Interviewed on Modi trip to China May 2015

1. Do you think Modi is abandoning the old approach to China? Nitin Gadkari’s scheduled meeting with Dalai Lama was called off just before the PM’s China visit. India is also keen not to include Japan in the upcoming Indo-US naval exercises in Bay of Bengal. Are these precautionary measures aimed at looking at China beyond boundary dispute? --Nehruvian era bonhomie between Buddhist leader Dalai Lama and his followers and their hosts in their adopted country is not yielding anything in economic terms. Moreover it does not cut any ice in development of either. Therefore Modi being born in free India has jettisoned even proverbial humanism. Moreover the verve and enthusiasm of early 1960s utter aamchi utter seema inch inch ladvoo the martial song of that time says we will fight for every inch of our land and recover it. All that has evaporated vis-à-vis Pakistan. Even election 2002 in Gujarat was a matter between fight between Modi and Mian Musharraf. That overriding passion aroused by Modi paid rich dividends without his knowing that China, and not Pakistan, is the greater threat. In his TIME interview of May 2, 2015 even Modi goes beyond the unthinkable. He says that no bullets are fired across the Indo-China border. The carefully thought out strategy is that trade with China would turn in favour of India. This is unthinkable as our markets are inundated with Chinese goods with easily buyable price tag for ordinary Indians. Another strategy of Modi is what he calls direct dealing with China without athird party mediation. He does not take the name of Pakistan who helped Dr Henry Kissing to take the road through Pakistan to China and facilitate President Richard Nixon to visit the Asian giant and establish diplomatic ties and detent between their countries. 2. Do you think Modi has been a weak PM in dealing with China? Last September when Chinese President visited India, there was a reported incursion by Chinese army. What do you make of it? --Modi is desperate to show people at home that his mantra of development would result in economic gains which it is not producing. We are not so entrepreneurial as the Chinese to produce cheaper goods and make them so easily available. There are no takers of all the overtures that he is making to China. 3. Chinese state-owned media has been highly critical of Modi just before Modi’s planned departure to China. They have gone to the extent of warning Modi not to visit Arunachal Pradesh which China considers a disputed territory. Your comments? --Strategic relations are a different kettle of fish in foreign relations. China has developed an economic corridor between China and Pakistan at its cost and maintains and improves it which leads to the rich market of Middle East. India is oblivious to this in its fear of Islam. 4. Do you think Modi will be successful in reversing the trade imbalance between India and China? According to analsysts and some media reports, China has the upper hand on the trade and economic front. No. Modi will not be allowed by his hardliners who even eye his deal with Paris on Rafel fighters and expect re ward from it.