Indian Defense
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Nov 20, 2025
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Planting Cauliflowers
Deepak SinhaNov 20, 2025
“Bihar approves Gobi Farming”
Ashok Singhal, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Assam on X
The tragedy of the twin blasts, one in Delhi, and the other in Srinagar, comes as a wakeup call for us all. First and foremost, the chest thumping and bluster we witnessed with regard to Operation Sindoor, and what we supposedly achieved, as well as the public warning that it is presently paused and that we would retaliate with greater force if attacked again, has been called out for what it was, sheer nonsensical hogwash. Something, I am certain, that must not have come as a shock or surprise to most security analysts, who had probably, in any case, taken the earlier pronouncements with more than a pinch of salt.
Our Government leadership may be known and appreciated, at least in some quarters, for their political astuteness, acumen, wiliness and ability to win elections on the trot, but that cannot be said of either their willingness to stand up for principles, or for their ability to squarely face a determined adversary, if that means a fight to the finish. That requires real courage and self-belief, not that of the Dutch variety.
As regards both the incidents that occurred, while we know how they ended in tragedy, we are not privy to either the full facts, or how they played out, and it seems quite unlikely we will ever be. Thus, we will have to be content with the Government’s narrative and take their word for it. Having said that, the Government would do itself a great favour if it did come out with all the facts, to avoid unnecessary speculation.
However, what was truly inexcusable and completely devoid of logic was the moving of unstable explosives from Faridabad to Srinagar and then holding them in one location, at a police station, in a crowded neighbourhood. That was a disaster waiting to happen and in hindsight clearly foolish and wholly unprofessional. Whoever, passed those orders, and somebody up the chain certainly did, should have known better and is wholly responsible for the deaths and injuries that occurred. He or she deserves to be shown the door, though given this government’s past actions, fixing accountability has never been its forte.
The suicide attack that occurred, for the first time in Delhi, has been referred to by many commentators and analysts as an act of terrorism instigated by the Pakistan based JeM. While it was certainly an act of terror, and may well have been supported by the JeM, it was not terrorism per se, as security professionals would understand it. Commentators and analysts who believe it to be so, are being overly optimistic in their deductions, and appear to have completely misread the symptoms for the disease. This misreading has, in all likelihood, occurred due to their inability to distinguish between what constitutes terrorism on one hand, and insurgency on the other. While both employ violence as a means to achieve their goals, its application in both cases differs very widely as does, the manner in which it needs to be countered.
Insurgency is a mass movement with clear political objectives, primarily resorted to when those impacted conclude that they have been subjected to socio-economic discrimination and will not get their just dues through peaceful democratic peaceful means and thus are forced to resort to violence against the State. This violence is controlled and targeted at instruments of the State, such as the party in power, administrative elements, security forces and corporate houses that are seen as responsible for the oppression. While the insurgency can only be resolved through political means, the levels of violence can be controlled by the Security Forces, along with winning hearts and minds of the local population being an overriding factor. The insurgents primary aim is to show up the State to the citizens at large as ineffective, corrupt and inefficient. For the insurgent, loss of mass support in the region is a death knell. On the other hand, popular insurgencies, if allowed to get out of hand, escalate into civil wars and lead to more serious consequences.
Terrorism, on the other hand is the unrestrained use of violence to garner publicity to ones cause, whatever that may be, involving a more nihilistic than reasoned goal. Mass support is not a criteria and the group involved tends to utilise finances to entice individuals and criminal gangs to provide the required logistic and other support necessary to complete their stated goal. In their scheme of things, the greater the casualties the more publicity they garner for their cause and that is what gives them visibility and relevance. While counter insurgency operations are a slow squeeze aimed at changing perceptions of the locals, counter terror operations are intelligence based high-impact operations launched with speed aimed at neutralising terrorists while minimising casualties to those targeted or otherwise likely to be caught in the cross-fire.
Unfortunately, the kicker here, and that is what tends to create confusion in the minds of leaders and Security Forces, is the fact that in its initial stages insurgents tend to resort to terrorism to cow down and intimidate those with views that are either in opposition or at variance to those of the insurgents and probably even the majority. This is why, for example, during the Punjab insurgency the insurgents first targeted political leaders and their supporters from within the community who were opposed to their aim of separating from the Union. Clearly the political leadership heading the government and the Security Forces face the very difficult task of assessing the category of violence they are countering, as their subsequent actions will greatly impact the course of how future events play out.
Ever since the BJP came into power at the Centre in 2014, the Hindutva agenda got a big boost. Undoubtedly the pendulum had swung their way to an extent because of perceptions, built over time and to an extent reasonably accurate, that the Muslim minority had greatly benefited from the so-called “secular” parties providing them freebees in an obvious attempt to win over their votes. As the BJP became more entrenched, its hard right elements became even more vocal and active, without any constraints being placed on them by their central leadership for whatever reasons. As a result, the Muslim minority has over time found itself being marginalised and becoming second class citizens, in all but name. A clear example of this, is the Hindustan Times report on the Oppositions criticism of the Assam Minister’s reference to “Gobi Farming in Bihar”. Allegedly symbolic of the Communal Riots in Bhagalpur in 1989, also called the “Cauliflower Burial Case”, in which over 110 Muslims were allegedly killed in Logain, a village in Bhagalpur District, where cauliflower saplings were planted where their bodies were buried.
The response of the Muslim community has been one of flight- laying low, avoiding controversies and using democratic means at their disposal to try and get justice. That is till now. The Delhi suicide attack, I believe, and I am hoping I am proven wrong, could very well represent the beginning of a new phase, a widespread countrywide insurgency, launched by those no longer willing to flee, and now preparing to fight. To see this attack as an issue purely pertaining to Kashmir, in the circumstances, would be a grave and fundamental error. Indeed, it is a frightening thought, but should not come as a big surprise because there is a limit to how much one is willing to absorb.
While this suicide attack may have been the highest profile attack so far, that we are aware of, the possibility that other actions have been planned and initiated by other such groups cannot be ruled out. These could very well include the recent spoofing of GPS signals in Delhi and Mumbai, ‘near misses’ where train accidents due to obstacles placed on tracks were averted thanks to the alertness of railway staff (over 24 attempts between 2023 till date), and bomb threats to schools, court premises and markets, almost on a daily basis. We have very few clues available in the public domain that can shed light on whether these are attempts by mischievous elements or something far more sinister.
While enhancing our intelligence and counter terror capabilities and strengthening anti-radicalisation measures are all vital and unavoidable steps, the real question before the government is, do we want to become another broken Pakistan? After all, where Pakistan finds itself today is because of the active encouragement its politicians gave to their version of the tried and tested policy of divide and rule, that the British pursued to good effect around the world. One truly hopes not, in which case, the Government will have to take substantive measures on ground to become more inclusive in its approach and have zero tolerance for vile attacks against any community. The time for bluster is over, otherwise we may as well start preparing for a pretty wild ride in the coming years.
