But Desai says the situation can be salvaged through a show of unity. ``The smart thing for the government to do is to call in the various opposition leaders and militaryexperts and sit down with them. They should be consulted on future strategy for India's sake. This would send the signal out that here is a government backed by all sections of Indian society and resolute when it comes to fighting for the nation's sovereignty,'' he says.Geetanjali Ayar, vice-president of Corporate Voice Shandwick, however, believes the government knows its PR and ``is doing a good job of it''. In particular, Ayar says the daily armed forces media briefing is excellent. ``Also foreign minister Jaswant Singh has fixed a time when anybody from the diplomatic corps can walk in and check out the latest facts about the operations. This will help create an air of transparency,'' she says.

There are some areas though that Ayar feels can be improved. One is better utilisation of the DD-International channel. ``Its main target audience is NRIs if they have correct facts and figures. Another area where Pakistan may have an edge is in communicating with the Americans. Though US ambassador NareshChandra is doing a great job, he can be helped with reinforcements in the diplomatic cadre. We need media-savvy diplomats,'' she suggests.

Dilip Cherian, consulting partner, Perfect Relations, feels that just diplomatic initiatives are not enough. India needs to be more aggressive in terms of utilising the media. ``We should use this as an opportunity to project our position on Kashmir. In image terms, the effective use of the press, television and the Internet should have given an official edge over everybody else. But it has not been done so far,'' he says.

An effective communication strategy needs agility, strategy and knowledge of ground realities, according to Cherian. ``Agility can only come with a knowledge of media realities and the vested interests involved. The PR manager should be fully aware of the kinds of biases that certain publications and channels may display. Once we have a grasp of the ground realities, we should strategise on the implementation. We should know who our enemy is, incommunication terms. Agility will follow naturally. If a certain position does not suit us, we should immediately change our position. But in a government set-up, that is like turning an elephant around,'' he avers.

Therefore, Cherian suggests the setting up of a centre outside of the formal structure of the government. He says, ``We need a think-tank that can be a nodal point of action. The National Security Council could be a good platform.''

All three PR chiefs agree that the lack of cohesiveness among government representatives while speaking to the media is one area that needs to be changed for the better. ``The government needs to put its own house in order - make sure that everybody speaks the same language. Then you can go on and talk to others,'' says Desai.

Cherian thinks that getting every one to speak the same language is very difficult. ``The government should have one strong view, in the absence of which, all the components of the view get importance. For instance, we need to play up therole of Afghan mercenaries in the US. Another simple step would be putting out a lot of information in the media on the LoC,'' he suggests.

But in the government's zeal to send out the right signals, it must not curb freedom of speech. In fact, it should make that its USP. ``We should reflect that it is a democratic process that decides policy issues in our country, unlike Pakistan, which has a military soaked bureaucratic complex,'' says Ayar.