December 31, 2001    Search the Internet E-Mail this report to a
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Columns The smile returns on      Kumaratunga's face Kargil to
Kutch The mantras for peace Why Nepal loves to      hate India
Trouble in the world's      last Shangrila  Major General (retd)
Ashok K Mehta  More bark than bite  Can India teach Pakistan a
lesson? Can it make Pakistan stop cross-border terrorism? Even
after 9/11 and 12/13, the answer to these questions is, by
itself: no, it cannot.  The talk by our leaders of a decisive
war and at the same time a purely defensive deployment is both
churlish and confusing for the soldiers who require clear
orders. India does not have the military capability to defeat
Pakistan -- not because of the nuclear overhang, but because to
its failure to build a conventional deterrent in the hills of
J&K and a decisive military superiority in the plains of Punjab
and Rajasthan.  Over the years, India's defence spending has
stagnated at an unacceptably