Gratitude: From Economic Power to Military Might

TLDR;

India’s strike on militant bases following the Pahalgam attack is not just a military response — it’s the culmination of decades of investment in indigenous defense, space, and technological capabilities. This post reflects on the quiet revolution that my generation of Indians has witnessed, the unsung heroes behind it, and why China, not Pakistan, is the real competition India must measure itself against.

Today, India struck 9 militant bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to the dastardly attack on tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir. As I sat at my home enjoying a cup of tea, made more enjoyable by the unseasonal rains in Mumbai, I felt nothing but a deep sense of gratitude towards so many fellow countrymen who made this possible.

So many of my generation have been witness to the quiet revolution that we have seen in India — not just of economic progress but also of indigenous military superiority. On one hand, we enjoyed the fruits of economic prosperity brought about by liberalization since the 90s; on the other, this economic prosperity would not have been possible without an equivalent investment that the country has made in its own internal and external security.

By the mid-80s, India was in a precarious condition. Militancy was on the rise in Punjab and Kashmir; in fact, our own Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by extremists. When India liberalized under extreme debt, it could have been an easy choice for the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and his Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, to cut down on two 'expendable' spends — the space and missile programs. Pragmatic wisdom would suggest that India could procure both satellite launch services and defense equipment from other 'developed' nations. After all, this was the very path that its arch-enemy Pakistan took.

However, the country did not sacrifice its scientists and its soldiers, even if it meant selling more PSU shares or sending more gold to overseas vaults. The seeds of liberalization bore fruit, and so did the policy of self-reliant space and defense research. When the next Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, decided to conduct nuclear tests, India's defense research came in handy. Its nuclear tests went undetected by the intelligence and satellite networks of global powers, and yet were a demonstration of the prowess of its scientists. And the effects bled Pakistan — financially if not militarily — every time India would test a nuke or a new ballistic missile, Pakistan would turn to its 'friend' China to import their technology and rebrand it as its own.

I am thankful for the quiet resolve of political leaders across the party spectrum for keeping the lights on in India’s indigenous capabilities in space and science.

No lesser is, of course, my gratitude to the scientists working across agencies — from ISRO to HAL, to DRDO, to NPL — you name it. At a salary which is a pittance compared to what each one of them can earn, should they just hop over to even the most mediocre universities in the US or Europe, they have persevered against sanctions, limited budgets (even though extravagant for a developing country like India), and often hardships going beyond just sacrificing family time. These scientists have enabled India to have indigenous capabilities in remote sensing, precision positioning, ballistics, launch capabilities, nuclear and non-nuclear explosives, propulsion, and satellite navigation — each one of these critical for the kind of mission undertaken by the Indian defense forces today.

And finally, the supreme honour and gratitude, of course, goes to India’s heroes in uniform, the defense and paramilitary forces. Their sacrifices both during peace and war, their unrelenting determination to keep every inch of this country free of invasion, and their professionalism to keep the flag of democracy high by simply doing their duty when asked, is not just commendable but imitable and worth bowing one’s head towards (the appropriate phrase could only be better paraphrased in Hindi as उनका शौर्य और कर्तव्य के प्रति उनकी निष्ठा, उनके समक्ष नतमस्तक होनॆ पर विवश करते है).

The real competition

What this episode also brings to light is that the real competition to India is China and not Pakistan. Pakistan’s defense capabilities — whether in weapons or strategic might — are based on the implicit support China has lent to it all these years. India’s indigenous efforts are competing with Chinese indigenous efforts, which have been exported clandestinely to Pakistan in the military sphere.

But when you look at them directly, China has surged far ahead of India in all the key spheres — whether it’s space or military technologies, infrastructure, or even civilian technologies like self-driving vehicles and fast trains. And hence, that is the real competition Indians need to be chasing against.

As we sit under the warmth of the Indian tricolor, let’s remember: true strength comes not just from weapons, but from the quiet, decades-long resolve of a nation determined to stand on its own feet.

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