TALKING SHOP Neighbours

India faces an unprecedented and unrelenting melee at its borders — China, PAKISTAN, BHUTAN, NEPAL… THE LIST IS growing. Some of our friendly neighbours ARE SUDDENLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY FLEXING their muscles, and baring their fangs; write &

Let’s talk defence, especially as India today fights off an unprecedented and seemingly-concerted melee at our borders — with China, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar. The list is growing. Some of our smaller and alwaysfriendly neighbours are suddenly, simultaneously flexing their muscle and baring their fangs. Even our protectorates are. This has precipitated a strident response from India, especially as television and social media news channels pepper us with graphic images, incoherent and raucous reports of India’s military might getting squeezed. And then we have numbing visuals of body bags heading to Indian homes and villages… After a long, long period of peace.

Our response? In more peaceful times, we entered into an agreement to purchase 36 Next-generation Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aerospace Limited for around US $8 billion (around Rs 60,000 crore) to prepare for the future. More recently, we stuttered and stammered to get 21 MIG 29 fighter jets and 12 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI aircraft from Russia for around US $800 million (around Rs 6,000 crore). The latest deal is the now-promised before-time delivery of five regiments of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile systems for US $5.43 billion (somewhat less than Rs 40,000 crore).

That’s an over Rs 1-lakh-crore spend over the next year when we can ill-afford it. An economy in tatters, crores upon crores jobless, industry sector after sector dying a sudden death… And most of 135 crore people petrified of stepping out of their homes for anything but what is necessary for daily survival. Let’s face it. Neither India nor anyone else, including China, is going to war anytime soon. This is no time for bravado or one-upmanship. Prepared we must be, but grounded we need to be.

DISTRACT. AND WIN

So we are readying our armoury. Right. We are getting power-boats for deployment on Pangong Tso in Ladakh, even as news of further Chinese détente in the Galwan Valley filters in. What has changed? Well, globally-cornered China, thanks to its global gift of perhaps the worst pandemic the world has seen, ever, is now striking back. In the only way it knows how. Ironically, China should be on the backfoot, appealing to and appeasing the powers that be. But nay. China is petulantly snarling. The dragon is spouting fire when it should be burnt out and spent. At least recalcitrant and apologetic.

History holds out a possible explanation. In ancient Afghanistan, a game called Buzkashi might show the way. The game, which somehow evolved into the gentleman’s sport of polo (best exhibited by Sylvester Stallone in Rambo), is one of tactics and subterfuge. This ancient game, still played in the steppes of Herat in Afghanistan and in China, loved by the Caucasus and the tribals, involves warding off the competition and making off with the prize – typically the carcass of a goat. What Stallone did in the movie with the miserable, poor has-been goat is what India is up against today. A cruel mix of subterfuge and distraction. While the crowds and onlookers cheer and throw their Pakol and Chitrali caps in the air, Stal

lone makes off with the carcass. China is trying to do the same. The real fight is elsewhere. Today, the focus is on Galwan Valley; Pangong Tso; Depsang Plains; PP-14, PP-15 and PP-16; Finger 4 through Finger 8. Each day, the momentum shifts. And while our soldiers get martyred and we cook our own meals and mop our floors in Covid-19maybe homes, walk for kilometres and buy vegetables and daily essentials, some others ordering from Swiggy and Zomato (as do normal civilized citizenry), the Chinese machinery marches on, relentless.

PLA PLAYING BUZKASHI

Let’s cut the history out and move on with the present. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is playing Buzkashi with territories and aggression all across its physical borders. With 18 countries, no

less. EIGHTEEN!

Japan. Vietnam. India. Nepal. North Korea. The Philippines. Russia. Singapore. South Korea. Bhutan. Taiwan.