More recently, let us look at our responses to the protests that have broken out in Tibet and the Tibetan demonstrations in Delhi, Dharamsala and elsewhere around the world. Agreed that when living in a glass house we ought not to throw stones at our neighbours, but the neighbours must also understand the wisdom of this proverb. Sometimes practicing ‘do unto others what they do unto you’ is an effective way to convey a point. So why are we shying away from taking the position that we are a democratic country and our constitution gives the right of free expression and speech to its people. Our laws permit peaceful demonstrations and protests. Thus while we try and ensure an uninterrupted passage of the Olympic Torch we also allow people to display their unhappiness to coincide with the procession. Why are we trying to convey the impression that we are bending over backwards to address the concerns of the Chinese Government.

We certainly want good relations with China. It is in the interest of both countries to cooperate and prosper rather than have an adversarial relationship that would inevitably tend to have a negative impact on economic growth and social development. But we forget that unbridled appeasement never works. Merely because China’s growth story has a decade and a half’s head start does not mean that we cannot catch up. Even if we do not expect to bridge the gap in the foreseeable future, we can still retain the capacity to defend our interests through a combination of defence preparedness and some deft diplomacy. A close look at the military equation would reveal that with some focussed effort and without incurring excessive expenditure the balance can be altered to dissuade the Chinese to back off from their present levels of arrogant belligerence. While on this issue we should also take note that given the growth trajectory of both countries — as also national aspirations — the fallout of any military confrontation will hurt the Chinese more than it will hurt us.

... contd.