The Complexity of Signification: the BJP’s Surgical Strike on Indian Politics

/ Ashoka Review of International Affairs

Riya Chaturvedi

Image 1:Billboard Hoarding

In 2016, following a brutal attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Kashmir, the Indian army carried out surgical strikes against “terror launch pads” along the Line of Control in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. These strikes were deemed an adequate response to this ruthless attack that had claimed the lives of as many as nineteen army officers. However, despite its rigorous justification by the government, the strikes were heavily contested, both internationally and by the Pakistani administration, the latter of which claimed that the strikes in question had failed to inflict any significant damage upon their intended target. 

Historically, a surgical strike has been regarded as an offensive military tactic that is utilized by states as an illustration of their capacity to plan for the damage that is inflicted upon specific targets, albeit whilst reducing collateral harm. In particular, it aims to inflict maximum damage on intended targets by significantly reducing their military capabilities and infrastructure. For instance, the Israeli Air Force’s offensive in 1967 that destroyed much of the on-ground Eqyptian Air Force, can be regarded as a surgical strike. However, a report published by the BBC concluded that while Indian troops crossed the Line of Control, they did not “airdrop commandos to hit launching pads of militants inside Pakistani-held territory,” as was claimed by terming the attack a surgical strike. Instead, they hit several Pakistani border posts, even destroying a few in the process.

In light of the dissonance between the conventional understanding of surgical strikes and the nature of the retaliatory attack carried out by the Indian Army, it can be claimed that the discourse surrounding the attack was blown out of proportion. The patriotic element of the surgical strikes was milked dry by the Bharatiya Janata Party, who used it to appeal to the nationalist sentiments of the population. Drawing parallels to Israel’s attack on Egypt, its Ministers claimed that the attack put India on par with the capabilities of such countries. In fact, the attack was even used as a key campaigning tool during the 2016 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, with ministers fervently declaring their personal involvement in the decision-making process leading to it. However, the BJP’s attempts to speak of the attack as the tool that forcefully depicted India’s military prowess to Pakistan and inflicted tremendous damage, was simply charlatanism at its finest. 

With the aid of propaganda that involved the colloquial use of the term surgical strike in any and all political contexts, and the sensationalization of the attack through advertisements and social media, the BJP was able to claim the historically entrenched military tactic as its own. It is unsurprising that opposition parties soon found themselves scrambling to prove that they too had carried out surgical strikes in the past, thereby hoping to gain some of the new-found political currency that the term had generated. However, the BJP’s “marketing” efforts (read: euphemism for propaganda) were swift in convincing the public that the military tactic was both invented and mastered by the party. The success of their efforts served to erase the historicity and theoretical validity of surgical strikes in the Indian context. As a consequence, the 2019 Balakot strikes were approached in a similar manner by the political party; experts have gone as far as to attribute the attack and the subsequent “marketing” carried out to BJP’s electoral victory in the 2019 national elections. 

As a consequence of the attacks, the term surgical strikes has gained considerable political clout; politicians often use it colloquially to describe any attack that targets a specific entity in a planned fashion. In fact, the term has been employed as a synonym for violence by BJP ministers who have consistently  plotted “surgical strikes” against various threatening entities in the course of their term in office. For instance, a BJP minister was quoted as calling for “surgical strikes on Jadavpur University.” BJP member Tajinder Pal went a step further in calling for “surgical strikes”on Shaheen Bagh. 

In other words, the term surgical strike has come to be used to assert the BJP’s prowess in tackling the issue of the day by providing a “solid answer” – possibly involving immense violence – to the same. It is thus that Narendra Modi’s announcing of the lockdown was referred to as his “surgical strike on coronavirus” by the party’s supporters, indicating that the usage of the term has seeped into the common public’s vocabulary as well. The term has continued to gain popularity with the opposition as well, whose members often use it sarcastically. For instance, Congress veteran Digvijay Singh was quoted as deeming the recent and rather controversial farmer bills as “BJP’s surgical strike on Indian farmers.” Such comments are being made four years after the surgical strikes, thus depicting its role in the political arena.

It is safe to say that in the last four years, politics in India has witnessed major upheavals in terms of voter preferences, patterns, and norms. The increasing radicalisation of nationalist sentiment in the country is indicative of the determining role of the nation’s military prowess in the behaviour of voters, of which the BJP is well aware. The suffusing of an intricate military tactic with daily political discourse has been seamlessly consolidated over four years; the BJP’s gallantry was rather shrewd, and alarmingly simple. The currency gained by term can serve as an example of the manner in which populist political parties develop sophisticated techniques of propaganda. 

Riya Chaturvedi is a 3rd year Economics and Finance major who is minoring in International Relations at Ashoka university. She is interested in public policy, developmental economics and global affairs.

Footnotes

  1.  WebDesk. “3 years of Uri terror attack: The day when Indian Army suffered its worst loss in 20 years” India Today, 18 September 2018. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uri-terror-attack-anniversary-the-day-when-indian-army-suffered-its-worst-loss-in-jammu-kashmir-1600436-2019-09-18
  1. WebDesk. “Surgical Strikes” Times of India, 18 January 2021. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Surgical-Strikes 
  2. Guruswamy, Mohan “The definition and politics of ‘Surgical Strikes’ “ The Citizen, 24 September 2020. https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/4/19411/The-Definition-and-Politics-of-Surgical-Strikes 
  3. Khan, M Ilyas “India’s ‘surgical strikes’ in Kashmir: Truth or illusion?” BBC, 22 October 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-3770279
  4. News Desk “Surgical strike, Balakot air strike have put India on par with US and Israel: Amit Shah” English Jagran, 1 March 2020. https://english.jagran.com/india/surgical-strikes-balakot-air-strikes-have-put-india-on-par-with-us-and-israel-amit-shah-10009287
  1. PTI “Congress Lists 6 Surgical Strikes During Its Tenure, Returns BJP Barbs” NDTV, 3 May 2019. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/congress-lists-6-surgical-strikes-during-its-tenure-returns-bjp-barbs-2032169 
  2. Guruswamy, Mohan “The definition and politics of ‘Surgical Strikes’ “ The Citizen, 24 September 2020. https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/4/19411/The-Definition-and-Politics-of-Surgical-Strikes 
  3. FE Online “Surgical strike on Shaheen Bagh after February 11th, says BJP’s Tajinder Pal Bagga” Financial express, 30 January 2020. https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/surgical-strike-on-shaheen-bagh-after-february-11-says-bjps-tajinder-pal-bagga/1840472/
  1. Barik, Satyasunder “Farm Bill ‘Surgical Strikes’ on Farmers: Digvijaya Singh” The Hindu, 25 September 2020. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/farm-bills-surgical-strikes-on-farmers-digvijaya-singh/article32689892.ece 

Bibliography

  1. WebDesk. “Surgical Strikes” Times of India, 18 January 2021. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Surgical-Strikes 
  2. Guruswamy, Mohan “The definition and politics of ‘Surgical Strikes’ “ The Citizen, 24 September 2020. https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/4/19411/The-Definition-and-Politics-of-Surgical-Strikes 
  3. Khan, M Ilyas “India’s ‘surgical strikes’ in Kashmir: Truth or illusion?” BBC, 22 October 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-3770279
  4. News Desk “Surgical strike, Balakot air strike have put India on par with US and Israel: Amit Shah” English Jagran, 1 March 2020. https://english.jagran.com/india/surgical-strikes-balakot-air-strikes-have-put-india-on-par-with-us-and-israel-amit-shah-10009287
  1. PTI “Congress Lists 6 Surgical Strikes During Its Tenure, Returns BJP Barbs” NDTV, 3 May 2019. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/congress-lists-6-surgical-strikes-during-its-tenure-returns-bjp-barbs-2032169 
  2. FE Online “Surgical strike on Shaheen Bagh after February 11th, says BJP’s Tajinder Pal Bagga” Financial express, 30 January 2020.https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/surgical-strike-on-shaheen-bagh-after-february-11-says-bjps-tajinder-pal-bagga/1840472/
  1. Barik, Satyasunder “Farm Bill ‘Surgical Strikes’ on Farmers: Digvijaya Singh” The Hindu, 25 September 2020. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/farm-bills-surgical-strikes-on-farmers-digvijaya-singh/article32689892.ece