Ashok Bhan
What ever good estimation I had for Narendra Modi as our country’s Prime Minister, it has multiplied by a million times by his visit to Ladakh. I visit Ladakh where the oxygen level is far less than the national capital and take tablets to supplement oxygen and rest at least twenty four hours.Prime Minister Modi,despite age and health factor was seen walking like a youngster,meeting and greeting the army soldiers on the frontier and in hospital. A Prime Minister who has passion and conviction to lead the nation from the front,took the briefing of the ground zero on the ground itself. India is united at this moment of China-India stand off and is behind the PM to call the Chinese bluff both militarily and diplomatically.
Modi while paying glowing tributes to the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the Galwan Valley, said ,tales of their bravery and valour were echoing in every part of the country. “Your courage is higher than the heights where you are serving today… Not only me, the entire nation believes in you. We all are proud of you,”
“The era of expansionism is over”.emphasised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,who made a surprise visit to Leh on Friday,while addressing soldiers deployed on China border and the valour shown by our soldiers at Galwan Valley on June 15 had told the world about India’s strength.
Modi’s assertions are seen as a strong and direct message to Beijing after the June 15 clash with troops of China’s People’s Liberation Army, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the strategic Galwan Valley. Modi,accompanied by CDS and army chief made an unannounced visit to Ladakh to get first-hand information about the LAC situation.He was briefed on military preparedness by top Army brass, including Northern Command chief in Nimmu.
Ladakh is the head of the country. This is the symbol of pride for 130 crore citizens of India. This land belongs to the people who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice,” said Modi. Seeing women Army officers in the front row, the PM said: “I am looking at women soldiers in front of me. In the battlefield at the border, this view is inspiring.”India is obliged to maintain and protect its territorial integrity at all cost.
India’s unity, army assertion & diplomacy has worked with China immediately after Modi’s Ladakh visit. There is progress made on frontline troops taking effective measures to disengage and ease the tensions,”
“China said ,We hope the Indian side will move towards China and through concrete actions implement the consensus and continue close communication through military and diplomatic channels to jointly push for the de-escalation on the border region.
The reaction from China came within hours of Indian media reporting that Chinese troops had agreed to move back around 1.5 km from the area of friction in the Galwan Valley.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a bloody brawl with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in the Galwan Valley area on the night of June 15. China has admitted casualties on its side but has not revealed details.
The PLA “…has possibly moved back by 1 to 1.5 km from the friction site in Galwan Valley”, people familiar with developments
Indian PM maintained ,that China, was trying to change the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley, and without naming that country, said expansionism has always hurt world peace and history was witness that expansionist powers had either been defeated or had to retreat.
This is the era of development. The whole world has made up its mind against expansionism,” Modi said, addressing the soldiers at Nimmu, a forward Army base 35 km east of Ladakh’s capital Leh.He said India’s enemies had seen the courage of the Army’s Leh-based 14 Corps, also known as Fire and Fury Corps. “Our enemies have seen your fire and also your fury,” said the PM, wearing a 14 Corps cap.
Citing the Gita shloka Veer Bhogya Vasundhara (The brave shall inherit the earth), which is also the motto of the Army’s Rajputana Rifles, the PM said the weak can never initiate peace, as bravery is a pre-requisite. He said India was modernising its weapons, upgrading its infrastructure and enhancing its strength in land, sea, air and space warfare..
Nimmu, on the Indus’ banks, is surrounded by the Zanskar range at an elevation of 3,140 metres (10,300 ft), about 186 km short of Galwan Valley. The PM interacted with personnel of the Army, Air Force and ITBP. He also met Indian soldiers injured in the clash with Chinese soldiers on June 15 at the Leh Military Hospital. “We will never bow to any power of the world,” Mr Modi told the injured jawans. Modi also visited the Hall of Fame Museum, which is run by Indian Army in Leh. He paid tribute to the soldiers killed in action during Galwan Valley clash.
Earlier, it was reported that disengagement with the Chinese PLA has started as per agreed terms in the Corps Commander’s meeting. The Chinese are removing tents and structures at Patrol Point 14 — the place where the Galwan Valley faceoff took place. Rearward movement of vehicles of People’s Liberation Army is also seen at General area Galwan, Hotsprings & Gogra, as per sources.
Modi’s Leh visit is also seen as a message to his domestic critics who criticised his alleged weak approach towards China despite reports of its unrelenting aggression at the LAC and belligerence in the Galwan Valley. It is also a huge morale booster to the armed forces that the government and the people of the country are fully backing them.
The clear warning by the Prime Minister to China from the battleground shows India’s hard-hitting intention, while drawing the attention of several other countries in the region, who are facing similar problems vis-à-vis the Chinese. In other words, Modi has taken the lead, so as to become the rallying point for any anti-China front that could be forged by the affected countries, including Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Although Modi in his characteristic style, used the opportunity of identifying himself with his strong constituency, which shares his belief in nationalism, while concurrently signalling that there was little scope for de-escalation unless the Chinese post-haste pulled out from areas which did not belong to them.
Modi’s sudden visit and presence in Ladakh meant that the situation is serious than what it is thought to be, and the time had come to go in for concrete action.Military negotiations and diplomacy seemingly has so far made no headway. Most foreign policy experts believe that India needs to take a firm position for the Chinese to comprehend that they could not continue with their devious designs. Modi, precisely, has done so. His assertive stance in his address to the armed forces has conveyed India’s preparedness to face the enemy.
Geo-political think tanks opine,that the Government should have displayed a similar response several weeks earlier, when the Chinese had intruded into the terrain in the Galwan Valley region, completely disputing the possession of areas belonging to India. However, though a little late, this reaction would meet its objective and India shall triumph.
(The author is senior advocate Supreme Court of India and Geo political analysts)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Follow our WhatsApp channel
