Summary:
Bengaluru, Oct 24 (PTI): The 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, which gave birth to Bangladesh, tilted the balance of power in India"s favour in the sub-continent with Pakistan losing its ability to threaten India with the two-front war, former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said on Sunday.
He said Bangladesh today is a development success story as that country overtook India and Pakistan in terms of per capita income and human development indicators.
"In the Indian sub-continent, the outcome tilted the balance of power in India"s favour with Pakistan losing the ability to threaten India with the two-front war and for several years losing also the confidence to launch a conventional war," Menon said during the Swarnim Vijay Varsh Conclave organised here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India"s victory in the 1971 war.
The former diplomat, who had served as the National Security Adviser under former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, said the war brought India peace with Pakistan for almost three decades "until Pakistan thought that her nuclear weapon has redressed the balance and tried Kargil only to fail again." According to him, the war showed Pakistan that it could not match India in conventional warfare or count on Chinese or United States intervention.
It resulted in Pakistan adopting non-conventional way of violence by use of terrorism and Jihadi Tanzeem as a policy, Menon said.
"Pakistan has made it into a regular state policy, and particularly after the Jihad against the Soviet Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s perfected her modus operandi," the former diplomat.