‘Nobody wants war, but we need to give it back to Pak, if provoked’

Visitors to war memorial want economic, diplomatic pressures on Pakistan to give up terrorism.

 

NEW DELHI: Most visitors from across the country who had come to visit the newly inaugurated iconic National War Memorial in the national capital have said that they do not want a war with Pakistan, but India needs to give it back to Pakistan if provoked. Instead of war, most want India to put economic and diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to give up terrorism.

While visiting the National War Memorial here, Ravin Gaur, a businessman from Ghaziabad, told The Sunday Guardian, “We do not want war; war is not a solution to this problem. It will only bring more deaths, but we should not let ourselves go on our knees. This is a time when we as countrymen should stand with our soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder. Our war is with terrorism that Pakistan is harbouring in their country. We should put international pressure on Pakistan through diplomacy to hand us back Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed.”

“It is also good that India has withdrawn the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tag and increased import duty on Pakistani goods. We should also hit them economically,” Gaur said.

The newly built war memorial, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month, showcases the valour and courage of the armed forces. It also displays the might of the Indian Army through stories of their bravery, tactfulness and heroism that the armed forces showcased during the several wars India fought post independence.

The names of all the fallen heroes and martyrs of all the wars India has faced have also been inscribed with golden letters in the memorial as a mark of respect towards them.

Seeing what war brings at the war memorial, Rishabh, a civil services aspirant visiting the memorial, told this correspondent, “War is not a solution, it is just an immediate response out of aggression. We can see at this memorial how so many of our brave soldiers have lost their lives in wars. We should look at long time solutions. We need tactical and diplomatic solutions to this problem. We have been facing the wrath of proxy war for decades. I think we need to hurt Pakistan economically and pressurise them to dismantle all the terrorists they are giving shelter to in their country.”

“Having said this, I would also like to add that if we are provoked, we should give them a response in the way they understand and I am sure our armed forces are capable of that. We stand united with our armed forces,” Rishabh added.

The armed forces personnel protecting and managing the war memorial also seem to believe that being cautious with respect to Pakistan is the right approach.

One of the soldiers from the Gorkha Regiment posted at the memorial that this correspondent spoke to said, “Pakistan is a rogue nation; they have been sponsoring terrorism and killing both our civilians and armed forces for a very long time now. We are capable and we are ready to give a befitting reply to them anytime the government wants us to. We cannot tolerate this any longer.”

Mohit, another visitor and an advocate of the Delhi High Court, also believes that war is the only solution to the problems between India and Pakistan. He said, “If Pakistan understands the language of violence, we should give it to them once and for  all. We have been facing this problem of proxy war and terrorism for the last 30 years and we have been losing our soldiers in this every day. We have to hit the Pakistani army hard.”