President John F. Kennedy (JFK) used to say that the phrase 'Grace under pressure' reminds him of a girl he once dated. When the Cuban missile crisis happened in 1962, I was a high school student in Sacramento, California. It was the worst military misadventure since world war II, when Hitler decided to open the Russian front. For one week, USA and Russia were eyeball to eyeball. The US cabinet was in continuous session. McNamara, Mcbundy, Sorenson, Robert Kennedy, etc. When aerial surveillance finally confirmed missiles on Cuban soil, the US government declared a complete embargo on Cuba. Nikita Khrushchev blinked. But the episode had a humorous ending. At 5 pm, JFK directed his staff to purchase all the Cuban Cigars in the Washington DC area. His favourite was 'H. Uppman'. Once accomplished, he went on air at 8 pm to announce the embargo to the nation. During the seven days Kennedy was cool and jovial.
Flashback to 1990. Eden Gardens Cricket ground, Calcutta. India and Pakistan are playing the final Test of a 3-Test series. Tied one all. The people of Calcutta have a notorious dislike for Pakistanis. Stadium is crowded by over one lac people; 400 million are watching on TV on both sides of the divide. India decided to bat first. Not a good day for them. At Tea, they are 147 for 6. Only Sachin Tendulkar has survived with a dogged 51. After Tea, the new ball is in play. Imran Khan walks to his mark, at the pavilion end. Sachin is on strike. The first ball is the standard fast ball. Middle stump. Sachin plays the forward defensive shot. Textbook style. Elbow up. Head down. Miandad gathers the ball at short extra cover. He does not toss the ball to Imran. He walks up to him for a few words. Imran walks to his mark. He signals to Ramiz Raja, fielding at 3rd slip, to move deeper. The next delivery swings. Sachin can't cope. He gets an outside edge. Ramiz goes down on his right knee and scoops up a low catch. For a minute, the crowd is stunned - there is complete silence. Then the booing and hissing starts. It does not let up. At stumps India is 184 for 8. Imran walks back to the pavilion with his teammates. Bottles of thumbs-up (now owned by Coca-Cola) are thrown. Abuses hurled. One spectator even throws a packet of condoms with a note "Your father should have used these 25 years ago". The Pakistan team is confined to their hotel. After a shower and a relaxed IK scores another victory - the amorous kind.
IK is used to pressure. In the last elections PTI accomplished the unthinkable. Dethroning the entrenched political parties. In the current crisis he has demonstrated the three 'Cs' - Cool, Confident and Calibrated. No overkill. Narendra Modi on the other hand has no leadership skills. He learnt his craft as a Tea Boy at a railway station in Gujarat. His CV is built on ethnic cleansing - Muslims and others.
The Indian military strategists and the deep state machinery have again made a miscalculation. There is the numerical superiority of the Indian Armed Forces, according to the data gleaned from IISS and the SIPRI. But sometimes it is the man behind the gun. As a young kid (1956-59) I was at the Mauripur Airbase where my father was a doctor, on deputation from the Pak Army. The pilots were great, beyond professionalism. It was already apparent at that time that PAF would carve a niche as one of the finest air forces in the world. Time has proved this to be true. Only a fool hardy opponent would antagonize Pakistan with its current readiness.
The full story about the battle of Chawinda has never been told. The largest tank battle in the history. 570 battle tanks, Indian and Pakistani, facing off against each other. By the dozens, the Pakistani Jawans would strap anti-tank mines to their chests and lie under the oncoming Indian tanks to disable them. The outcome was devastating for the Indians.
During World War II, the largest tank battle was in the North Africa when the Africa Corps led by General Montgomery (later Field Marshal) squared off against the most enigmatic German general, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The battle stretched out for many years. Monty would retire to his trailer at 8 pm, have a quick dinner and be asleep by 8.30 pm. When reminded that a war was going on, Monty replied "If anything goes array, I'm sure they will wake me". Grace under pressure!
I am watching the current situation with great interest. But I sleep well. The current PM and the battle-hardened Armed Forces of Pakistan are more than adequate to ensure that I can continue to have an occasional "CHOTTA" at the club. In the 1965 war, the Indian Army's fantasy of having a beer at the Lahore Gymkhana by 12noon has now been confined to the joke books of history.
(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association of Pakistan)
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