Much has been said about the horrors India saw late last week in Mumbai, where a series of coordinated terrorist attacks and hostage takings killed at least 188 and wounded nearly 300 others. Not enough of this discussion has been about the electoral implications. Indians will, in just a few short months, decide once more who shall govern as they vote to replace the current government, whose mandate expires this May. It seems that the consequences of this attack may be a change in power that removes the dominant Congress Party from power and that returns their most successful and competent rival, the Indian People’s Party, to power.
The political significance of the event has not been lost on that party, as is evident by their most recent campaign efforts. In the Hindustan Times, they took out a front-page ad decrying the weakness of the current government, which they declared had taken inadequate steps to combat terror and provide for India’s security. As this event is not particularly isolated, in that India has been victim to more Islamic terrorism than nearly any other nation in existence, many are seeking a party that can bring about meaningful reform. And it would seem that the Indian People’s Party is the logical front-runner in that sense.
They have proposed considerably tougher anti-terrorism laws, and have a detailed plan to overhaul the national security apparatus, making it much more effective. There is due cause to take them seriously on matters of defense and security, as during their brief time in power in earlier years, it was they who conducted Operation Shakti, giving India nuclear weapons.
This attack, which has re-oriented the national political mindset, must be put into perspective. At this point, the evidence suggests that the Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the attacks. Further, some in the U.S. intelligence community are suggesting that direct training of the terrorists was handled by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Whatever the exact details may prove to be, it is quite clear that major fault for this unspeakable atrocity rests on Pakistan in some capacity. The Congress Party has proven over time unable to appropriately confront this threat, or to realize and act on the obvious links between the Pakistani government and the terrorists causing death and civil unrest in India. It is thus imperative that they not be left in charge, as their likely failure to respond will only send the signal that India is cowardly and cannot act when threatened.
Whatever one might wish to say about the Indian People’s Party, which based on their track record ought to be mostly positive, there is no disputing that they are, as evidenced in rhetoric and their track record, keenly aware of the true security problems, and are intent on rectifying them.
So, while the loss of innocent life at the hands of deranged Islamic terrorists is deeply upsetting, it is important that this be used as a lesson more than anything else. People realize once more, as they always should have, that the Congress Party is incapable of protecting India, and that any long-term solution involves dealing with Pakistan in a much harsher way is presently done. The Indian People’s Party has a message perfectly in sync with this, and is thus well positioned to return to power, thereby giving India a chance to properly secure itself from internal terrorist threats and the greater Pakistani problem.
So, as with all things, there is a silver lining to this horrific chapter of Indian history: the chance for genuinely positive change that will prevent such occurrences in the future. Let us hope then that when the polls open, the voting public has the intellectual clarity needed to take advantage of this second chance and elect a government actually capable of preserving their life and liberty.
