Surgical strikes marked India's offensive stride vis-a-vis Pakistan

Experts also said that India had entered a new era of internet-enabled terror

Lt Gen (Rtd) Ramesh Halgali on Saturday said India has moved from its earlier defensive framework to offensive stride against Pakistan because the neighbour has continuously used its resources to destabilise the country through proxy wars.

"Pakistan has continuously used its resources to destabilise India through proxy wars. For over 30 years, Pakistan has been staging a proxy war against us. The reason we have thwarted it is because India is a strong capable nation," he said.

Speaking at a session titled "Terror proofing India" during the The Hindu's "The Huddle," an interactive event with personalities from different walks of life, he said in the past "We were working on a defensive framework, something which changed in 2016."

"For the first time in 2016, the international community got to know that India is capable of delivering precise strategic strikes capable of decimating Pakistan," he said, adding, "This thought of moving from a defensive frame to offensive requires India to gear up," he added.

Former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said talking of terror proofing was 'a great mistake' because the country has entered a new era of Internet-enabled terror.

"To talk of terror proofing is a great mistake. We have entered a new era of Internet-enabled terror," he said.

Narayanan said India had just woken up to the threat of "remote controlled" attacks, while security forces in the West were working mentally on this.

"Welcome to the age of remote controlled attacks," he told the audience, adding "where the perpetrators may be kilometres of miles away."

Asked how prepared India was for a cyber attack, cyber security Chief Gulshan Rai said, "We can't ensure 100 per cent security but we are trying to enhance resilience."

The State has the responsibility to strengthen security in the areas of capacity building, coordination at apex and functional levels, and legislation, former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Hormis Tharakan said.