Political / World

Checkmated in Chinese Checkers!

The Chinese duplicity ,the savagery of the mortal combat, the loss of 20 precious lives and the bold-faced lies that followed are all a product of Modi’s misinformed, misguided and ruinous policy playbook. Modi’s foreign policy in particular is akin to a three-legged horse partaking in an equestrian competition! There is but only one possible outcome. The disastrous results of this policy in the past in Arunachal Pradesh and Doklam should have foreshadowed the Galwan valley debacle. Yet we were caught with our pants down again! That said, I would in fact argue that since independence, Indian peacetime foreign policy has been myopic and the foreign policy apparatus anaemic. It has been more reactive than proactive and even then the reactions have been feeble and unimaginative.The fact that waves of Chinese diplomatic corps started descending upon the African continent like swarms of Locusts a couple of decades or so ago and began bribing politicians (ruling and opposition alike) and officials of all hues to curry favour while their Indian counterparts were sleeping at the wheel throws into sharp relief the absence of any coherent foreign policy. These Chinese diplomats began pumping in money (loans) and manpower to build up infrastructure across the continent in exchange for unfettered and almost exclusive access to the mineral and natural wealth. In large part, the spectacular success of the Chinese economic growth story (trade amounting to $150-200 Billion and 1/3rd of China’s oil coming primarily from Angola) and by extension its military heft have been fashioned on the back of this brilliant diplomatic blitzkrieg. Nothing is more emblematic of the efficacy of Chinese foreign policy as the fact that the very loans the Chinese had made out to the Africans initially were subsequently waived off in return for deeper leverage (read quasi ownership) over the governments. The Chinese have also been quicker off the blocks than their Indian peers closer to home. Their ‘all-weather’ friendship with Pakistan was strengthened by virtue of its overt investments in that country’s infrastructure as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and more so by  its covert support to anti-India activities.  They have also flexed their economic muscle as well as expended a lot of their geopolitical capital on improving their rapport with the Sri Lankans, the Maldivians, and now the Nepalese allegedly as part of its strategic India encirclement policy. The bungling buffoons over at the South Block with their repeated gaffes and acts of hubris with respect to our smaller neighbours have in effect rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese to walk right into our backyard. With all the apparent successes of Chinese diplomacy, the Chinese with the unmistakable streak of expansionism under Xi Jinpeng’s leadership had made more enemies than friends. This fact though was never exploited by the Indian diplomatic cadre as the Indian Prime Minister was busy appeasing his Chinese counterpart! To sum it up, Modi thought he was in game of Chinese Checkers until Xi checkmated him!

The Galwan valley is strategically priceless. Indian troops backpedaling and not seeking reinstatement of the status quo ante not only sends out a clear message of resignation but also emboldens the Chinese to mobilise deeper incursions into Indian territory that much more easily. This will ultimately afford them the opportunity to swiftly cut through Ladakh and join up with the Pakistanis in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) in the event they plan a tag team double whammy! The Chowkidaar-in-chief has on his watch not only surrendered this strategic advantage to the adversary but also lied through his teeth about it to save his skin. Another indirect casualty of the constant lies and deceit of this government is the credibility of the Indian Armed Forces. In living memory, never before has a shadow of doubt been cast on the actions of the armed forces in this brazen a manner as has been the case post Pulwama. Another catastrophic consequence has been the gigantic trade deficit that smothers us today and which has allowed the Chinese to take us hostage as we are almost completely dependent on them in several sectors. Even ‘best friend’ Trump at least has had the cojones to take the Dragon on in that regard! But this perhaps just isn’t the Param Aatmanirbhar’s cup of tea!

Yet his followers continue to blindly parrot propaganda fed by the IT cell of his party about how the LAC and LOC are ‘technically’ different in a bid to obfuscate. They would also like you to believe that the parts of the Galwan valley that China has recently encroached were already Chinese controlled and so all the hue and cry is completely misplaced! If the ignominious surrender by our government by way of Modi’s speech yesterday wasn’t enough, the army of  traitorous trolls busy normalising the ceding of territory to China is an absolute disgrace. Those who engage in the reprehensible act of dishonouring the memory of the 20 brave-hearts who had to sacrifice their lives at the colossal altar of absolute stupidity of the wannabe Father of the Nation are only throwing a match at a tinderbox!

Speaking of, on this Father’s day, let it be known, there was, is and will always be one Father of the Nation. Yes, he was from Gujarat. But his name was Mohandas not Damodardas!

A closer examination of the prevailing state of affairs would reveal the fact that we don’t even have a semblance of political opposition left to challenge the Pradhan Sevak and his deleterious policies . He has a free rein absent a system of checks and balances by virtue of the absolute majorities he enjoys in parliament as well as for the fact that a large section of the media outlets whose job it is to keep the government honest have sold their souls and now only do their master’s bidding. The independence of the judiciary has a massive question mark on it as well. Maa aaur beta on the other hand have been holding the Grand Old Party hostage for ages now and are as obsolete and worthless today as my 2001 Nokia cellphone. The rest of the regional satraps are merely parochial feudals who just can’t seem to look or think beyond their own fiefdoms. The few brave ones amongst us who dare speak their minds in protest are summarily labeled as traitors, slapped with charges of sedition and packed off to jail without bail I might add. An economy on ventilator, the sovereignty of a nation in jeopardy and a government hellbent on cheating its own people in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Such is the sorry state of Indian democracy in 2020.

Fun Fact: The game of Chinese Checkers was invented in Germany!

1 thought on “Checkmated in Chinese Checkers!

  1. Very thoughtful and nicely penned together. Keep up writing great articles Manoj !

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