Be prepared for tough choices

Be prepared for tough choices

It would be wise to take Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India is wholly prepared to defend its territory seriously — very, very seriously. Defence of national honour and territorial integrity might be commonly shared interests of all political formations in this country, but are especially important to this Prime Minister and his party. To take a tough stand on Chinese incursions is absolutely essential to the credibility of the tough posture adopted via the air strike on Balakot inside Pakistan. That credibility is vital to the credibility of the rest of the ‘Modi Sarkar’ rubric. This is not rhetorical nationalism but a statement of serious intent. And the nation would rally round its leadership on the subject. The rest of the world, especially the Chinese, would do well to understand this, and so would the principal Opposition.

It would be wise to take the other part of the Prime Minister’s statement seriously, as well, that India is prepared to develop friendship if that is what is on offer. India and China are two ancient civilisations that have coexisted as neighbours without major friction for millennia. As independent nations in the modern era of globalised growth and shared challenges and responsibilities, India and China have much to achieve through cooperation. Friendship, however, is not smiling weakly while submitting to bullying. It must be made clear to the bully that friendship is possible only on the basis of mutual respect. India has every reason to do that, and PM Modi has a particular incentive. While India made China blink at Dokalam and the Chinese retreated, they prevailed on the Bhutanese, on whose behalf India had sought to intervene in Dokalam, and completed building the fortifications whose construction India had challenged. Modi is unlikely to be outplayed in this fashion again.

The Indian economy is not in a great position right now. But that would not, should not, rule out tough action where it is called for. What that will entail is greater resolve and sacrifice, which very few would grudge in the circumstance.