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OTHER STORIES RELATED TO COVER Operation Salami Slice Operation POK Chop

If that happens it will involve tank battles, submarine warfare and air battles extending from Siachen to Gujarat and the Arabian Sea. The "PoK chop" will bring the Indian Navy into the battle. India's sole aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, and the missile-firing Kilo-class submarines will be pressed into operations. The navy's targets will be Karachi, Pasni and Gwadar harbours with its Jaguars and carrier-launched Harriers attacking the coastal formations.

GETTING READY: Indian jawans in nuclear, biological and chemical weapon-proof suits conduct exercises in the Rajasthan desert

However, the chances of exercising such an option by June end are limited because it could take a month. The army would want some cushion to ensure success. Since a full-scale war will hamper the air movement of US troops operating from Pakistan on the Afghanistan and anti-Al Qaida flush-out along the Durand Line, this option may put Indo-US relationship under strain. The international community and the UN may intervene because of the possibility of nuclear strikes. To scare other nations into holding back India, Pakistan was all too keen to raise the nuclear bogey last week. Lt-General (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, a senior minister in Musharraf's cabinet, openly stated that Pakistan would use the nuclear option "if its existence as a nation was threatened".

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GENERAL SPEAK A clutch of former brass give their options V.P. MALIK: Hold your fire for now The former chief of army staff, who led India to victory at Kargil, supports military action yet doesn't want India to be reactive. Wants a strike only when India is fully prepared. Says Malik: "The problem for an attack now is that we have lost the element of surprise. Don't forget it took the US a month to strike back after 9/11." V.N. SHARMA: Big noise or nothing The former chief of army staff believes India should use massive force on small targets across the LoC. He argues that Musharraf does not have the guts to nuke India because that may lead to Pakistan's obliteration. "We should not be afraid of conducting a full-fledged war if Musharraf wants to expand the fronts," he says. VINAY SHANKAR: No holds barred The former director-general of artillery is in favour of a shock offensive if there is time. He believes a PoK chop operation may be viable after September but if India can't wait it should do the salami strike. Says Shanker: "We must pick up as much territory in the offensive and then use it as a bargaining chip against Pakistan." A.Y. TIPNIS: Air action is the key The former chief of air staff believes that air strikes across the LoC is the most effective plan as it would inflict the greatest damage in the shortest time. But unlike in Kargil, he wants the air force to cross the LoC. Says Tipnis: "India should not dither lest its military credibility is seriously dented." KAPIL KAK : Don't picket fence The former air vice-marshal is a staunch advocate of the salami slice option as he believes that it has the best yield with least risks. But he says India should not indulge in a knee-jerk reaction. Says Kak: "It has to be a carefully calibrated offensive to make sure that we are not crossing Musharraf's threshold." V. R. RAGHAVAN: No, not now The former director-general of military operations believes India should focus on ensuring the Kashmir elections are conducted and then launch an offensive. "If we do it now the elections would go for a six and we will lose international sympathy. Pakistan may rally behind Musharraf and our gains will be minimal," he says.

Meanwhile, there were indications that India was actively considering the two strategies. Although it went largely unnoticed, the joint army-air force firepower exercise at the Mahajan firing ranges in the Suratgarh-Bikaner sector on May 21 could well have been a rehearsal for a salami slice operation. Witnessed by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Army chief S. Padamanabhan and Air chief S. Krishnaswamy, the exercise code-named "Operation Parakram III" was to judge the military's strike potential. Not only did a range of Indian Air Force fighters participate in the exercise, but the Indian artillery also scorched the Mahajan ranges with 155 mm and 130 mm high explosive shells in the mock "fire assault".

As part of a broader plan, India moved its warships under the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam to the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command. Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain, who visited Washington for the Defence Policy Group meeting last week, conveyed the need for the Indian and US Navy to identify coded links so that the two navies do not have any misunderstanding in case Indian warships move towards Karachi port.

Cabinet Secretary T.R. Prasad last week called secretary-level meetings to take stock of the petroleum, diesel, and foodgrain stocks to ensure that people do not suffer if and when India goes for the military strikes. According to senior officials, India has petrol and diesel stocks to last for more than 71 days, while it has aviation turbine fuel for another 102 days.

In his haste for action, however, Vajpayee did ignore some of the tenets of Baron Von Clausewitz. The famed Prussian military analyst wrote that the decision to go to war should be based on a "golden trinity of factors": the competence of the military, the will and clarity of the government and public and international support.

Despite the harsh lessons of the Kargil war, the past three years have only seen an incremental improvement in the Indian armed forces' fighting strength. Key equipment such as gun locating radars have still not arrived. Intelligence, which failed massively during the Kargil intrusion, is still suspect and most of the changes are cosmetic. Vajpayee too has been considerably weakened because his party suffered a series of setbacks in the recent assembly polls and the poor handling of the Gujarat crisis saw his image plummet.

Worse, the Government is only now trying to garner international support. Vajpayee has shot off letters to US President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair talking of how India may now be forced to "take the ultimate step". But most countries are still asking why now instead of why not. When once asked what the biggest asset he had during the Kargil war was, General Malik answered in one word: righteousness. While key countries are sympathetic towards India and feel that Pakistan has to do "something", they still believe that the stage for war has not been reached.

Nothing seemed to galvanise an ambivalent US Administration as Vajpayee's threat. A senior US official had an old metaphor for Vajpayee's decision to make his threat to Pakistan credible: driving a car full speed against Musharraf's vehicle, then before the point of impact, throwing out the steering wheel to indicate he wasn't going to swerve. The last thing the US wants is a subcontinental war that will, as a State Department official profanely put it, "screw our interests completely" by unravelling its coalition against terror.

Bush got his senior cabinet colleagues to burn the phone lines between Washington and Delhi. A cavalcade of leaders from Europe then paraded to Islamabad and ostensibly admonished Musharraf.

The US too is expected to put a bunsen burner under Musharraf to get him to behave. Next month, the no nonsense US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is expected to do some tough talking with the Pakistani president. The US will warn Musharraf that it will no longer allow him to use its forces as "a shield for his shit". And that if push comes to shove, Musharraf may well find himself on his own in a limited war with India.

Last week India said it would pull back from the brink only if Musharraf brought a significant reduction in cross-border infiltration and closed 70 terrorist camps in the PoK.

Indian policymakers believed that given his dismal track record Musharraf would only do "a lot of temporarising" to delay an Indian action. Later, he is expected to weasel out of any iron-clad commitment. They think Musharraf doesn't have the character and the gumption to act.

India now seems poised to fire the first shot. It will certainly not be the last. The next few weeks will see the military drama unfold with many acts and curtain calls.