"War is pitiless ..... Another major war would have brought economy to the brink of disaster," says Congress veteran Chidambaram

 In a key development, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government for handling post-Pahalgam tragedy and the matters related to Operation Sindoor. 

"War is pitiless," he wrote in his weekly column to 'Indian Express' and also maintained - 

"In any conflict, it cannot be expected that one side alone would suffer loss of lives or military equipment.  

The government of India has admitted that some Indian civilians were killed in cross-border firing.  It is sad and painful but, given the long border/LoC, some casualties are unavoidable".   

Justfying developments those ultimately led to the ceasefire and 'end' of the conflict as of now, Chidambaram wrote -- 

"Prime Minister Modi had intervened during the early days of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and told the President of Russia, Mr Putin, on September 16, 2022, “this is not an era of war”.  

These words had won Mr Modi warm applause throughout the world; in India, they earned him praise as a statesman and peacemaker".

Chidambaram is the second Congress leader after Shashi Tharoor, who has applauded the government's handling of the post-Pahalgam developments and the Operation Sindoor.  

Former Finance and Home Minister Chidambaram pointed out that Modi's stance to end Russia-Ukraine war had earned him applause globally.

"Several countries of the world remembered the words (this is not the era of war) and privately counseled India. 

There were other reasons as well not to start a war: first, unlike the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the Israel-Hamas conflict, both parties in the India-Pakistan confrontation were nuclear powers and possessed nuclear weapons", he writes.

 

"Second, the world had become intolerant of war.  

The two major wars that are raging have consumed, so far, 13,000 lives in Ukraine and 50,000 lives in Gaza apart from hundreds of casualties in Russia and Israel. Another major war between two nuclear powers would have brought the world’s stability and economy to the brink of disaster." 

On Operation Sindoor, he, however, says:

"It is possible that India has lost some military hardware.  Pakistan has made vain claims about shooting down aircraft but, in an interview to  BBC, a stuttering and stammering Defence Minister of Pakistan was not able to give any evidence in support and cut a sorry figure. If the cross-border shelling spreads, despite precautionary measures, there will be more losses on the Indian side. War is pitiless."

"In a smart move, the government fielded two young women officers, one from the Army and one from the Air Force, to brief the media on live television. 

The nation watched," he noted. 

However, the senior politician remained critical about one thing -- the Prime Minister staying away from two all-party meetings on Operation Sindoor.

"The only sour note was the absence of the prime minister at the all-party meetings held on April 24 and May 7. The people have also noticed that Mr Modi has not visited Kashmir after the Pahalgam attack; nor has he visited any of the families of the victims. 

The non-visit has drawn comparison with his inexplicable refusal to visit conflict-affected Manipur since May 3, 2023," Chidambaram added. 

ends