China-Transformation from Dragon to Python

China has always been referred as Dragon because of Dragon's involvement in many Chinese mythological stories and Chinese festival's,But in recent years,Chinese moves are similar to how Python attacks it's prey.Python lurks in a clandestine manner and when ready, swoop in on the unsuspecting prey by rapidly using it's teeth to seize the animal.It then proceeds to coil the prey's body preventing breathing from continuing, and therefore triggering suffocation. This constriction promptly kills the animal. When the animal breathes out, the python's grip gets more and more severe until the animal stops breathing.

China is encircling it's prey-India by developing Commercial ports at Seychelles, Gwadar, Karachi, Colombo, Hambantota, Coco Island and Sittwe.It will in future double up as Chinese Naval Base.Last year, Maldives sold the Feydhoo Finolhu island to China.We have failed to influence countries like Sri Lanka ,Maldives,Myanmar in leasing out their ports to China.Last year, Maldives sold the Feydhoo Finolhu island to China.China constructed road in Gilgit-Baltistan which is technically our territory for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to link China’s Xinjiang to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port,Today China can transport crude oil supplies from Gwadar to Xinjiang.Similarly China has invested heavily in constructing new pipelines to transport gas and oil overland in Myanmar in order to ease it's dependency on Straits of Malacca where in 2016, approximately 80 per cent of China’s oil imports and 11 per cent of natural gas imports transited, with a Myanmar-China gas pipeline completed in October last year.Defense experts routinely talk about our country's armed forces prepardness to fight two-front war when in reality it will be a multi-front war.

India has always been the quintessential soft state. We are unable (or unwilling) to project power beyond its borders, even in our own neighborhood.Our historically timid foreign policy has ensured that we evoke neither respect nor fear among our neighbors. Despite our enormous size, we are  unable to influence or shape our external environment to suit our country's national interests.However the recent standoff at Doklam where our troops crossed into Bhutan and stopped China in it's tracks is a rare show of spine.Though the situation was diffused diplomatically,the truth is we have lived to fight another day and make no mistake,War will come to our doorstep, if not today then in a decade.It is perhaps our lack of strategic planning that we have failed to evolve a consistent, long-term policy towards China which is a upcoming superpower.The Chinese are slowly becoming the regional hegemon. Just like how before 1962 war,Chinese started 'Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai' propaganda and then followed it by humiliating us in 1962 war,China has consistently back-stabbed us and like always we have always acted foolishly whether it was formally recognizing Tibet as a Chinese territory or whether it was declining a United States offer to India to "take the permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council" around 1953.Not only we rejected this golden offer but our then PM suggested China for the same which they grabbed it with both hands.China exercised the same veto power by blocking a bid at the United Nations by the US, France and Britain to list Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant group, as a global terrorist.The same Maulana Masood Azhar whom we had to release in exchange of our hostages of Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC814) Hijacking.The same China has been fomenting terrorism, insurgencies, and separatism in North-East India and the so-called “red corridor” since the 1960s.In the below attached pic Naga separatist leaders can be seen at the Great Wall of China, 1960s.  

China also claims South China Sea as China's Sea at the same time it declares Indian Ocean is not India's Ocean.When it comes to hypocrisy the Chinese today will put even Americans to shame .China has evolved from an impoverished slumbering introvert to deep-pocketed mercantilist with economic interests across the globe.And in this process it is rapidly building blue-water navy to protect it's Sea Lines Of Communication (SLOC).Recently it commissioned it's Naval Base in Djibouti where Half of China’s oil imports sail through the Mandeb Strait, the choke point off Djibouti that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Since India also depends on Gulf for it's crude oil supplies China in future with it's Naval Base in Dijbouti and port like Gwadar,Hambantota where today Chinese Navy makes port call can potentially block off our oil supplies at it's own timing.As Commerce with South Asian and East Asian nations accounts for around 45 per cent of India’s foreign trade,In order to secure our  Sea Lines Of Communication (SLOC),our government has signed a bilateral agreement that will allow Indian Navy ships logistical support, including refueling, at Singapore’s Changi naval base located near the disputed South China Sea,we will have to secure similar deal in Gulf in order to have dominance over China and thwart off China's evil design.

Economically as well as in Military might China is far more powerful than us.In order to stand up to China's belligerent and bullying strategic moves we need an alliance like NATO.Apart from India,China has territorial or maritime disputes with most of it's neighbor's including Japan,Philipines,Vietnam and Malaysia.In 1971,Indian government brilliantly foresaw the benefits of an alliance with the erstwhile Soviet Union which resulted in signing of  Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation because of which Soviets then sent their Naval Fleet and were able to thwart off American 7th fleet threat.We can no longer rely on Russia blindly when it comes to China because Russia sided with China in ensuring that Pakistan does not get isolated globally. At the 2016 BRICS summit in Goa, Russia did not back India’s demand to name two Pakistan-based terror groups as perpetrators of terrorism against India, thereby shielding Pakistan from censure.Also recently owing to growing Indian Military hardware purchase from USA,Russia supplied 4 Mi-35M attack helicopters.Today we need a treaty like  Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation with USA,because only USA today can save us from China whenever it makes its move.

Human-shield:Crime or the Way Forward

Ever since Omar Abdullah tweeted photographs and video of an Army Convoy using an apprehended stone -pelter as a human-shield,many so called human right activist have been venting out their anger on social media and News channel debates.It has  now come in the open that the company commander -Major Gogoi had to rush to a polling station after receiving call from ITBP &local Police.They were surrounded by a mob who was about to lynch them.

Despite being in such an extreme pressure situation,Major Gogoi kept his nerve and with intention to avoid killing the stone-pelters who were baying for his and his troops blood,he took the decision to use one of the stone-pelter as a human shield.

Instead of commending Major Gogoi,people like Omar Abdullah are raising hue and cry over the tactics employed by the Major.

People like Omar Abdullah live under the blanket of freedom provided by Indian Army.Instead of being greateful to IA,these people question the manner in which IA provides it.

Garrisoned in a hostile environment far from home,our troops give their prime years in the security of our nation and when they retire they are labelled as a burden on exchequer and denied their rightful pension due,this despite Army personnel start retiring at the age of 33.

When it comes to our country,there are many Omar Abdullah's,who want Army to maintain law and order but when the same Army use strong arm tactics they are the first one to protest.

Many veterans who served in J&K during it's worst years have been voicing this human shield incident as wrong on the part of Major Gogoi.Their line of arguement is-by employing strong arm tactics against stone pelters we are playing right into the hands of seperatist and their masters across the LOC. To some extent this may be true but this is easier said than done.Employing too much restraint has it's negative impact also.The mob becomes more belligerent and will get more emboldened like what happened last week when one of the protester slapped a CRPF jawan.Such incidents brings down the moral of the troops.

Some Veterans may say that incidents like using human shield negates the goodwill reated by ARMY through it's people engagement programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna which 2 years ago established 46 schools in Kashmir.Also,in the past 5 years more than 7,800 youths of Jammu and Kashmir have embarked on educational and national integration tours sponsored by the army.These trips are aimed at providing them exposure to the development in the other parts of India, the new educational opportunities, other cultures and religious sites that demonstrate the secular character of the county, India's constitutional institutions and heritage sites.Operation Sadbhavana is not only a tactical or strategic maneuver of the army but it was also a resolve by men in uniform to come closer to the populace and develop a bond of mutual faith and trust which a soldier enjoys across the country.

Winning Hearts and Minds” (WHAM) activities had an impact in influencing a hostile populace to a more neutral position. The concept emerged during the early years of the insurgency in the Northeast, when units deployed in those areas undertook small scale civic action programmes such as holding medical camps and providing basic goods in remote areas. The small gains manifested into bigger employment of resources by the Army as the protracted insurgency had led to a complete breakdown of government machinery and people were denied basic facilities in terms of health care and education. The Army’s presence and assistance thus had a positive impact on the minds of the local population.

Though such programmes made the difference in North-East ,it is unlikely to help end the bloodbath in J&K.There are many reason for this.

People like Dr Farooq Abdullah often tells on TV,peace in Kashmir can never be achieved withouth talks and composite dialogues with Pakistan.Though 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan and gradual thaw in bilateral relations further brought down both the violence and the infiltration levels. But once the talks collapsed in 2007, a new form of resistance — mass protests and stone-pelting — emerged.And it will never end if we don't deal with Pakistan,the way we should deal with it.

People like Dr Farooq Abdullah and many other Indians don't realise,the reason Pakistan sponsors terrorism in Kashmir is to avenge it's humiliation of 1971.They started with Punjab and when we effectively supressed the Punjab Problem,they shifted it north to Kashmir.

The reason Army's people engagement program won't work in J&K because young Kashmiris are being fed on a diet of blood and shahadat.They have been emboldened by the lack of resolve of any government in Delhi to tackle -Pakistan.The bitterness in Local population is driven by purely driven by primordial religious difference.From nearly a quarter century the valley has been ethnically cleansed of its minority Hindus.Such people who kill innocents in the name of religion can never stop their gruesome crimes howsoever well executed programmes such as Operation Sadbhavna will be.
Such people can never be won over.

In any town,village or city if people should have any fear.It should be fear of the law.When the local population itself turns into goons,the forces will have to take unconventional steps.And that's what Major Gogoi did.

Pakistan-You reap what you sow

Yesterday 13-February-2017,Lahore was rocked by a suicide blast which according to latest News report took life of 16 people.4 hours later another city Quetta was also rocked by bomb blast which took another 2 lives.Immediately on Twitter scores of Pakistanis started blaming India for yesterday's attack.If Pakistan truly wants to prosper then it's citizen should get rid of this herd mentality.

To solve any problem,the first mandatory step is to acknowledge that there is one.There is a very popular adage-'You reap what you sow' and today Pakistan is the biggest example of it.But we all know the Pakistanis will never learn.They will continue to use asymmetric warfare to further their strategic needs.The world powers will just continue to act as spectators,just like how they did during 2001 Parliament attack in New Delhi and worse did nothing even after 26/11.The reason for this indifference is that Pakistan sponsored terrorism is a money minting machine not only for Pakistan Army Top Brass but also for American Arm companies.Pakistan Army Top brass continue to show that without military aide their nuclear arsenal runs the risk of being captured by terrorist and this precise reason is used by American policy makers to give military aide to Pakistan which is a boon to American Arm companies.

On other end we have China which cunningly vetoes proposal at UN to designate Masood Azhar a terrorist.The same China seeks regional and global support in it's fight against Uighur terrorists.China’s double standards reinforce the fact that Indo-China counter-terrorism cooperation,which both declared jointly in November 2015 is rhetorical, with no real substance in it.

This teaches only one thing,We have to fight this menace-Pakistan all alone.After URI attack in which we lost 19 soldiers we retaliated in a right note in all spheres.Militarily surgical strike was the retribution attack for URI,Diplomatically we boycotted the SAARC summit in Islamabad, leading to its postponement because we were able to convince several other nations to pull out of the summit.But like always we have always faltered in diplomacy.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)  is one of the  organisations promoting Pakistan's ongoing showpiece Karachi Literature Festival (KLF). ICCR is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people.This is nothing but an insult to those 19 soldiers we lost in URI and an insult to all the soldiers we lost after URI Attack.God only knows why of all the literature festival,ICCR chose 'Karachi Literature Festival'.There is nothing wrong in what West calls we Indians-Fools.The people of Pakistan hate us to the core.And this hatred is because of their humiliation in 1971 war.And it is that revenge that they have been unleashing on us.It started with supporting and financing Khalistani movement and when we had crushed that movement they just shifted their treacherous strategy to further north-Kashmir.It is for this reason they bred snakes in their backyard to bite us but you cannot just breed snakes in your backyard in the hope that it will only bite your neighbors,someday it will also bite the one who harbored it and that's what happened in Lahore.