Daily Times

India has a strange sequence of events to narrate but fails to explain as to what happened to Sino-India relations within a few months of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. When the things were really disturbing on Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian Prime Minister Narendera Modi said “Na koi wahan hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai aur nahi koi ghusa hua hai, na hi hamari koi post kisi dusre ke kabze mein hain (Neither anyone has intruded nor is anyone intruding and no Indian post been captured)”. This statement carried ambiguity, because the Indian news channels have already shown the damages that had been done at the LAC, besides statements of various Union ministers on the matter. Taking U-turn, Narendra Modi, who was not accepting any aggression from China, on 3rd July, 2020 while addressing the troops, said the age of expansionism is over, now, is the age of development. The policy of development is the foundation of mankind and is the only policy relevant today. History has witnessed that the expansionist policy has hurt humanity the most. Expansionist policy has always threatened world peace. History has witnessed that such forces have either lost or were forced to turn back. This is what the world has experienced so far and it has once again made up its mind against the policy of expansion. Modi further added that India would soon buy high tech war machines to further strengthen Indian army arsenal. He was apparently referring to Chinese aggression.

Much before June 2020, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had intruded into the Indian Territory by crossing the agreed line of Actual Control (LAC). Sino-India borders in this region of about 730 (out of total border of 4730 kilometres) kilometres have yet not been sorted out. Things were settled between two countries by accepting the LAC as a temporary border. The PLA has built some structures there for permanently positioning its troops. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on 19 June accused India of “unilaterally building roads, bridges and other facilities in the Galwan Valley region” and said “the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese’s side of the LAC in western section of the Sino-Indian border.”

Modi initiated the “Make in India” move in his first term but it is still in its infancy. Indian manufacturers do not have the knowledge and capacity to produce things at very low price at which China offers the daily needs items consumed and used in Indian houses

This is the same area in which on 15th June clash took place killing of 20 Indian troops. After the brutal clashes, talks for the disengagement of Chinese and Indian forces at the Army’s command level as well as the diplomatic level were started with earnestness to settle the border issue. After more than three weeks of hectic negotiations and discussions China has declined to vacate Finger 4 area, a strategic point.

The Government has still not disclosed to the nation how many kilometres the Chinese’s PLA has intruded into Indian Territory. All efforts on the part of India were to not to aggravate the situation to such a height where except war hardly any other option is left. Therefore, one needs to look at PM Modi’s first and second statement in that context.

Instead of accepting the intrusion of the PLA into the Galwan valley by capturing strategic sites, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leader ignoring the queries of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party president Sonia Gandhi, it attacked ex-Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru who lost some area plus strategic site Aksai Chin in 1962 war with China. Aksai Chin is a portion of the Kashmir region and It constitutes nearly all the territory of the Chinese-administered sector of Kashmir that is claimed by India to be part of the Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir state.

Both sides have deployed large numbers of troops and heavy armoured war machines on both sides of the disputed territory. Indian troops have been put on alert. But at the same time negotiations at the command level and diplomatic level have not been given up. Despite the fact that China is reluctant to vacate specially Finger 4 in Ladakh region, India is asking for.

If any leader questions the failure of the government and its foreign policy or asks how many kilometres Chinese troops have intruded into India territory one is dubbed as anti-national or demoralising the Indian armed forces. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was attacked for having taken Rs 25 lakh donation to Rajiv Gandhi Cancer foundation. This way gives the spin to other directions whereas Prime Minister Modi has accepted several thousand crores as funds to an account in his name Narindera Modi for fighting Covid-19. Many other BJP organisations have also received funds from Chinese companies. Most of the BJP ministers and leaders have reportedly shares in Chinese multinational companies. Even PAYTM and snacks and readymade food and snacks deliver Chinese companies having business of billions of rupees in which BJP leaders have shares. It can be said that suspending the services of 59 Chinese Apps is just a face shaving act, appearing to have acted against Chinese companies but those companies in which BJP leaders have shares are booming with businesses of billions of rupees in India. Chinese leadership, which has a vast experience of dealing with political leadership and doing business in the world, was aware as to how to cap the BJP leaders by corruption and by providing them shares in Multi-crore profit making companies. Therefore, let elite BJP leaders a peep into their mind before dubbing anyone who raises questions to seek facts about the development in Ladakh region is instantly dubbed by BJP ministers, its leaders and muscle- brigade as an anti-national and anti-armed forces, to silence them. The Chinese leadership understood the Indian leadership and it might therefore, they just hoodwinked them and crossed into Indian area by crossing LAC. It looks like a complete failure of the Modi government, its foreign policy as it failed to understand motives of the Chinese government and its top leadership.

Inside India, steps have been initiated to economically puncture the Chinese future entry into services sectors, I-technology, infra-structure, manufacturing and even to some extent in trading. India is already 40 billion US dollar deficit in trade with China which exports to India to the extent of 80 billion US dollar of goods electronic, smart and other low price categories of Chinese mobile, construction material, raw salts of India pharmaceutical companies, auto parts, and house of using items like crockery etc. China has already invested two billion US dollars in India and was on the way to invest another four billion in Indian infrastructure, Tele-communication, manufacturing sector. As first a step the National Highway Authorities have cancelled all the tenders in which Chinese companies were competing, same action has been initiated by Bhartiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co, which was on a way to get the G-5 high speed internet installation projected of multi-billion dollars with a mass base of 350 million subscribers, have also been cancelled to ward off the entry of Chinese multinational company.

Modi initiated the “Make in India” move in his first term but it is still in its infancy. Indian manufacturers do not have the knowledge and capacity to produce things at very low price at which China offers the daily needs items consumed and used in Indian houses.

Meanwhile, what would be more embarrassing for BJP leadership than facing Chinese aggression, despite the visit of Chinese president Xi, on the special invitation in response to earlier visit of Modi to China. Xi was taken to Gujrat and Sabarimala where he visited Mahatma Gandhi’s Ashrama. Xi was seen revolving the Mahatma’s Charkha and Modi standing on his side guiding him. Later on, at a public welcome to Xi a specially laid decorated Jhoola, both Xi and Modi sitting side by side on a two-seater Jhoola and swinging to the melodious tunes of Indian folk music and around the folk dancers in their traditional costumes in dhotis and turbaned matching their dancing steps and zig-zagging their curves.

The writer is a senior journalist and Indo-Pak peace activists