THOUGH the four-day war is over, there is always a very thin line between war and peace. In order not to accept defeat, Modi has kept his options open and the hope of his voters alive by announcing his new doctrine. Every time there is a terrorist incident in India, it will launch an attack on Pakistan without any investigation.

So the 1.5 billion citizens of the subcontinent await with bated breath the next terrorist event. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who wants the region to go up in flames.

The interesting angle that intrigued me was when after the first round of the four-day war on May 7, Pakistan announced to hit back at a time and place of its choosing. What targets would they hit? The Indians had very cleverly made their attacks on civil areas look like attacks on terrorist camps.

The dilemma for Pakistan was that hitting civilian areas in India would have attracted more attacks on civilians; attacking military targets or offices of RAW would attract tit-for-tat strikes.

Hitting irrigation infrastructure was a temptation but apart from disrupting supplies to Pakistan it would instigate reprisals. So what targets could Pakistan go for without escalating the war? To assume that there are no terrorists to hit and there is no state apparatus supporting terrorism in India would be a folly. Even Canada and the US have recently charged India with eliminating or attempting to eliminate their citizens whom India doesn`t like.

On the other hand, India has pointed to Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i-Mohammad, and by repeating these allegations consistently New Delhi has convinced the common Indian and the foreign media that these are the two most lethal terrorist organisations in the world directed at India. (Both these organisations have been proscribed in Pakistan).

Interestingly, it never occurs to India that these terrorist attacks could be committed by indigenous Kashmiris also, who are so hostile that the state cannot control them without stationing one soldier for every 10 Kashmiris (including women and children).

Indian leaders have also openly talked about meddling in Balochistan. Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a lecture at a university in Tamil Nadu in 2014 that `Do one more Mumbai you may lose Balochistan.

And quite coincidentally soon after these threats, terrorist events in Balochistan multiplied manifold, culminating in the Jaffar Express carnagewhere army soldiers on their way back home for leave were targeted.

Then there is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) an extremist organisation functioning since 1925 in India, whose political face is the BJP and whose most famous alumnus is currently the PM of India. They believe that India is a Hindu rashtra (nation), and all Indians, including minorities like Muslims, must accept Hindu culture. RSS promotes the idea of a unified Indian identity based on Hindu cultural values. The outfit calls for integration of minorities into the Hindu cultural mainstream rather than accepting cultural pluralism.

It is a huge organisation comprising over 73,000 shakhas (branches) and members estimated between 2.5 to six million (they don`t officially disclose their total membership). To implement its philosophy it believes in kinetic action for which RSS camps train its members at wielding sticks and, less publicly, more lethal weapons.Between 2014 and2019atleast 47 individuals have been murdered/lynched in cow-related hate crimes terrorising Muslims and other minorities. In 2024 there was asurge in anti-Muslim violence with eight lynchings following the general elections.

In most cases law-enforcement agencies look the other way while lynching is taking place and afterwards protect the guilty through delays and lawfare. The purpose is to terrorise Muslims and other minorities into submission.

In view of their hatred for all minorities, especially Muslims and their avowed dream of Akhand Bharat (united India), the RSS rank and file is readily available to the Indian state for carrying out terrorist activities against Pakistan.

Another interesting comparison is that while radical groups such as JM, LT or any other religious party of Pakistan has never won elections, BJP, the political arm of the RSS, has been winning elections since 2014, under Modi, who at one time was himself declared persona non grata by the US for his role in the Gujarat pogrom.

So next time Pakistan has to `pay back` Indian aggression, would RSS camps be considered legitimate targets? • The wúter is a former civil servant.