Red scare over India

While India had its fair share of trouble on the western frontier, our Northern neighbour China has not given us any breathing space either. The new emerging superpower of the world has through various gestures made its designs of hegemony over Asia more or less clear.

Its dangerous intentions become quite clear from an article posted on website www.iiss.cn, the new edition of website of China International Institute for Strategic Studies (CIISS), which is considered as being more or less the opinion of the Chinese establishment too. Author Zhong Guo Zhan Lue Gang stated that if China took little action it was possible to break the Indian federation into 20-30 independent states. For this, help of friendly countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal can be taken.

The article states that India relies on Hinduism for its concept of unity, whereas caste cleavages can be made use of to break the nation. Beijing can support organisations like ULFA to help Assam gain independence, as well as support Bangladesh to encourage Bengali community to break free of India.
This, the article states, would be in Chinese interest, and for the growth of whole of Asia.

This article was posted around the same time as the 13th round of Sino-Indian talks on border issues ended on a satisfactory note in New Delhi.

Increasing incursions
This was not the only element of surprise in China’s approach towards India that we had to tackle.

The month of August saw increasing number of media reports on intrusion of Chinese army into Indian borders, both in Leh and in the northeastern region. On August 28, Hindustan Times reported exchange of fire between Indian and Chinese forces in Sikkim. Surprisingly, while a defence official gave this information to the mediamen, defence ministry denied any such incidence. Similarly, there were reports of intrusion of Chinese helicopters into Indian territory in Leh, which again was played down by Army chief Gen Kapoor as “nothing new”. Coupled with a recent opinion piece in Chinese media on the need, and the possibility of breaking up India into smaller federations to serve Chinese interests, and its pro-Junta stance in Myanmar, these reports add fuel to the anxiety that China is encircling India.

But the question that mediapersons asked was, why did the Army, and the defence ministry play down this threat? One line of thought, that has gained currency even within the media, is that the intrusions have actually been hyped up by the media itself, and that these intrusions are nothing new. The other, contrary thought is that the Indian establishment is actually buckling, as it’s unable to fathom as to how to react to these increasingly threatening Chinese postures.  

Troubled waters, disputed land
India’s discomfort over increased Chinese activities along Indian border had barely got over when a fresh controversy erupted. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, that went to poll in October, drew stern response from China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said, “China expresses its strong dissatisfaction on the visit by the Indian leader to the disputed area… We urge the Indian side to take China’s solemn concerns seriously.”

Not just that, People’s Daily, considered mouthpiece of the Chinese Government, wrote a harsh piece on India, stating, “In recent years, Indians have become more narrow-minded and intolerant of outside criticism… Obsessed with such mentality, India turned a blind eye to the concessions China had repeatedly made over the disputed border issues.”

Foreign policy analysts wondered whether the harsh Chinese reaction was in view of India permitting the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal in November, or did it have anything to do with Pak PM Yousaf Raza Gilani’s visit to China, as the Chinese comment came 10 days after Dr Singh’s Arunachal visit, and on the day Gilani landed in China. In retaliation, India strongly opposed Chinese promise to Pak premier to assist in projects in PoK.

Meanwhile the state of Assam is increasingly worried that the construction of dam called Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet would leave the Brahmaputra dry in Assam. This issue has been a bone of contention between the two countries and has figured in discussions between the two countries earlier too.

While China objected to India testing Agni V, which India claims is only for minimum deterrence, India is now vying with China to build rail links in Nepal and Bhutan. While China has already been invited by Nepal to build rail links, the Indian railways has also commissioned Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) to conduct feasibility studies for six links with Nepal and three with Bhutan.