FPJ Edit: Leaders are tested in the crucible of such crises

FPJ Edit: Leaders are tested in the crucible of such crises

EditorialUpdated: Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 02:29 AM IST
article-image
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an All Party Meeting via video conferencing to discuss the situation in India-China border areas, in New Delhi on Friday. | ANI

The ongoing face-off with China has exposed the limitations of the Indian leadership. No two questions about that. Right from the word go, the situation arising from the Chinese intrusions was mishandled. The Government deluded itself that it could keep it secret. Given the military and economic asymmetry, nobody expected India to remove China with the use of force from territories it had taken by stealth since the 1962 war. But even the worst detractors of Narendra Modi were not prepared to believe that he would adopt a passive stance when the Chinese not-so-quietly encroached on our territory in circa 2020. The land-grab had begun in early April and continued till the first week of May. All this while, the Government seemed concerned with keeping the flagrant breach of the LAC under wraps than devising a strategy to drive out the aggressor. The Prime Minister came across poorly in this whole sorry mess. Globally publicised photo-ops with Xi Jinping seemed to have lulled the defence planners to take their eye off from the LAC. Ignoring China’s consistent record of perfidy and betrayal, stealth and double-talk, obfuscation and lies, and of a creeping annexation of lands and waters of countries big and small, the Indian leadership had once again been caught napping. ~Chalta hai~ culture seems to infect our armed forces as much as it does our civil services. Border intelligence was found wanting as usual. But even after the fact of the Chinese occupation had duly sunk in, the effort to downplay its betrayal continued. Prime Minister’s shocking statement to the Opposition leaders last Friday that there were no Chinese soldiers on the Indian soil was picked up by the Chinese to whitewash their aggression. The need to save face ought not to trump national interest. The longish clarification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs the next day blamed the media and the Opposition for ‘misinterpreting’ the statement. The fact is that it was a sign of weakness, a deep-seated anxiety to underplay the encroachment of the LAC and the continuing occupation of key areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8 in the Pangong Lake area lest it dim the sheen around his name. Modi seemed afraid to call out the devil by its name, hoping that it would somehow see reason and withdraw to its side of the LAC. Frankly, fear and weakness have informed India’s China’s policy all along. And it continues to be so to this day. This is not to suggest even remotely that we should pursue the military option. However, getting them to move out of the areas they have intruded into since early April has to be a priority. Building a national consensus to drive out the intruders ought to be the foremost task of the Prime Minister in this hour of crisis. The childish jibes of Rahul Gandhi can be ignored with the contempt these deserve.

But it is a happy sign that leaders of all other parties who attended the meeting last Friday unhesitatingly extended support. Instead of remaining in denial, the government should more often hold such meetings with the objective of building a national consensus for repulsing the Chinese aggression. The military build-up at the border must have a clear objective. Without building a war psychosis, it is important for the morale of the armed forces and the general public that we do everything within our means to remove the encroachers. Diplomacy is rightly given primacy. The proposed meeting of the foreign ministers of India, Russia and China in Moscow this week may offer an opportunity for S. Jaishankar to try and break the logjam. We must explore every forum to avoid armed hostilities in order to reclaim our territory, but, if all else fails, we must not rule out localised armed action while ensuring that it does not spill into a bigger conflagration which is in the interest of neither country. But, above all else, fear and pusillanimity should cease informing our border policy.

RECENT STORIES

Decentralisation Can Build Better Cities

Decentralisation Can Build Better Cities

Analysis: Elections Are The True Test Of Democracy

Analysis: Elections Are The True Test Of Democracy

Analysis: Crucial Questions About Navayuga And The EBs

Analysis: Crucial Questions About Navayuga And The EBs

Editorial: Too Few LS Tickets For Women

Editorial: Too Few LS Tickets For Women

From Mandir To Mandi

From Mandir To Mandi