Walter Scott, the English poet whose verse on patriotism is drilled in our minds in school textbooks, "Breathes there the man, with soul so dead/ Who never to himself hath said/This is my own, my native land!" has also written equally memorable lines that often echo these days, "Oh, What a tangled web we weave/When first we practise to deceive!"
The context is the shocking ‘brawl’ that broke out on the roof of the world between Indian and Chinese soldiers deployed on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on June 15 resulting in 20 fatal casualties on the Indian side and many more injured.
The Chinese side has not confirmed any loss of life on their troops may have suffered. The strangest part is that now the prime minister has assured the all-party meet that ‘no one has intruded, no one has occupied our territory and no Indian soldier has been taken prisoner and a befitting reply has been given to those who dared to cast their evil eye on Mother India’.
One is left wondering than ‘who was given a befitting reply and who had dared cast a malevolent look at Mother India? How did 20, no less, officers and men make the supreme sacrifice without a shot being fired? Till the PM’s statement, high-ranking, supposedly responsible, spokespersons were telling the nation about the SOP for engagement at the disputed LAC and how soldiers were instructed not to use firearms. Both sides were expected to abide by the ‘gentlemen’s’ agreement signed many times over.
As the nation paid tearful homage to heroic martyrs, details dribbled in about ‘unarmed combat’ that had raged at altitudes so high that even taking a step becomes unbearable exertion. No one was left in any doubt that the Chinese had betrayed Indian trust once again, leaving India smarting with a bloody nose. The Chinese official statements and the mouthpiece like Global Times reminded Indians rudely and repeatedly that they should desist from provocative patrolling violating the LAC.
All analysts, Indian and foreign, agree that the hostilities after a period of 45 years mark a tipping point in Sino-Indian relations. Whatever spin one puts on this clash, it is difficult to produce a yarn that is not blemished by manufacturing defect. Concerned patriotic citizens can’t help being reminded of the movie No One Killed Jessica.
Alas, it is impossible any longer to avoid the dragon in the room. Indian warships have been despatched towards the Straits of Malacca to signal to China that its expansionist drive downwards to Indian Ocean can’t continue unilaterally. Our Air Chief has also reassured that our aviators are prepared for any contingency. Blowing hot and cold in the same breath doesn’t hurt the adversary, it can only erode government’s credibility.
BJP/NDA has never lacked motormouths suffering from the foot -in-mouth disease. A minister at the Centre, no less, suggested that Indians should boycott restaurants serving Chinese foods. Such laughable strategic thoughts don’t deserve to be dignified by comment. However, the government itself lost no time in announcing that it was cancelling a multi-hundred crore contract awarded to a Chinese company by the Indian Railways. It ordered BSNL not to use Chinese equipment to upgrade 4G services and advised the private players to do the same.
The reactions of Indian entrepreneurs and industrialists were not very reassuring. They admitted that the recovery of Indian economy would become much more difficult if imports from China were banned/restricted. It’s well known that 14 percent of our imports originate in China. Our dependence on that country for pharmaceuticals, auto parts and ancillaries, telecommunication equipment, plastic and heavy machinery is considerable.
Dream we may of self-reliance but that dream will take years to realise. In the meantime, the real threat that lurks is that China can use its economic/trade leverage to exert additional pressure on us. Even President Trump who has declared a trade war on China is finding it impossible to disentangle from China totally; for India the task is much more complicated.
This isn’t the time to point finger at short-sighted leaders, experts in economics but practically illiterates in history and politics who painted India into this corner There are times when it’s best to admit mistakes and make mid-course corrections if required rather than try airbrushing a dark spot that threatens to blemish the leader or government’s image. This is not 1962.
Not everything can be dismissed as fake news or conspiracy hatched by treacherous Indians—Libtards, Chinese or Pak agents, Urban Naxals and the Lutyens’ Khan Market Gang. It’s become almost impossible to divert people’s attention by constant distractions. India is reeling, like every other country in the world, big or small, under the coronavirus attack.
Our economy is confronted with unprecedented challenges. Glib slogans and slick acronyms can’t stop the slide towards the precipice. Now, if nothing has happened, why are fellow Indians being exhorted to gird themselves, rally round the government and support the brave armed forces to defend the Motherland?
(The author is a former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and can be contacted at pushpeshpant@gmail.com)