This Indian academic had predicted a 'major border confrontation' with Pakistan will benefit Modi before 2019 elections

NEW DELHI – India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned Pakistan that it "is on a path to its own destruction" a day after more than 40 people were killed in a bomb blast in the occupied Kashmir region.

On Thursday, a suicide bomber crashed an explosives-packed SUV into a Central Reserve Police Force bus in Pulwama district of held-Kashmir. The bus was transporting some 40 reservists in a convoy of 78 other vehicles.

While New Delhi is blaming Islamabad for the deadly blast without any concrete evidence and thorough investigation, people from inside the South Asian country believe the politics on Pulwama attack looks more of a pre-election stunt by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party’s leadership to boost its voters.

Ashok Swain, a professor of peace and conflict research at the Department of Peace and Conflict in Sweden, has said India shouldn't and must not get into Modi's manipulated pre-election war frenzy. “The desire for revenge makes people blind and leads to self-destructive actions. An armed confrontation, even if it fails to lead to nuclear holocaust, it will end India's democracy forever!” Swain posted on social media.

https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1096313869419536385

The Indian-born academic, who has since now received multiple death threats by radical groups in India, had in December last year predicted a "major border confrontation" with Pakistan which would benefit PM Modi before the upcoming general elections.

“Mark my word - In the next 5 months, Modi will smile more in public and will cry more in public. India should be also prepared for a major riot and/or a major border confrontation with Pakistan before the 2019 election,” he had said in a tweet.

Mr. Swain, following the Pulwama attack, took to Twitter to highlight that “Under Modi, not only terror attacks but also the death of Indian security forces has increased dramatically in Kashmir. The number of security persons killed in Kashmir - 47 in 2014, 39 in 2015, 82 in 2016, 80 in 2017 and 91 in 2018”.

https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1096142559598899200

A number of Twitterati equally voiced the belief that the deadly attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama district of India-occupied Kashmir will be twisted in favour of Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming polls.

It is 2018 and parties in india still win elections by bashing Pakistan. There are some serious problems in indian education system.

— Sam (@tweet_usama) December 12, 2018

Next attack might be on RBI reserve

— Together We Can (@urlivelyfriend) December 11, 2018

A state of emergency will be created and elections postponed!

— Vinay Prasad (@VPra52) December 12, 2018

More than riots small action on front and big projection by paid channels will help in image boosting and votes

— VPP (@paranjapevp) December 12, 2018

The Indian General elections, 2019 are due to be held between April and May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. Legislative Assembly elections in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir are expected to be held simultaneously with the general elections.