Book Review by Ramesh Tamiri

Abhinav Pandya’s – The Jihad Game: Inside Pakistan’s Dark War – published recently, is a book long overdue. It stands as perhaps the finest work on the terrorist challenge in Kashmir since 1990. Earlier books on the theme—such as Manoj Joshi’s The Lost Rebellion (late 1990s), Sati Sahni’s journalistic Kashmir Underground, and Praveen Swami’s India, Pakistan and the Secret Jihad—suffer from significant limitations.

Pandya’s book belongs to an entirely different category. It could only have been written by someone who has studied cross-border terrorism in Kashmir at ground level in meticulous detail, had insights into decision-making processes for confronting it, and possessed the courage to expose flawed perceptions and repeated state blunders.

Pandya’s credentials are impeccable. His prior works—Radicalisation in India (with a comprehensive Kashmir chapter), Terror Financing in Kashmir, and Inside the Terrifying World of Jaish-e-Mohammed—demonstrate deep expertise in the study of jihadist terrorism. His brief stint as an expert advisor to the former J&K governor Satpal Malik further provided firsthand insights into ground realities and the imperatives of effective decision-making.

Pandya paints a horrifying picture of Kashmir’s ground situation. Given the dysfunctions of our system, he forecasts a grim future unless there is a total paradigm shift in handling the challenge. Crucially, he argues that the very instruments the state relies on to fight terrorism end up worsening the situation. He provides enough evidence on how subversive networks operate, and the actual role of the Jamaat-e-Islami, regional political parties, and double agents.

For years, the NDA government touted “normalcy” in Kashmir as its unique selling point, relying on inadequate statistical models of measuring terrorist challenge, surging tourist arrivals, and a compliant media. Yet events like the Pahalgam massacre, the Red Fort blast, and prolonged encounters in the state have shattered these claims of a collapsed terrorist infrastructure. Nationwide, people now question the government’s decision-making, leaving the Modi government on the defensive.

This raises a deeper puzzle: How has Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism persisted for nearly four decades, despite India’s military, economic, and resource superiority as a regional power? Is the problem a visionless political class, a state apparatus that ignores expert advice and ground realities, or both?

Pandya answers these questions with clinical clarity, tracing the perpetuation of terrorism to three major flaws:

Mischaracterising the conflict: The ruling political class, security bureaucracy, and diplomatic corps have refused to view it as a jihadist war, treating it instead as mere geopolitical in nature. This fallacy, pervasive across the political spectrum and bureacracy, has fuelled repeated strategic blunders.

Ignoring internal subversion: Reluctance to confront subversion in all its forms has prevented the dismantling of terrorism’s support structure. The tactical use of Jamaat-e-Islami has proven counterproductive.Short-term fire-fighting cannot replace uprooting the jihadist infrastructure.

Absence of political will and long-term vision: This has led to opportunistic policies and major strategic blunders.

Pandya substantiates his indictment with ample evidence and offers a clear blueprint on how to confront the challenge on a longterm basis. Yet he remains skeptical about whether the political class and security establishment will embrace the necessary paradigm shift.

Wrong policies reverse only under two conditions: starkly changed ground realities demanding an uncompromising response, or overwhelming public opinion. In this context, Abhinav Pandya’s The Jihad Game could prove a game-changer, testing our national resilience.