Can India Win a War With Pakistan?

Over the last few months there have been continued cease fire violations along the Indo-Pak border. Many believe that diplomacy with Pakistan has failed terribly. The 'patriots' in India want nothing short of a war with Pakistan. The question that arises now is, "what should be India's response?" Is war a solution? If yes, then can India win a war with Pakistan?

Why continued firing along the LoC?

There are several possible reasons for the continued firing along the LoC. Firstly, the civilian-army relationship in Pakistan is going through a terrible phase. It is an attempt by the Pakistani army to create insecurity along the border. This will help them gain public sympathy and support.
Secondly, the Pakistani firing is largely concentrated on civilian areas along the border. This is a part of an engineered strategy to provoke India to mobilise its troops and relocate civilians to depth, thereby facilitating an easy influx. Militancy in the Kashmir valley has reduced over the last few years. Maintaining a status quo in the influx can help the Pakistani Army and the ISI to revive the separatist movement in Kashmir. In short, the firing along the LoC is an orchestrated plan by the Pakistani Army to provoke India. The Pakistani army believes that it can take a risk of escalation in the back drop of its nuclear capability.

Is war a solution?

For a while let's keep the nuclear arsenal of the two countries aside. Let's not question the might of the Indian Army to destroy Pakistan. But will India benefit by defeating an established government in Pakistan? It will only throw Pakistan in the hands of radical Islamists and jeopardize India's chance of becoming a superpower.
Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India has an ambitious plan to become a global player. It is certainly not in the best interest of India to have an unstable, Iraq like neighbour. India can never win a war with Pakistan. War in itself would be the biggest defeat of India's national interests. In fact that is what Pakistan wants.

What should be India's response?

Firstly India needs to give a swift, effective and a very controlled response to the Pakistani provocations. Secondly India should expose Pakistan's nefarious designs in Kashmir and its boorish attempts to escalate tension along the border. Indian diplomacy has to pressurize the world to force Pakistan to mend its way. The Indian government also needs to speed up the reconstruction, relief and rehabilitation work in the flood affected Kashmir to make sure that the youths are not misguided by the separatist forces.
Diplomacy with Pakistan has to go on but India has to make it very clear that it wants peace but will not capitulate to such provocations. India must whole heartedly help Pakistan in humanitarian works like polio eradication and flood rehabilitation. If there is something that can help India in the long run, then it is a lobby in Pakistan that depends on India for profits.