Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Dussehra celebrations in Lucknow was hotly anticipated. It was not only expected to help set the tone for the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, but also came in the context of India's raids on terrorist staging areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir last month. In the lead-up to his speech, Mr Modi disappointed many by saying that it was a "special Vijaya Dashami", which many interpreted as using the raids for political ends. Before the Prime Minister spoke, Home Minister Rajnath Singh - who is himself from Uttar Pradesh, a former chief minister of the state, and the member of Parliament from Lucknow - said that "the PM has proved to the world that India is not weak". In addition, the effigy of Ravana that was due to be set on fire had an anti-terrorism message on it, which looked like an unnecessary and dangerous melding of national security, political campaigning and religion.
In the event, Mr Modi's speech was relatively restrained. He did indeed speak of the need to be vigilant against terror and emphasised that India's patience was at an end. He described Ravana as "the first terrorist", but did not explicitly take credit for the September 28 raids or blame the previous government for not undertaking similar efforts. Indeed, much of his speech was devoted to the issue of women's rights and equality. With his customary ability to blend legend and lesson, the Prime Minister described the basis of the Dussehra celebration as retribution for what Ravana did to Sita - and that what was needed was "burning down the Ravana in minds that leads us to kill many girls in their mothers' wombs."
The PM's choice to not take direct credit for the cross-LoC raids in his speech deserves praise. While the strikes have been successful in changing the narrative, the accompanying noises from some in the government and the ruling party have dissipated some of the gains. For example, calls for tweaking of the Indus water sharing treaty caused India to lose some of the moral high ground that it had gained. After all, few of the responses from the international community following the raids were in Pakistan's favour. Yet this sympathy would be strained by murmurs from New Delhi that one of the few institutional successes in India-Pakistan relations could be undermined. In general, the BJP, especially members of Mr Modi's council of ministers, should take their cue from the Prime Minister's speech. There is no need for any chest-thumping, explicit or implicit, over the September 28 raids. It appears that the government has taken a decision that a message has been effectively sent to Pakistan by the raids, and humiliating Pakistan's army by harping on this success will not serve India's national security objective because doing so will provide an incentive for Rawalpindi to escalate the confrontation. Thus, the political use of the raids, however tempting that might be for the BJP in its election campaigns, would not be advisable. Mr Modi should follow through on this implicit message in his speech by ensuring that his party also maintains similar restraint.
