It has taken the country several decades to revise her defence policy in the context of her relations with China. At Bandung Conference in fifties India had felt over confident with her proposal of ‘Panchsheel’ or five principles of good neighbourliness, which the participants endorsed. It was a high watermark of sticking on to moral and ethical principles in international relations. It was this wishful thinking that made the then Prime Minister of India rebuff his army chief who had come to him with an expanded proposal of modernizing and upgrading the Indian army to suit her future defence needs in the eastern and western borders. In a simplistic fashion Prime Minister Nehru had then admonished his army chief by saying him that nobody was going to attack India and the country did not need even the armed strength that she had at that time.
Nehru did not survive the shock of attack by China across our eastern border in 1962. That is history. But more shocking is that more than four decades down the line, our country made only feeble attempts to insulate her eastern borders against a formidable rival who has, during these years, not only modernized but specifically perfected her infrastructure of roads, railway lines, air strips, bridges and military logistic close to our border in the east. Not content with that, contingents of PLA have been making occasional forays into our side of the LAC in Arunachal and Ladakh, intimidating our border security personnel and laying exaggerated claims to stretches of land. Despite considerable restraint by our country, China is continuing her hostility against us and thus forcing us to revise our border policy with her.
Military and civil experts in the country have been advising and even warning the government that it has to change its strategy of defending borders with China keeping in mind that China has a long tradition of physical expansion by grabbing as much of land as she can beyond her borders. It was a Himalayan blunder on the part of New Delhi to let Tibet go into Chinese hands unopposed. Emboldened by that act of highhandedness, China, ever since, has been coveting Arunachal and Ladakh to satiate her thirst for expansion into Indian territories. Double speak is an art in which few countries can beat China.
It is gratifying that after long wait and debate, the Government of India has finally decided to develop a matured, well-considered and realistic frontier policy towards China and Pakistan by increasing manifold her defence-offence capabilities on the ground. A country of the size and stature of India needs to have reasonably adequate deterrents to thwart nefarious ambitions of our detractors on the borders. The raising of a new Strike Corps, the 17th Corps of the Indian Army at a cost of Rs. 65,000 crore equipped with IAF multiplier assets besides armoured and artillery divisions raised at Ranchi in Jharkhand and ultimately stationed at Panagarh in West Bengal is the most welcome news we have had in decades so far. The force is also planning to procure ultra-light howitzers, light tanks and helicopters to be deployed along the LAC to strengthen Indian positions there against the backdrop of the major military infrastructure modernization on the Chinese side. The Army and the IAF have also plans of deploying ballistic and cruise missile units in the north eastern region and have also activated several helipads and air fields for its aircraft and choppers to operate in the north eastern sector.
Securing our borders is a belated move. Nevertheless it is a right move in the right direction. Repeated Chinese and Pakistani intrusions along our borders in the east and west have created an impression with them that India is a weak state or that she has not the will to protect her borders. This wrong impression needs to be dispelled. We are aware that the defence ministry has a similar plan for protecting India’s western border also and that will be launched at its proper time.
We have had a bitter experience of trusting our unpredictable neighbours who are now in a tandem of sorts to threaten our borders and hinder our economic progress. We will have to understand and subscribe to the axiom that if you want peace be prepared for war. India is against war because it destroys indiscriminately. But India cannot be complacent about the security of her borders especially knowing that her two big neighbours are unrelenting in their hostility towards us. Our leadership has to understand that it cannot stretch the patience of her people too much. Let nobody have any doubt that India will not allow an inch of her land to be taken away be it Arunachal or Kashmir. The entire nation is solidly behind this much-awaited move of the Defence Ministry.
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