The much maligned Jaswant Singh of the BJP, in his book titled “Defending India” published in 1999, with sadness warned the nation that India’s management of Sino-Indian relations has been a dismal failure and the nation continues to pay the price for it. In 1950 India fought with all its strength to seat China in the Security Council putting it in a position to veto even legitimate protection India may need for its security and survival. China is a nuclear power and has proliferated nuclear technology and weapons to India’s traditional foes. It has swallowed vast stretches of Indian territory and is feverishly trying to grab more. We have lost our nerve and our response is silence of the lambs being led to slaughter.
Ten more years have passed since the warning was published by a responsible Minister of the Government of India. As of today China has assembled massive military forces on the defacto border. Its army has indulged in arrogant incursions into Indian territory at least once almost every month. They deliberately leave, only to insult and annoy us, tell tale evidence of their visits. Cigarette packets, empty cartons of food and even cases of bullets fired are left strewn all over. In Chinese language, they have put markings on stone boulders proclaiming – “This is China”. For sometime it was foot soldiers of the Chinese infantry that indulged in these provocative actions. Now mounted troops have joined them. In May last year at a meeting of officers, the Chinese openly laid claim to part of Sikkim. They have often laid claims to Arunchal and rudely objected to President Prathiba Patil’s visit to Tawang. Vast infrastructure projects are in operation and roads are being constructed right into Arunachal.
But our Government is busy downplaying all these provocative activities. Just a couple of days back a Journalist Manu Pubby asked our Home Minister about the Chinese irritating acts of trespass. In his answer the Minister spoke instead of the poor reporting by the Indian Press which claimed, may be mistakenly, that some of our soldiers had been killed in the skirmishes. The Minister’s answer was plainly evasive. Fortunately the protocol of the interview did not seem to permit any supplementary questions. I mean fortunate for the Minister:
Our armed forces by contrast are concerned at the smugness of the civilian authorities. The Air Force Chief complains that we have less that 1/3rd of the Chinese air strike power. The Naval Chief announces that the naval power of the Chinese is vastly superior to ours. The figures of the two armies should remind us of the humiliating defeat that we suffered in 1962. Some perceptive citizens are rightly in panic and recall the disaster, that the credulity and criminal negligence of the Nehru Government inflicted upon India. It is not the purpose of this article to advocate war with the Chinese Dragon. What I advocate is that repetition of Chinese aggression of 1962 is highly probable. We are lucky if it is not imminent. We must get ready to counter the threat and summon to our help all the soft power we can commandeer.
Mao-Tse-Tung, the creator of Communist China has left a will and testament for succeeding communist administrations. “Tibet” he said “is the palm of the hand which has five fingers – Ladhak, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan and NEFA, (present day Arunachal)”. These areas must all be liberated and absorbed into China”. It is foolish to imagine that Chinese leaders have abandoned this dream or rejected the will of their supreme leader. The way China is building up its military power far beyond the needs of legitimate defense is almost conclusive proof of its hostile designs on Indian territory and our national integrity.
China is a nation on the move as millions of rural people leave their villages and get into the cities looking for work. It is estimated that about 200 millions have left their home villages in search of work in cities around China. It is the largest migration in human history. Pushed by the timeless poverty of the country side, this army of migrants is now fuelling the economic boom that is putting cheap toys, clothes, Television sets, computers and consumables of all kinds on the shelves of the world stores. After Chairman Mao’s death in 1976, his successors have discarded the Marxist economic model and have adopted a unique brand of man-eat-man capitalism, officially mis-described as Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Today Chinese GDP is three times bigger than ours, its foreign Exchange reserves are six times bigger and its annual growth is 15% against our measly 5%. This new found wealth produces
arrogance and aggression far more vicious than in 1962. If you don’t believe it ask the Uighars of Xinjiang, the survivors of Tiananmen or the harmless Falungong. As China’s wealth grows, and so does it’s fire power, Mao’s five finger hand becomes easier to grab. Moreover we have done nothing to make them even suspect that we are less unprepared and stupid than we were some five decades ago.
Soon after Pandit Nehru became the Prime Minister of India, he called a Conference of Asian Political leaders. It was a grand affair. India-China friendship was its conspicuous feature, but significantly the flag of independent Tibet proudly flew along side that of China. In less than four years, Tibet lost its independence and was forcibly annexed by the Chinese. Its conquest and forcible occupation were completed in 1959, when the Dalai Lama and his small band of followers escaped and sought safety and refuge on Indian territory. While we did grant asylum to the refugees from Tibet, we shamelessly acquiesced in its unlawful annexation, an unintended effect perhaps of Panchsheel and Hindi-Cheeni Bhai Bhai slogans.
The palm was taken but the fingers yet remained to be twisted and mastered at some more propitious time. But the nibbling at our borders continued. The whole world could see it so did Pandit Nehru’s Government. But he was too embarrassed to take the people of India into confidence and share the dangerous truth with them. Aggressive actions of the Chinese were not even clandestine.
They put across their claims to Indian territory in written communications to our great Leader. Whether the whole cabinet knew of them is debatable. But what is indisputable is the fact that we did not make any serious effort to halt the march of Chinese arrogance and show of force. Time came when we could not just witness the provocative challenge and put up a benign smile on our faces. When concealment became impossible, a confused Prime Minister pretending to have power which he did not possess, insanely declared “I have asked the Indian army to throw out the Chinese”. This thoughtless command was issued from Madras airport while the great leader was in transit to Colombo, his destination on that occasion.
We suffered disastrous defeat. Never has India suffered such humiliation. The Parliament passed a resolution accusing the Chinese of immoral ingratitude and wanton aggression. “The flames of liberty and sacrifice have been kindled anew and this house affirms the firm resolve of the Indian people to drive out the aggressor from the sacred soil of India”. Pandit Nehru knew that this too was just plain rhetoric. No wonder he died a broken man, his credulity badly exposed, his Chinese policy and Panchsheel in shambles and his life’s work ending in smoke.
No successor Prime Minister has ever dared publicly to recall the promises made to the people or take some sensible steps to fulfil them. Smt. Indira Gandhi without quid pro quo, restored full diplomatic relations in 1976. Mr. Vajpayee returned from China only
to tell the nation that both sides had realized that the issue was intractable. It would naturally take long to resolve. It was best to put it on back burner and instead concentrate on other matters, of course of no relevance to the pledges of 1962. The youthful Rajiv Gandhi in December, 1988 only managed to set up a working committee of officials of both countries to discuss issues relating to the boundary dispute and to prepare the ground for resolving them, another semantic fraud. In the 90’s, Prime Minister Narshima Rao chloroformed the nation with a Treaty of Peace and Tranquility which suited only the Chinese. Even a ferocious Tiger that has filled its belly retires to a corner of the forest to have a peaceful snooze to digest its prey. The NDA and the UPA Governments have since seen how the Chinese wealth and military force are growing and our influence in the power centers’ of the world fast dwindling. It is not just panic that makes sensible people apprehensive of possible Chinese attacks on the northern and north eastern sections of our border. Our trusting Pandit Nehru proved a disaster, can we trust Dr. Manmohan Singh now ?
Yesterday I attended for a while, a seminar in Delhi organized on this very matter by Dr. Shyama Prasad Research Foundation. Brilliant galaxy of scholars, writers and experts in the field of foreign affairs had been put together. The concern and anxiety on the faces of all were evident, so was the search of some credible solution. I could not wait at the seminar for long and what I write here are in
brief my thoughts which I wanted to express but could not for lack of time and opportunity.
First, let me repeat I do not suggest a war with China. Our membership of United Nations and adherence to its Charter puts it out of the list of available alternatives. Secondly we are bound by a constitutional commitment under the 51st Article of our basic law to eschew war as an instrument of foreign policy. Thirdly, the same Article mandates that all international disputes should be resolved by the pacific method of arbitration.
We must, therefore, loudly proclaim our peaceful intentions and desire for a honorable and urgent settlement. Arbitration is the best method of resolution. International tribunals are available for this purpose. In 1947 we determined the boundaries of Bengal, Punjab and Assam by appointing a commission of three judges who did a remarkable job. We graciously accepted its awards and no difficulty of any kind has arisen since then.
Let us be clear that our weaker economic and military position in any event should put armed conflict out of our thoughts. The Charter however permits defensive arrangements between nations. We must endeavour to have such defense treaties with friendly democracies of the world. The US, the European Union, the Commonwealth countries, Russia and Japan are candidates for forging with them bilateral or multilateral alliances. This is nothing but practice of the old doctrine of the Balance of Power, a dominant
principle of successful diplomacy for more than two hundred years. When a powerful state poses threat of aggression and war, the only solution is a coalition of other powers who individually are not strong enough to stand up to the aggressor. We had a treaty of the same kind with the Soviet Union once. Let us then offer Arbitration to the Chinese. If they reject it, India will have strengthened its moral case and created reliable friends to fight on our side. Will Foreign Minister Krishna care to ponder?
RAM JETHMALANI