Despite crushing defeat, Modi remains unlearned

Qamar Bashir

In a fiery address from Bhuj in his home state Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stark yet hollow warning to Pakistan, declaring, “Live a life of peace and eat your roti in calm, or else, my bullet is always ready.” Delivered in the humiliating aftermath of Operation Sindoor, where India suffered a crushing and comprehensive defeat on all fronts, Modi’s bluster masked the reality of India’s exposed vulnerabilities, broken illusions of regional dominance, and the utter failure of its military might against Pakistan’s far smaller yet far more agile and resolute forces. His speech, laced with threats, revealed a dangerous refusal to reflect on India’s strategic miscalculations and a desperate attempt to spin humiliation into hollow bravado. As Pakistan’s air force, missile command, cyber units, and the sheer resilience of its people stood tall, Modi’s empty threats only deepened the cracks in India’s facade of strength, revealing a nation unprepared for the consequences of its reckless aggression.

This aggressive rhetoric, however, is neither new nor constructive. It follows a well-worn script that Modi has often played before elections, invoking Pakistan as a perpetual threat, demonizing an entire nation for internal incidents, and overlooking the possibility of homegrown actors or third-party provocateurs. Modi’s framing, once again, reduces Pakistan to a target and portrays India as the victim, demanding retribution without introspection. Yet, what he ignores — either willfully or due to political expediency — is the ground reality that Pakistan is not Gaza, and India is not Israel. Any bullet fired from one side will inevitably trigger a response—two bullets, five, or even more—escalating into a cycle of retaliation with catastrophic consequences for both. This is not conjecture; it is history.