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Maria Saleh
Maria Saleh

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War by Imitation: How India’s Borrowed Doctrine from Israel Could Backfire in South Asia

When Israeli missiles hit Iranian territory earlier this year, the world barely had time to react. No warnings. No apologies. Just a smoldering crater and a press statement hours later. But while the West debated legality, and Iran calculated restraint, a very different lesson was being learned in New Delhi.

India saw efficiency. India saw immunity. And under the leadership of Narendra Modi, it also saw opportunity.

The rise of the India Israel military strategy is not a diplomatic trend—it’s a dangerous evolution. What once began as weapons trade has matured into strategic mimicry. India isn’t just buying Israeli arms. It’s adopting the doctrine: Strike first. Spin the story. Escape the consequences.

The New Delhi-Tel Aviv Alignment

The India-Israel axis has rapidly morphed from silent cooperation to a high-octane strategic pipeline. Israel provides the hardware—from Harop loitering munitions to advanced radar systems—while also inspiring a new worldview: aggression without repercussion.

For New Delhi, this isn’t just useful. It’s seductive. The India Israel military strategy gives the illusion of strength without war, of action without diplomacy. And that illusion is now embedded in India’s top brass, particularly under Modi, Shah, and Doval.

These men have turned a regional rivalry into a global PR game. Kashmir is painted as terror ground zero, and Pakistan as the eternal aggressor. With every drone India imports, with every Mossad-style narrative RAW amplifies, a message is being crafted: "We are the victim. We are the shield."

From Mossad to RAW: The Tactical Transplant

Traditionally a surveillance-focused agency, RAW's transformation into Mossad-lite is the most concerning evolution yet. Covert killings in foreign lands. Support to proxy actors in the region. Fake news warfare on digital platforms. These are no longer far-fetched accusations—they’re open strategies.

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Just as Mossad has long used asymmetric tactics to protect Israeli interests, RAW now walks that same path in South Asia. Except there’s one fatal flaw: India’s neighborhood doesn’t forgive the same way the West forgives Tel Aviv.

The Balakot Trial Run

Balakot was supposed to be India’s show of strength. It ended in humiliation. A missed target. A downed jet. A captured pilot sipping tea in Pakistan. But instead of humility, India emerged with a new obsession: control the narrative, not the battlefield.

What followed was a spree of defense purchases, cyber warfare investment, and diplomatic lobbying. Instead of correcting its course, India doubled down—buying more Israeli weapons and weaving Mossad's tactics into RAW's future.

Pakistan’s Posture: Defensive, Not Dormant

Pakistan isn’t sitting idle. Over the past two years, military drills have intensified, cyber defenses have matured, and counter-intelligence networks have become sharper. The days of being surprised are over.

This isn’t 2019. This is a new posture. One informed by the understanding that India may not wait for provocation to act. That it may one day attempt a precision strike just to own the headlines.

But Pakistan’s message is simple: Headlines don’t win wars. Resilience does.

Why South Asia Isn’t the Middle East

India’s gamble is rooted in a dangerous assumption: that it can copy Israel's style and replicate its results. But South Asia is not the Middle East. Here, the adversary is nuclear-armed, the terrain is politically volatile, and the international community is not as forgiving.

Israel has decades of U.S. backing, a tightly controlled media ecosystem, and a population conditioned for perpetual war. India has none of these in the same measure. If it miscalculates, the fallout won’t be just regional—it will be historic.

The World Can’t Pretend It Doesn’t See

The global silence on India's shift toward preemptive aggression is not neutrality—it's complicity. The same doctrine that flattened Gaza and shook Damascus is now being eyed for Kashmir and beyond.

And if it succeeds without accountability, the rules of engagement worldwide will collapse. What stops other nations from striking first and tweeting later?

A Final Reality Check

India can borrow Israel’s weapons. It can borrow its war tactics. But it cannot borrow the immunity that shields Tel Aviv.

If Modi misreads the room, if RAW tries one operation too many, if Pakistan is provoked one inch past the red line—there won’t be time for tea and televised handshakes.

This isn’t Tel Aviv vs Tehran. This is Rawalpindi, armed and ready.

The fuse is short. The world must speak before it's lit.

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