War mongering is good for television news channels to garner TRPs. In the real world, war is a long drawn affair that exacts a huge cost from both the warring sides. True, there is anger and disgust in India over the death of 20 soldiers including an army Colonel but to avenge those deaths by declaring war at a time when both countries are burdened by the pandemic would mean that all diplomatic channels are closed and talks have collapsed. This is not the case. Although China is a slippery customer and has never stood by any bilateral agreement with India, there are other ways of dealing with this bellicosity. China’s claim to Galwan Valley is also not tenable. The name of the place itself suggests it is not Chinese. In fact the Valley is named after Ghulam Rasool Galwan of Ladakh.
It is intuitive that the grandson of late Galwan, Amin Galwan has also stated that war is not a solution as it causes loss to everyone hence the issue should be resolved through talks. When the British were ruling India, the area was named Galwan Rasool or Galwan Nala. This is where the fight is going on between India and China. In 1962, the Chinese entered that area but were pushed back by Indian soldiers. In recent times India is beefing up infrastructure around that area in the same manner that it is trying to complete the border roads in Arunachal Pradesh. Amin Galwan says the area indisputably belongs to India and had been for over 200 years and should remain so. Meanwhile India has asked China to confine its activities to its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and not to take any unilateral action to alter the status quo.
India and China do not have demarcated borders. Successive Indian governments slept over the matter after China waged a war and annexed large swathes of Indian land in the early 1960s. India was unprepared for a war, and the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru is known to have dismissed such annexations by reasoning that what China took was barren land, where no grass grew. This exposed the weakness of the Indian leadership. With the huge economic clout that China has built in recent years, it’s military strength is several times that of India’s. China is bound to repeat similar offensives if it is not stopped in its tracks. The undemarcated border spread over nearly 4,000 km is a sitting duck for future Chinese aggressions. It is imperative therefore, that China is made to account for its actions in Galwan.