Abstract
Pakistan’s reliance on proxy warfare under a nuclear overhang has defined India–Pakistan security relations for over three decades. Conventional asymmetry has encouraged Pakistan to employ terrorism, irregular warfare and information operations while exploiting the stability–instability paradox to constrain India’s conventional options. India, in turn, has moved from prolonged restraint towards calibrated coercion, including Surgical Strikes (2016), Balakot (2019) and Operation Sindoor (2025).
This article argues that interpreting India’s behaviour as a binary choice between moral restraint and coercive Realpolitik is inadequate. Dharma and Realpolitik are complementary principles: ethical legitimacy can coexist with a calibrated coercive statecraft. Examining Pakistan’s strategic paradigm and India’s responses since Independence, the paper contends that a dynamic Dharma–Realpolitik synthesis can impose costs while preserving escalation control, international legitimacy and regional stability.
Keywords: Indian Strategic Culture, Pakistan, Proxy Warfare, Stability–Instability Paradox, Nuclear Deterrence, Dharma, Realpolitik, Operation Sindoor
