bad neighbour
| Date :18-Jun-2020 |
THERE should be no hesitation in calling China a bad, treacherous neighbour. There should be no hesitation in stating the obvious that in the past, many visionaries have warned the nation against China’s unpredictability. There should be no hesitation in telling ourselves a million times that we are dealing with wrong people when we tackle the Chinese. There should be no hesitation in admitting that Beijing appears hell bent upon demolishing all the good work that has been achieved in the past some years in building better, smoother, sensible bilateral ties between China and India.
There should be no hesitation in stating the obvious again that the fierce scuffle on June 16, 2020, became an unexpected, sudden eventuality because the Chinese soldiers attacked the Indian troops when they went to initiate rapprochement. And there should be no hesitation in verbalising the common Indian emotion that the Indian soldiers paid the Chinese back in their own coins, in the process killing scores of their troops. Of course, India will never forget the 20 brave-hearts who laid their lives in supreme sacrifice while asserting the national sovereignty and integrity. Each of those men has done Mother India proud. Each of those men has made every Indian’s chest swell in immense gratitude that he laid his life to keep everybody safe.
May their sacrifice ignite many more Indians ready to follow in their glorious footprints if the need be! May their souls rest in peace -- and assurance -- that their supreme sacrifice will always trigger the right emotion in every Indian heart and mind! The June 16 incident -- and many similar incidents with greater or lesser seriousness in the past several years -- however, has proved one point beyond doubt, that China is one neighbour we must never rely on for right conduct. For, whatever goodness we -- India -- showered upon them, the Chinese have often proved our good will, our good faith, our good conduct wrong -- and even unworthy.
The June 16 lesson teaches the Indians one simple, straightforward lesson that they may have to revisit their relations with China and may have to redefine those in newer reference to context. Political adversaries of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi may have some questions to ask, some issues to raise. But such objections have little sense, little substance, little thought. For, they -- the adversaries -- refuse to think cogently beyond small-time politics and infer that the Chinese have created for India an untenable condition by any standard. In fact, at this critical juncture, country’s political community must realise that India finds itself perched at a critical precipice that may lead to a national emergency in the time to come. In such an atmosphere, the fundamental duty of all Indians is to stand together as One Man! In the next few days, the scene may get changed altogether, so much that we may not be able to recall what existed until late.
It is not possible and it is not proper to talk about war. No cultured, civilised country would ever entertain such a thought. But wisdom tells the Indian nation to be wary false friendship, fake camaraderie, frightening sweetness, feigned gentlemanliness! In the next some time, we may have to face with any situation defying logic. Yet, nothing stops us from praying and hoping that things would get sorted out when our national leadership takes next thoughtful steps.
But even as those efforts are carried out, let us Indians assure our Armed Forces that everybody stands together with them, shoulder-to-shoulder. No matter who is on the other side of the divide, we will stand united and unified. The Chinese need to be taught a tough lesson -- with courage, with tact, and of course, with appropriate national pride.