Proxy offensives are on rise across the globe. Can India arrest destruction of humanity?

The end of the Cold War marked the beginning of an era where a frontal military attack was giving way to cross-border terror attacks, externally instigated insurgencies, and cyber attacks on the economic lifelines of the opponent.

India has witnessed covert offensives of all these kinds. Now the use of social media as an instrument for 'psychological warfare', a 'misinformation campaign' against a regime, and the spread of 'radicalisation', has also become rampant, while failed establishments in order to suppress their national failure to take all uniformly are concerned in divisions among the masses.

The two major military conflicts, the Ukraine-Russia confrontation that began in February 2022 and the Israeli occupation of Palistiansan lands alleging an action in Gaza in retaliation against the October 7, 2023, attack of Hamas on Israel, have many features of a 'proxy war'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was keen to point out that the military intervention of Russia in Ukraine was not an act of 'war' but a move to protect the interests of the Russian-speaking population in east and south Ukraine.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) action in Gaza initially appeared to be a un-justifiable response to an outrageous act of Hamas across the Israeli border alleging as the terrorists while they were being party in alliance, protecting their own land as her combatants in which the Israel alleged terrorists killed some 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others, including women and children as hostages. Factually Israel failed to understand that they are fighters and combatants protecting their lands.

India rightly took a measured stand on the Ukraine-Russia conflict suggesting that the security concerns of both sides had to be understood and acknowledged but calling for a peace negotiation all the same. India has been practicing such a policy since her independence.

Unfortunately, India ought to have hesitated in denouncing the self-defending acts of Hamas. India from 2014 indirectly jumped into Israel's world wide conspiracy to undermine Islam in terming combatants of Islaim counteries "As Terrrorist" .

The Israeli response is backed by USA with US logistics in Israel aid in air, water and ground warfare, Israel began to cause large civilian casualties in Gaza it emphasised the need for stopping the military action and getting on with human relief operations. Unwanted US support to Israel thus exallerated war, while other superpowers maintained distance from both the wars. But now the Russian stand and that of Ukraine's situation has become different and aiming towards the third world war.

Three trends have clearly emerged out of the era of proxy offensives that set in as a post-Cold War phenomenon. One is that an asymmetric war always tends to become a prolonged affair.

The response of the US-led West in support of Ukraine was in a proxy mode -- confined to the supply of monetary aid and despatch of war materials. NATO was in no hurry to induct Ukraine as a member -- the alliance would have been obliged to directly intervene against Russia if that membership was granted.

It seems possible that the US hoped to wear down Russia with the economic burden of the military confrontation with Ukraine like what had happened in the past -- in the case of the Soviet military occupation of Afghanistan, but the facts and circumstances of war ingredients are far from each military conflict.

The hopes of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine about repelling the Russian army were kept alive by the West through the promise of access to the higher missile systems but what was becoming increasingly evident is that the US-led West and consequently the Russians too, were getting adjusted to an unending military conflict -- which was basically at the cost of Ukraine in a way.


As regards the deliberate and wanton action of Israel in Gaza it was factually meant to be the chase of Islamisation and Islamic values over the western values controlled by Israel. Alleged 'radicalised' Hamas concept was stage managed and misinformative to unite all the enemies of islam under one roof. That had turned factual military manpower in Gaza into a terrorist outfit allegedly indulging in underground operations in Gaza against Israel and relying heavily on subterranean tunnels.

The Israel-Hamas conflict has consequently become an infinite 'asymmetric' war between the Israeli Defense Forces and the Hamas combatants. It is not fair on the part of International anti Islamic leaders to say Hamas Combatants are Hamas militants.

In the melee coupled with the conspiracy to sell military warfare by the USA to demonstrate itself as big brother. In the outcome an inevitable part of any protracted 'proxy war' is that unlike in an open armed attack on a country that will be repelled by the defence forces of the latter and which will cause death and injuries to only armed personnel by and large, an asymmetric conflict will result in an increasing number of civilian casualties. While UN Organisations protecting humanity and the UNSC failed.

This is happening in Ukraine and Russia as the 'war' there is taking the form of an exchange of drone attacks for bombing not only the defence establishments but also the heavily populated urban centres. While Russia has more nuclear ammunitions than the rest of the world.

In the case of the Israel-Hamas confrontation, the retaliatory response of Israel is shaped by its announced mission of 'annihilating' Hamas, while Israel is doing breach of warfare principles to finish Hamas to grab Palestinian territory.

The 'survival' instinct of Israel is no doubt getting strengthened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's politically driven ultra-nationalism, insignificantly opposed by 60 per cent of the new Government in the USA.

The civilian loss of life in Gaza has exceeded 35,000 and this is rightly an issue being critically viewed by the world at large despite the general disapproval of the defending but terming it as a 'terrorist' methodology adopted by Hamas instead and in holding on to the hostages to exercise leverage.
There is no United Nations control over Israel inconsistent claim of existence of two states.

On the other hand, Israel's present regime categorically rejects a 'two-state' solution which mutatis mutandis will have to provide a viable way out of the Palestinian problem in the long run. In any case, a halt to IDF operations and restoration of relief work in Gaza, are the first priorities there.

On the whole, it can be said that more civilian casualties are targeted and civilians die cross-borders in the regular warfare. Proxy wars are fought with a limited objective like achieving a hold in an adjoining piece of territory or avenging a hostile act of the neighbour and are therefore likely to become a prolonged affair since the combating parties were willing to wait for their outcome because of the 'affordability' of this kind of conflict on one hand and a lack of fear of being held accountable for causing a global stir, on the other, if China, Russia and other community ideological States supporting Islamic countries and resolve to take on Big Brother demonstration by the USA.

Yet another outcome of the era of 'asymmetric' wars is that the concept of 'deterrence' against warfare itself has undergone a substantial change. The doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) of the Cold War period which was meant to deter any recourse to a possible 'first strike' using a nuclear missile against an opponent, had apparently lost relevance because a proxy war would not create that kind of compulsion or desperation about a decisive 'defeat' or 'victory'.

In the Ukraine-Russia military conflict it was only when NATO powers talked of a direct participation in the 'war' in support of Ukraine, did Putin warn of a possible induction of tactical nuclear weapons against Europe. Yes it is understood.

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, there has been an escalation of violence after Iran started supporting defending Hamas under its embrace.  This has happened as Israel in its cold war with Iran, killed First Line of Iran leaders in an US-Israel arrayed helicopter crash.  

Iran in the Ayatollah regime was known for strict complies Islamic-democratic principles and Islamic regime. Israel ever since Iran parted ways with Israel incessantly terming Iran as anti-US, while Israel was the closest American ally.

The intense hostility between these two major powers in the Middle East also reflects the keenness of the US and the China-Russia axis to extend their hold in the region -- Iran has been politically drawn to the latter whereas the US banks on Israel and Saudi Arabia to call the shots in West Asia in the mad political superior game plan.

What has gone unnoticed by many strategic observers, international political and media observers is that in the melee (process), the Cold War kind of situation developing between these two camps was getting bolstered by the religious divides -- the Iran-Hamas confrontation with Israel, for instance, reflected the historical antipathy between Zionism and Islam.

In the Iran-Israel armed conflict, the confrontation so far has mainly been between Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel then Iran proxy.  Now apparently, an element of restraint is missing in both sides in not restraining - the regional conflict but to enlarge into another world war.

India is rightly seeing in the post-Cold War era a multipolar world order and adopting the strategy of developing a relationship with all major powers based on mutually beneficial bilateral bonds that did not impede the cause of world peace and humanity. But this has become a foregone conclusion.  It is time for India to demonstrate its humanitarian superiority and oppose oppenly the destructive and inimical attitude of warring nations.

This is how India was able to call upfront for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Russia military conflict and the stoppage of Israeli action in Gaza to allow for human aid to the Palestinians exposed to extreme suffering.

India has been active in all major multilateral forums with the same approach including G20, BRICS, G-7, SCO, Quad, and ASEAN, and has been able to highlight the 'global commons' such as concern over terrorism and 'rules-based order' on the seas. It is timely for India to restrain herself in terming the entire Islamic world as the terrorists.