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INDIAN army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi’s recent provocation, asking Pakistan to choose whether to remain part of “geography or history”, has once again exposed the contradictions that continue to define India’s policy towards its western neighbour.
The statement came barely days after an unusual chorus seemed to be emerging within sections of India’s strategic and ideological establishment, one that seemed to be creating space for engagement with Islamabad. This led many to believe that New Delhi’s political ecosystem was quietly preparing domestic opinion for a limited thaw with Islamabad.
The signal came not from the government directly, rather from its ideological forebears, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with its General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale arguing that doors for dialogue with Pakistan should not be permanently shut.
The remarks were striking because they came from the ideological nerve centre of the broader ‘Sangh Parivar’, at a time when official Indian discourse has become increasingly securitised after the 2025 conflict with Pakistan.
