Operation Retreat! The guns fell silent, but the microphones haven't

Operation Sindoor is in pause, but Operation Mudslinging has kickstarted and the players aren't sure when and where it will end. The beginning has, however, sown the seeds of an ugly battle ahead.

While armed forces launched Sindoor quite discreetly, there was no such application when verbal and pictorial missiles were unleashed by political parties against each other. If the military aimed their projectiles at enemy positions, the political actors trained their guns on opponents.

It's interesting to note that every partisan shot is being countered with equal precision, but there appears no winner. In geopolitics, enemies can turn into frenemies and even friends, but in Indopolitics, once an opponent, always an opponent, with no possibility of convergence of ideas or perspective.

India's outreach to Afghanistan's Taliban government can be starkly juxtaposed with the vitriolic relationship between the ruling BJP and main Opposition Congress, clearly hinting that life on the home front is as tense and combative as on the war front. What's surprising is that India and Pakistan achieved "cessation of hostilities" just after a few days of deadly attacks, but the inhouse opponents are in no mood to call a ceasefire. A serious predicament!

What's the way out then? Regular meetings and get together can be genuinely helpful. Although Parliament sessions give politicians an opportunity to come under one umbrella, the environment is generally stiff and full of bickering. What they need is an abode of peace - a retreat:

a) Where there is fun and banter

b) Where they get to show their other skills

c) Where there is no baggage of personality

d) Where there is sharing and caring

e) Where there is no social media, TV or any other external stimuli

Whoa, that will be huge! Such a sanctuary, once a while, may help politicians and their fellow travellers to learn to draw a line. War of words may still continue, but Operation Mudslinging could come to a halt.