On the Editorial "No War, No Peace"

I. Mallikarjuna Sharma

I strongly differ with your characterization that diehard pro-China elements in Indian communist movement defend China at all costs and that China has been consistently making provocative gestures at the LAC. I don't know about the former elements much, and they also may be of different sorts. But of the latter assertion it is patently wrong. The incident in which 20 Indian military personnel were killed including their on the front leader Santosh Kumar (incidentally from Suryapet, Telangana) seems to be preceded by another incident in which a Chinese tent was set on fire and another pulled down causing one Chinese officer and 7-8 Chinese soldiers killed or so and later it seems a counter-attack was made to drive out those who intruded and caused those losses and casualties - this is the version of the Chinese side. And then 2-3 days later the Prime Minister himself has gone on record saying there has not been any intrusion of Chinese forces or their crossing the LAC to the Indian side and both sides are talking to defuse the situation. Everyone knows that there are different contentions of where the LAC actually runs in that region (Galwan Valley) and so many precautions were taken on both sides as to the points up to which their respective forces - without arms or without use of any firearms - are permitted. Moreover, it is clearly laid down that if any party suspects that the other party violated, first they will display a banner regarding the same and discuss with the other side to defuse the situation. As such, one can only guess what might have actually happened. Secondly, the Chinese side has been very mature, moderate and conciliatory in all their statements and even refused to give out the number of their casualties (they have not done so to this day). Their rationale is that in case the number of Chinese casualties is less than those of the Indian side (which seems to be the real truth) then it will again pour oil into the fire of chauvinism rampant on the Indian side. In contrast to the Chinese mature conduct, we saw how the Indian media and people whipped up wild and belligerent chauvinism all along - even to this day it is continuing. Then you have entirely missed the point that the communal fanatic central government uses and tries to depict all such events to whip up or promote belligerency and chauvinism among people so that it would ultimately help its electoral and other chances and make it more popular, etc. 

I have always been saying that the entire border disputes with China should be peacefully negotiated - right from Nehru days India did not go for any negotiations and adopted an equivocal policy, to say the least (pleaser read: Brigadier Dalvi's "Himalayan Blunder", but more important, Neivill Maxwell's "India's China War", generally accepted classic on this issue, and if possible Bertrand Russel's "Unarmed Victory" - and with a liberal 'give and take' approach settled forever in the interest of friendship and peace between the two great and largest countries of Asia.

I. Mallikarjuna Sharma, Advocate, Editor, LAW ANIMATED WORLD

Nov 10, 2018