Calling a spade a spade has become so rare in India today that on the odd occasion that this phenomenon does take place, eyebrows are raised. Depending on who the audacious person is, a search in the English language vocabulary starts, for appropriate words for the people to use for the event. "The ambiance is missing; diplomatese is not there; the fellow is a buffoon; it is below the belt; what will the foreigners say; the South Block will be embarrassed; after all we do have the dire need for dollars and so on". The vernacular press is of course more succinct and direct. "Raj nite ke virodh hai; aisa to nahin hota; hamare sansakron ke Khilafh hai; and so on." Yet one cannot deny that a spade being called a spade has by now developed a freshness of its own, and say what you may, down under it does give a certain feeling of exhilaration and even Envy to the discerning.

Kuldip Ludra in his book "Pakistan: India's Bete Noire" has, by his racy and very readable, in fact engrossing effort, brought out a view of our recent history which is fact and yet reads like fiction. Imagination apart, the degree of painstaking research makes the author use the language to great effect. His narration of events and the bouquets and brickbats to the personalities who influenced events/functioning of the nation are without fear or prejudice. He has read extensively and has quoted from books and the media extensively to drive home the thrust of his arguments.
The various chapters in the book are aptly titled. In the first chapter, the title, which is also the title of the book, the author has very correctly brought out that the Pakistani Strategy of using propaganda and an active foreign policy to win over, not just friends but supporters has resulted in the widely accepted view in the world that India has been a bully and has not acted in accordance with the UN resolutions on plebiscite in J&K. This distortion has put India on the defensive, for which she has only herself to blame. The basic fact that it was India, who had taken the case to UN in the best traditions of settling disputes, and that there were some basic pre-conditions to holding the plebiscite, which have not been fulfilled, and have been lost sight of, are no longer issues that count in the international thinking on Kashmir.

The initial attempts of taking Kashmir by force was through the use of the tribal lashkars, supported by soldiers, out of uniform. This was followed subsequently, by attempts in 1965 and 1971 wars. Thereafter, Pakistan launched a Low Intensity Proxy War. All this has ensured that Kashmir has remained as one of the hottest, internationally disputed areas. Unfortunately for India, the International Community treats India and Pakistan on par, just as two disputants in the dispute.

The author has not spared efforts to research and analyse the role of the United States of America in backing Pakistan against India. He has practically touched on each and every aspect where the tilt towards Pakistan has been unashamedly been practiced. Of course the causes for this parochial attitude have been the Pakistan's support for CENTO, SEATO in the earlier stages and the subsequent role in support of the America effort in Afghanistan.

In the inter-play of national interests and of course the stand off during the Cold War, between the West and the Soviet Union the United States of America needed strategic allies. Pakistan filled one such slot admirably. India, in its pursuit of Independent foreign policy in the world affairs grew closer to USSR and thus became an anathema to the USA. Consequently, a balance of power play to equate Pakistan and India, particularly in military might became a corner stone of the State Department policies. The author has made mention of all the issues in this regard with candour and factual knowledge.

The means adopted to become a nuclear power with consequent ability to blackmail is another of Pakistan's success stories. However on this issue Lt. Col. Ludra has a theory which is plausible under certain circumstances. Its presentation and reasoning is of definite interest and worthy of further analysis. It is a point of view quite contrary to the current thinking and hence deserves deeper analysis. It is a point of view quite contrary to the current thinking and hence deserves deeper analysis. As such Chapter Six becomes a key chapter, which subsequently in the book, helps the author to work out the different War Gamed Scenarios.

The Chapter on the resurrection of Shiekh-el-Jabal is very interesting. The author delves into history to draw parallels to the spread of guns for hire culture, and support of terrorism at international level with an Islamic bias. What comes out strongly is that even after world wide comment and condemnation for such support, a deliberate 'Nelson's Eys Syndrome exists which prevents Pakistan from being actually pinned down as a terrorism sponsoring state. This clearly shows that it is important to have powerful supporters who help to block or rather help in creating the "See No Evil; Hear No Evil; Believe No Evil Syndrome." It does suggest diplomatic success of a very high order.

Chapters on Pakistan's relations with her crutch the United States of America and China are written with frankness and an analysis of facts that is of great interest. The military might of Pakistan is entirely due to the support from these nations. The Author has researched them to give reasons for the same. What comes out of clearly is that the balance of power play has made it imperative to have checks and balances which will prevent India from assuming its natural world status, due to her because of her size, population and geo-strategic location. It has also been brought out that Pakistan, despite its lack of strategic depth has a strategic location which results in her importance to both, USA and China for furtherance of their national interests.

The author has done well to cover Pakistan's economy; ability to wage war and Strategic thinking very succinctly. The factors that he has brought out in each of these have helped him to work out, in very great detail, the six operational scenarios, presented in the later half of the book.

The six scenarios presented by the author are an exercise in establishing various options open to Pakistan in its perseverance for acquiring Kashmir, as also repaying India for its dismemberment in 1971. In order to get a total feel of what each of his 'Operations' conveys it is essential to read through all of them.

The spread of dissatisfaction through the Islamic Factor, hoping that there will be enough takers in the second largest Islamic country in the world, is something that may not find wide acceptance. Of course the demographic changes due to India's porous borders are a well-known fact. That at least one major political party visualizes this as a prime danger in the long run is also known. But then the same party has also created a sense of insecurity in the Islamic population of the country which is a major abetting factor. The author's highlighting this aspect is surely a timely concern for a potentially serious problem.

The war gaming based on selection of dates and the thrust lines selected by the author are of special interest. His research into the areas, places and their potential are of a very high order. He has painstakingly developed each thrust on a day to day basis and arrived at certain conclusions. By and large his assessment of force levels is reasonable and makes interesting reading. He has used his military knowledge to effect and produced an interesting war scenario. It will be for individual readers to assess the feasibility and probability better in the war games.

Suffice it to say that no two plans will ever be the same. In addition, there are always more than the considered options. When a mass scale war scenario is articulated there are bound to be many agreements and even more disagreements. What is important is that the author has taken the pains as also carried out deep research to put across a plausible course of action. For the military minds this is a good teaser and an exercise for the brain. For the civilian readers the inter-play of the scenarios should make a fascinating reading.

I commend Lt. Col. Thakur Kuldip S Ludra for his painstaking work and congratulate him on his efforts. I also hope and wish that the book finds a wide readership and that facts of strategic thinking become widely known. We need much greater awareness of matters military in our country. Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this very readable book.

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