Read the excellent piece on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s foreign policy with great interest. Thought I would attempt a dispassionate analysis of his handling of external and internal security issues during the 2004-2014 period.
Manmohan Singh has often been criticised for lacking the assertiveness required to handle national security challenges. In my view, this charge is primarily based on the handling of the 2008 Mumbai attack and misses some of his key contributions to strengthening India’s national security.
When Manmohan Singh took over as prime minister, it had been about 17 months since the military had returned to the barracks after the one-year mobilisation along the Pakistan border following the 2001 Parliament attack. The 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan was six-months old, but tensions had not dissipated along the Line of Control. Fatalities in terror-related incidents were approximately 2,500 in Jammu and Kashmir and 1,100 in the Northeast.