India's neighbour almost succeeded in initiating another war in the subcontinent. An India provoked in the aftermath of the suicide attack on Parliament was ready-and is still ready-to defend itself against radical Islamists, whose combat with civilisation has become the defining force of evil in the new century and whose sponsors have become masters of diplomatic deceit. Pakistan as sponsor of jehad and its ruler as patron saint of certain jehadists is conventional wisdom. India knows it intimately. December 13 was an invitation to war-India's just war. It didn't happen. India didn't want a war, true. If war is the only option, India is prepared. For, whatever be the means, India has to win, and winning without a war is a display of national strength and resolution. Through military mobilisation and diplomatic offensive, India is winning leaders and influencing nations-and sabotaging the geopolitical stereotypes of South Asia. Most significantly, the General across the border-the so called American ally against terrorism but essentially a master manipulator of situations and a professional in half measures-is feeling the heat. India has given him a chance to be honest.

Travelling this far is no small achievement, and going by India's record in global diplomacy, the moment is particularly satisfying. For, in the department of diplomatic lobbying Pakistan has always been more effective than its democratic neighbour, wiser but poor in communication skills. Suddenly it is changing: India is heard, its position is appreciated and nations are listening. Post September 11, India had positioned itself as a natural ally in any war against terrorism, but Pakistan's positioning as a "useful" ally won the day. Post December 13, Pakistan's double game became too transparent to be ignored and India made sure that it was not ignored by the international community. An endorsement of the Indian position from Washington, currently the headquarters of the war against Islamic terrorism, was crucial. Home Minister L.K. Advani's American mission achieved it. His forceful expression of the national will was the kind of diplomacy India was missing for a long time. And for once, there is a perfect balance between diplomatic means and military option. What is more, Delhi has not rejected General Pervez Musharraf's declaration of glasnost. He only has to prove that he is more than a man of words.