Need to shift focus from border with Pak to that with China: Army chief
India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that with China, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Friday, cautioning that the country cannot allow its neighbours to drift towards China, virtually asking the government to effectively implement its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy.
The Army chief’s comments assume significance given that in recent past, China has been deepening ties with some South Asian nations and providing them with huge financial aid, which, some experts feel, may draw India’s neighbours including the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal towards Beijing.
China strong, but India is not weak
Stressing that India should shift its focus to its northern borders with China, Army chief Rawat said China is a strong nation but asserted that India is not weak either.
General Rawat for the first time talked in detail about the India-China stand-off on the Doklam plateau along the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China for over two months.
“China is emerging as a powerful country, though I will not call it a global power. But certainly, it has emerged as a regional power. It is becoming assertive. We understand China is a powerful country, but we are also not a weak nation,” he said.
In J&K some control over madrasas
Social media and government schools in Jammu and Kashmir are spreading a “disinformation campaign” resulting in radicalisation of youth, he claimed and called for “some control” over mosques and madrasas in the state.
He added, “If you go to any Kashmir school, you will find two maps - one is the map of India and one is the map of Jammu and Kashmir. There are always two maps in every classroom. Why should there be a map of Jammu and Kashmir? If you are putting a map of Jammu and Kashmir, then you may as well put a map of every state. So, the basic grassroots problem here is the way education in Jammu and Kashmir in government school has been corrupted,” said Rawat.
Ready to call Pak’s nuclear bluff
Rawat said the force was ready to call Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff” and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government. “We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff,” General Rawat said.