New Delhi
22 December 2009
In a veiled warning to economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former
national security adviser Brajesh Mishra has said that Dr Singh's almost single-minded
focus on nine per cent growth will be rendered meaningless if India is not able to defend
against external aggression, particularly in the event of a two-front war with China and
Pakistan.
In the same breath, he urged all political parties to close ranks in the interest of national
security and to look at defence preparedness against China in conjunction with
acquisition of military hardware.
"There is a change taking place in the Chinese thinking [which] seems to indicate that
possibly, if not probably, in the next four or five years, India will have to defend on both
fronts (Pakistan and China) at the same time," Mr Mishra said here Tuesday at the
launch of two books published by Observer Research Foundation.
He believed that the situation today is more dangerous than in 1962 because China is
very strong economically and militarily as compared to India, and the gap is only
widening. Also, China is becoming aggressive in its attitude towards India, as is
exemplified by the Chinese transgressions on the Line of Actual Control, the hostile
commentary from Chinese Communist Party mouthpieces and quasi-official quarters,
and the change in China' attitude towards Jammu and Kashmir.
China, he maintained, is not only chauvinistic but also hegemonistic, and its long-term
policy is to become numero uno on the world stage.
Mr Mishra's prognosis is grim, as he believes India is not prepared to simultaneously
defend on two fronts, partly because of lack of strategic culture among the decision-
makers but primarily because the ghost of Bofors scam is discouraging successive
governments from ordering military purchases.
"Twenty years after Bofors, the burden is still on the shoulder of politicians [and they
are] afraid to take decisions," he said, making a case for transparent procedures to be
followed in defence procurements. National security should not be compromised at the
altar of electoral politics, is his parting shot.
Former Army chief Gen VP Malik, who spoke on the occasion, said that India needed to
focus as much on defence preparedness and acquisition as on the 26/11 investigation.
Shortage of military hardware needs to be overcome on a priority basis, Gen Malik said,
recalling his experience of the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
Mr Mishra's remarks should be seen in the backdrop of speculation that a nervous China
could attack India by 2012 to divert the attention of its own people from domestic
problems. Also, his remarks echo the sentiments of former defence minister George
Fernandes, who famously said that the delays in procurement of military hardware is
because of the atmosphere of fear of allegations about corruption.
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