If there is an SMS poll on ‘who is running the country?’ the way TV channels do, the maximum replies would be ‘it runs by itself’. Nobody would accuse Manmohan Singh of doing it, in any case. And truthful too. On a daily basis our borders are violated by our western and eastern neighbours and neither the Defence Minister nor the Prime Minister has deigned to respond. Not even the usual melodramatic statements like we will never let anyone violate our borders.
And the sad joke is that China is angry that these incidents are being reported in our media. Look at the list of LAC violations. In the past few weeks, the Chinese Red Army violated international borders in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Leh and Sikkim. The government has denied that two ITBP jawans were injured in firing by the Chinese soldiers in Sikkim, probably with the idea of underplaying tensions. This was the first violation with weapons by China since the India-China treaty in 1996 not to use weapons, whatever the provocation. It should also be remembered that China had summoned its officers on Indian border to Beijing, probably for a briefing on irritating the Indian side. India has a 4056-km border with China.
Last week the Chinese men entered the Indian borders and wrote ‘yellow river’ in Chinese on the boulders. Though it was reported in the Indian media, with photographs, Beijing blatantly denied it, and expressed anger over the Indian media. That China is trying to provoke and is hoping for some reaction from India is clear. But what is surprising is the meekness of India’s response. It was Army Chief Deepak Kapoor who first spoke about it openly, in a way breaking an unwritten protocol.
On the western side too, Pakistani soldiers have been firing rockets into the Indian territory. Several rocket pieces have been picked up by the defence personnel and the public. In this instance too, the government has chosen to keep mum.
Nepal, a nation traditionally friendly to India, has started making threatening noises under the Maoist pressure. The government is allowing anti-India sentiments to grow and is deliberately seeking to shake hands with China, which is looking to expand its territories through means fair and foul. If Tibet was taken over demographically, Nepal would be swallowed in friendly smile. It would pose fresh dangers to India geographically, strategically, politically and culturally.
It is not our case to indulge in war mongering. But the government should in no uncertain terms warn our neighbours off our borders. If there are consequences to their actions, they must be reminded that they would be faced by both sides. India will not be a silent victim, whatever be the might and buildup on the other side.
No doubt, Pakistan, Nepal and China have been emboldened to carry out these border violations because of the lack of strong political leadership in Delhi. Even a proxy nation like Pakistan is playing cat and mouse with us, more so after the 26/11, especially enjoying India’s reaction to it. That the UPA handles terrorists with kid gloves and soft pedals the issue of terrorism has been written in these columns several times. No self-respecting government would house and feed terrorists as if they are state guests-Afzal Guru and Kasab are prime examples. The provisions of legal protection do not apply to illegal foreign nationals who go around killing our citizens. The best we have done till now on terrorism is to go crying and complaining about Pakistan to its patron and benefactor America. Our Home Minister was there recounting through the list of woes.
When the NDA was in power, it made China finally accept officially that Sikkim is part of India. But under the UPA I and II defence and foreign affairs, the two sides of the same issue have been reduced to a department-level functioning. If China could summon our ambassador there, a lady, now our Foreign Secretary, in the middle of the night for a talk down, India could at least show some guts and summon the Chinese ambassador and give a talk down and let the world know about it.
