declarations that India will not succumb to Islamabad’s nuclear blackmail. The decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty is a step that substantiates Modi’s bid to convey to Pakistan in unmistakable terms that India will not hesitate to impose decisive costs for acts of terrorism.

Desai’s dealing with Modi’s formative years in Vadnagar, his early association with the Rshtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and the influence of the writings of noted author, educationist and founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan K M Munshi on the history of the repeated desecration of the Somnath temple by Islamic invaders adds layers and more interpretation to events that the Prime Minister has spoken of. In defining Modi’s “mission,” Desai underlines the Prime Minister’s unstinted advocacy for recognising India’s Hindu cultural roots while not endorsing a “Hindu Rashtra” theocratic state. The white washing of the overtly religious motives of Islamic invaders in assaulting Hindu shrines serves no purpose. “Negation of history was perhaps responsible for communal disharmony, notes Modi. Our history textbooks must reflect the true history of the nation; however uncomfortable it may be,” Desai writes.

Correcting Narratives

In his introductory statements, Desai plainly sets out his objective to counter what he says is a constant undermining of Modi’s achievements by the western media and the angst of a section of the Indian intellectual elite that has incessantly opposed the leader and BJP. “This analysis is inspired by this sole purpose,” he states. Desai has hit the nail on the head as the continuous carping of Modi’s critics – a recent example being an angst-ridden article in a leading foreign news organisation bemoaning the failure of India’s Gen Z to take to the streets – makes it apparent that the facts of the case do not matter at all. These foreign outlets appear to have inserted themselves into India’s internal political debate in an overtly partisan manner as apparent from their view that nothing good has transpired since May, 2014, when Modi assumed office. Desai is also right when he points to Modi’s unconcern over the refusal of Lutyen’s Delhi to endorse his policies annoys and frustrates those uses to privileged status. The author identifies Modi as someone keen aware of karmic and spiritual forces committed to articulating the civilisational and cultural ideas of Hinduism. “In an assignment of this nature, the means can occasionally seem unorthodox. This irks a section of the intellectual elite no end,” he says.

There have been previous accounts of Modi’s childhood in a family of very limited means and Desai while providing additional detail points to the how these experiences shaped Modi’s thinking. He also takes care to note that while Modi grew up in a “household that in that twilight zone between poor and middle class, not starving yet barely surviving,” this is not the only reason why he had an empathy for the underprivileged. The Prime Minister is deeply committed to a more equal society and though he sometimes attends functions where wealth is displayed opulently and conspicuously, he has an instinctively dislike for such ostentation. The book provides details of his travels and encounters with sadhus and mendicants during the two years he wandered through various parts of the country including the Himalayan states that followed his decision to leave his family home. His detachment form his worldly ties is apart from his lasting love and respect for his mother is apparent in his actions. “He clinically severed all family ties save and except his mother and has never felt a twinge of regret in doing so,” Desai writes.

Early years and rise in BJP

The book dwells on the internal politics of Gujarat BJP and Shankersinh Vaghela’s manoeuvres to oust Modi from the state that led to his appointment as a BJP national secretary by L K Advani in 1995. Modi was soon further elevated to national general secretary and his experiences as the organisational in-charge for various states and involvement with election campaigns provided valuable inputs for his tenure as Gujarat chief minister despite not having held electoral or administrative office. The post-Godhra riots is dealt with at length has Desai points out the refusal of Modi’s critics to accept clear evidence that the attack on the Sabarmati Express was pre-planned and their persistent allegations of his complicity despite more than one inquiry commission, a Supreme Court-order special investigation team and the apex court’s final conclusion that there was no prosecutable evidence against the chief minister. “The SIT found no material evidence that Modi or his ministers had interfered with police operations during the VHP-led bandh on February 28, 2002, or that Modi had instructed his ministers to interfere with the working of police control rooms,” Desai states.

Desai argues that the Indian elites, dubbed as the “Khan Market” gang by Modi, has still not figured the structural changes the Prime Minister has brought about in India’s political landscape. This, he says, ensures that in the “medium term” reduces the possibility of a highly disciplined party promoting a nationalist agenda being ousted from office. Desai does not touch on Modi’s future plans directly but does provide a hint. “The forces which govern India’s destiny ought to be pleased with Narendra Modi’s performance. However, every soul is provided with a body and mind to maximise the purpose of his incarnation. So long as they are functioning robustly, any artificial age limit is irrelevant. Considering that Narendra Modi survives mostly on a diet of kichdi, steamed veggies and fruit, interspersed with periods of long fasting with warm water, from where he derives energy is a mystery.” Clearly, the Prime Minister is not considering any retirement plans just yet.