A week after the Uri attack, India is seething with anger – any conceivable poll shows beyond doubt that people want Pakistan to pay. However, after talk of war/ surgical strikes/ water blockage/ international isolation, we are down to demanding Pakistani actors be banned from working in India and that India stop playing cricket with Pakistan.

The bluster that the former Chief Minister of Gujarat used to display after a Pakistani strike has now been replaced with a measured tone (and virtual absence from Twitter post-Uri). Perhaps the government is realising what the UPA knew for some time – a conflict with a nation that is itching for it (and has nothing to lose) is not a great idea. But with limited military options – will our revenge for Uri be limited to breaking chairs in 9pm debates and taking away the work visas of a few Pakistani actors? If yes, then India surely will boast of having the Ivy league of idiots.

“Pakistan must be answered in the one language it understands” – this has been the slogan of the Prime Ministers and nationalists for quite some time. Perhaps that’s where the problem lies. Why not answer Pakistan in the language that it DOESN’T comprehend? A language NOT of revenge, guns, bombs, attack – rather assimilation, economy, strategy and future.

If you haven’t already dispatched me to Pakistan, let me explain.

1. Artists – Despite numerous wars, singer Ghulam Ali has always been considered part of the sub-continental musical milieu. Another singer, Adnan Sami, took this cultural assimilation a notch higher and took Indian citizenship, much to the embarrassment of Pakistan. Now imagine the untold misery on Indian womenfolk if actor Fawad Khan was kept on the other side of the LoC – or the sheer loss of soulful music if we banish singers like Atif Aslam, Shafqat Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan from Indian shores. Sure, this will enable former singer Abhijeet to get some employment, but what if they all took Indian residency or citizenship like Sami? What if, impressed with the opportunities and economies of India, they settle here? Wouldn’t that be a tight slap on the face of Pakistan?
2. Economy – Calls are being made to shut down trade with Pakistan, despite the cold fact that trade between the two volatile neighbors grew close to 350 per cent in the last 10 years – 44 per cent under Narendra Modi’s tenure. To wreak Pakistani economy, we must think China and not Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Using the ‘Make in India’ slogan, we should flood their markets with cheap Indian imports – so much so that local production collapses completely. For every jihadi they send, we bring down one manufacturing industry. We can’t match their jihadi factory, but they can’t touch us in cheap mass production.  
3. Cricket – It’s perhaps the only Pakistani product that enjoys global recall (besides terrorism). Why isolate these talented players who are dying to earn some money (even tamper balls and fix matches to that end)? Already isolated from Indian Premier League (IPL), the arrangement hasn’t worked out well for anyone – certainly not the quality of matches. Now imagine India influencing these players to defect to our side and then play for the Indian flag … the combined talent of Pakistan and India in a single team. It’s a sure-shot at global dominance and a wet dream for those who dream of a ‘Virat Hindustan’.
4. People – Despite trying to poison the narrative in its own country, there is still perhaps a majority of Pakistanis who don’t really consider India as enemies. They see it as a clash of governments. Given that fact, we can exploit that sentiment with more involvement, visits and influence. That way, there is a far greater chance to undermine the Pakistani government. Shouldn’t that be the policy anyways? If the Army, the ISI, the Taliban etc etc don’t listen to the government, then why should we deal with them? Why not deal directly with the people by talking to them? It’s something that the PM did while addressing the Kozhikode rally on Saturday. Indeed, if someone can stop the Pakistani government from carrying on with the self-destructive mode, it will be the Pakistani citizenry.     

With limited room to maneuver on the military front, India has to think out of the box. If diplomatic isolation worked, then North Korea and Iran would have dissolved till now (not to mention how we couldn’t even stop Russia from hosting its first ever joint military exercise with Pakistan). So what remains is bleeding Pakistan with a thousand economic cuts, humiliating it with defections on a daily basis, sidelining its impotent government with direct engagement with Pakistani people. In short, finally proving the superior might of India without firing a single bullet.

The cold war finally ended with United States of America on top – not because it had more nuclear bombs and muscle, but because its way of life was superior, its fundamentals were stronger and it offered a better opportunity of life. Time we take some lessons from there.   

Of course we can carry on with symbolic acts of boycott and isolation (something that the terror minds want anyway). In that case, the neighbor of Terror-State-Pakistan would be India, the nation that hosts the Ivy League of Idiots.