What is our 56-incher doing about this?

In contrast to its tepid economic reform program, the 15-month-old Narendra Modi government has generally earned high marks for foreign policy. It has boosted ties with the United States, Japan, and Australia, brought India’s special relationship with Israel out of the closet, and actively courted neighbors such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

But there’s one glaring exception to this impressive record: a rudderless approach to Pakistan that lurches between unrelenting toughness and the promise of a thaw.

The most recent evidence of this flip-flopping came over the weekend.

The trouble with Mr. Modi’s Pakistan policy is that this circle cannot be squared. Instead of confusing both BJP supporters and the international community with mixed messages, India should pick one position from which to build a diplomatic strategy. The most sensible approach—and the only one that’s politically sustainable—is for New Delhi to eschew grand gestures, like high-level talks or a proposed Modi visit to Pakistan, until Islamabad takes concrete action against jihadist groups that attack India.

Shortly after coming to office last year, Mr. Modi appeared to embrace this tough but pragmatic approach to Pakistan. By inviting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his inauguration, Mr. Modi signaled openness to better ties with Islamabad, particularly a willingness to boost bilateral trade. (It helped that both leaders are seen as business-friendly pragmatists.)

But three months later, India canceled talks between the two countries’ top foreign office civil servants after Pakistan’s ambassador in New Delhi met with a Kashmiri separatist ahead of the talks.

Mr. Modi signaled that he would engage with Pakistan but only if Islamabad approached talks in good faith and desisted from what many Indians saw as a deliberate poke in the eye. This was a departure from how previous Indian governments had viewed Pakistani officials meeting with Kashmiri separatists, which underscored Mr. Modi’s resolve. Meanwhile, India permitted military commanders on the border to retaliate disproportionately to shelling from Pakistan.

With national security advisor talks on hold, the Indian government can explore new options for dealing with Pakistan, including leaving dialogue to low-level officials less likely to attract a media circus. But for Mr. Modi, the lesson is obvious: A consistent Pakistan policy would beat his recent flip-flopping.

confuzzled dude wrote:
An Indian woman shows part of her roof, allegedly damaged by shelling from the Pakistani side of the disputed Kashmir border, in the Indian village of Abdullian


An Indian boy looks through a window damaged in alleged firing from Pakistan into a residential area of Sai village, in Ranbir Singh Pura near the India-Pakistan border

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/clashes-erupt-between-india-and-pakistan-along-disputed-border/2015/08/28/52453d4a-4d6b-11e5-bfb9-9736d04fc8e4_story.html

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:looks like he is as courageous as some of the thayir sAdam tambrahms who egg him on from places like kansas and now boston.

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:looks like he is as courageous as some of the thayir sAdam tambrahms who egg him on from places like kansas and now boston.

Exactemente....or like the KIGs (Kumakonam Iyengar Goundars.)