Mindset changed after Myanmar action: Parrikar

In a fresh bout of rhetorical exchanges with Pakistan, India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the Indian Army’s operation to neutralise two camps of militants across Myanmar border on June 9 has led to a “change in mindset” about the security posture of the country.

“A simple action against insurgents has changed the mindset of the security scenario of the country. Those who fear India’s new posture have started reacting,” the defence minister said in New Delhi on June 11.

Mr Parrikar’s comment came after Pakistan’s Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan had warned India of not comparing Myanmar with Pakistan. New Delhi has repeatedly asked Pakistan to take action against anti-India militants and terrorists based in its territory, but Islamabad has chosen to be in denial, making cross-border terror a persistent irritant in bilateral ties between the two estanaged neighbours.

After the elite 21 Para (Special Forces) of the Indian Army destroyed two camps of militants inside Myanmar territory in a 45-minute surgical strike, which killed 20 militants and injured 11, India’s Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had said that the operation gave a vivid massage to all countries, including Pakistan, who promoted and harboured any intention.

Mr Parrikar refused to go into details of the operation and Myanmar officials’ comments that the strike didn’t take place inside their territory, but on the Indian side of the border.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.