At a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked his PLA troops to prepare for war, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has taken a cue from Lalitaditya Muktapida as he has stated that if needed, will fight on foreign soil to protect the country which is the Lalitaditya Muktapida way, and we are glad that India is adopting it again.
As the border stand-off between India and China continues to rage at the Eastern LAC in Ladakh, NSA Ajit Doval has dispatched a stern warning to China as he sought to reassert India’s capabilities.
Speaking at an Ashram in Rishikesh, the NSA speaking to head of the ashram, Chidanand Saraswati, said, “You said that we have never attacked. There are views about it, that if there was danger from somewhere, we should have done it. To save the country is essential. But that we will fight only where you want to fight is not necessary.”
Ajit Doval hinting that India’s response would be at a place and time of its choosing, stated, “We never became aggressors to serve our personal interests. We will surely fight, on our soil as well as on foreign soil, but not for our personal interests. But in the interests of Parmarth [spirituality].”
He added, “We don’t safeguard the nation, we secure the state. The state has definite boundaries. The nation is safeguarded by those who found it. It is founded by people like you(Saraswati).”
Doval also pointed out that despite being attacked multiple times from “foreign aggressors”, India is the only civilisation that has continued to remain alive for thousands of years as he referred to how the Persian and Egyptian civilisations were finished after one attack.
It seems that India has activated the Lalitaditya Muktapida mode in Eastern Ladakh with New Delhi now dictating matters on the de facto Indo-Tibetan border, rather than mirroring Chinese deployment. Just before the onset of the inhospitable winter, India occupied all the major heights across the Finger area at Pangong Tso lake, thereby beating China in its own game.
Till not very long ago, Indian policymakers and so-called strategists used to weight the practicality of a military manoeuvre in terms of its likeability in China. If it was believed that a particular move would ‘annoy’ China, it was given up. But things have changed. This is the new India that has no qualms about asserting itself, even if it means hurting China’s sentiments or going on Chinese soil to safeguard India’s interests.
Muktapida – the most famous ruler of the Karkota dynasty of India’s Kashmir knew how to cut expansionist bullies to size. He had a much better ability to foresee threats from enemies, including the Arab invaders. Also, he never shied away from confrontations and used to annex strategically located territories to position himself strongly against any external aggression. He also formed alliances, including the one with the Tang dynasty of China.
Ladakh, Eastern Territories and Transoxiana (present-day Central Asia), Muktapida conquered it all in order to blunt any incoming forces. One reason for his unparalleled might was that the Kashmiri ruler never let the enemy decide the course of rivalry. If the enemy tried to open one front, Muktapida was ready to unleash himself on several other fronts to keep the enemy in check.
It is a welcome change that the Modi government has decided to shun all the niceties and adopted the Lalitaditya Muktapida doctrine to counter the Chinese threat.