The more I think about it, the more similarities I see between Nehru’s China and Vajpayee’s Lahore / Kargil/ Kandhar. 

In October 1950, the Chinese marched into Tibet and Nehru’s response was mild. The Pakis continue to send in arms, mercenaries into Kashmir but our response has been anything but strong.

In April 1954, India and China signed the Pancheel Pact whereby India recognized Tibet as a part of China, withdrew military escorts in Yatung, transferred GOI post offices in Tibet to China. In return India got China to subscribe to five paper principles. Mutual respect for each other’s territory, peaceful co existence amongst others. So also Atalji went to Lahore, signed the Lahore Pact, professed friendship, imported sugar as a friendly gesture but got only paper commitments in return.

Mao Tse-tung said “Power flows from the gun”. Nehru believed in Satyadev Jayate, truth shall prevail. The Pakis nearly had us in Kargil, Kandhar was a repeat. Instead of taking the fight into the enemy camp, our PM calls for religious meets, organizes Ifthekar parties, asks the U.S. to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. The world must be fed up of a country that keeps on complaining about its neighbors but refuses to fight its own battles. 

Early in 1955, China started constructing the Highway through Akshai China providing a link between Sinkiang and Tibet. Completed in 1957, Nehru informed Parliament in 1959. Atalji was luckier. Thanks to some shepherds, he came to know about the intrusions in a few months time.

Foreign Policy has been a favorite of Nehru and Vajpayee. If Nehru desired to become an International Statesmen, Vajpayee has made friendship with the U.S. and neighbors particularly Pakistan, the corner stone of his foreign policy.

In October 1962, Nehru asked the army to throw out the Chinese from Dhola in NEFA. Similarly George Fernandes said that the Pakis would be thrown out of Kargil in 48 hours. Ignorance of ground realities, indulging in needless machoism characterized their statements. 

A Maoist dictum says “Attack when sure of victory, then establish truce”. The Chinese did this to us in 1962, followed by a repeat performance in Kargil by Pakistan. Some countries never learn ! 

In 1962, our friends in the Afro-Asia block chose to keep quiet. In the hijacking episode, countries in the East or West did not come out in our support. Bangladesh, the destination of Vajpayee’s second bus ride, did not say a word against the hijacking. 

Nehru introduced the concept of Peaceful Co-existence and went around the world preaching the gospel. Through intensive personal diplomacy and  friendship with Chou-En-Lai he sought to show how international problems could be resolved in a peaceful manner. Vajpayee too, thought that Lahore would change the history of Indo-Pak relations. Vajpaye’s friendship with Nawaz Sharief has come out in the open after the military coup. It is India’s misfortune that Nehru and Vajpayee are poor students of history, idealistic and surely, never read Chanakya’s Arthashashtra.

Like Abhimanyu learnt how to enter the Chakravayu in his mothers womb, I sensed the bonhomie of the Hind-Chin bhai bhai in a similar way in 1961. While the army realized that a war was imminent, it felt the need to inject a sense of urgency into the government but the Hind-Chin bhai bhai euphoria had caught everyone’s imagination. Taken in by Lahore, the army of 1999 let down its guard, went one step ahead. It moved out a battalion from Kargil. 

Speaking on the Defence Budget in 1957, noted Gandhian Acharya Kriplani said “The mounting expenses on the army must be cut down. The followers of Gandhi and adherents of universal peace should not increase military expenditure”. Nehru and grandson Rajiv Gandhi took his statements seriously. At 2.3 % of GDP (budgeted) India’s defence expenditure is lower than China and Pakistan’s. Vajpayee took Acharya’s statement on universal peace to heart and went to Lahore. How could a country that he  visited with a Baraat, illegally occupy its territory, stab him in the back ? 

Appeasement postpones but magnifies problems. Nehru learnt it the hard way. Vajpayee seems to be groping in the dark yet. We want action and not lip service, Prime Minister.

No wonder that Nehru said that Vajpayee would become India’s PM someday. Perhaps, he saw a reflection of himself in Atalji.

Join me in saluting the families of all civilians and armed forces for their supreme sacrifice. If only we had leaders with guts, may be, they would have been alive. 

We had voted for Lal Kishan Advani’s “Party with a Difference” and not Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Congress.