India’s 1962 debacle with China taught us that good neighbourly relations alone cannot secure the nation. Post 1962, we invested in developing capabilities of our armed forces, and within three years, in 1965 we gave a befitting response to Pakistan’s second attempt to wrest Kashmir by force. In 1971, India had a brilliant victory, secured the surrender of the Pakistan army, liberation of Bangladesh, and custody of 93,000 Pakistani PoWs.
Like 1962 proved a turning point for building capability for conventional wars, the February 14 terrorist attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), supported by Pakistan, should be a watershed in our capabilities to deter and defeat hybrid war.