The Discerning Statesman

Modiji didn’t utter a single word about China in his Unlock 2.0 speech and why you should appreciate it

The Indo-China relationship has been strained by the irresponsible provocation by the Chinese at our borders. Loss of our 20 brave hearts in the recent clash with Chinese troops has created an anti-China sentiment across the nation. The Indian mass was anxiously waiting for the Modi government to respond.

What we saw was a thumping reply by the Government of India which began with the cancellation of Chinese contracts to the most recent Digital Strike on 59 Chinese apps — including the very popular TikTok, SHAREit, Xender which had a huge market in India. This signal of intent showed that Incredible India is in no mood to get bullied by belligerent China. This decision was taken on 29 June 2020. The Indian mass rejoiced with this action, with some exception here and there.

On the same day, it was announced that PM Modi would address the country the next day (30 June 2020) at 4 PM. On the surface, this seemed like the icing on the cake moment for the masses, as it was widely anticipated he would surely talk about this decision and give a befitting reply to the Chinese.
The next day the Prime Minister delivered a 17-minute speech discussing the pandemic conditions and about Unlock 2.0 but interestingly there was no mention of ‘China’ or the recent Government decision of banning Chinese app. This surely disappointed the masses because they wanted some inciting words from their PM.

It did make me wonder, for a very popular leader like our Modi Ji this was a golden moment to appease its masses with his charming oratory skills, so why did he chose to refrain from mentioning ‘China’? Probably because now he is transforming from “Popular leader” to a, what I call, “Discerning Statesman” and we should appreciate it.

What does a Discerning Statesman do?

There is no one-size-fits-all definition for it but with the pages from history, it is pretty sure such statesman doesn’t ride on a populist sentiment and probably for the first time Modi Ji chose to do it.

Lessons From Manmohan Singh

26 November 2008
India had suffered an unfortunate terrorist attack in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai. The population was all enraged against the filthy act from Pakistan and the voices vociferously wanted India to retaliate against Pakistan. The then UPA Government under Manmohan Singh Ji started deliberations on the available options of retaliation; they did confidential surgical strikes but kept it out from the glare of its masses.

Why our ex-PM Manmohan Singh Ji chose not to ride on the populist wave?
This is brilliantly explained by the then foreign secretary, who later served as India’s National Security Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon. He says:

As far as the world was concerned, the incident would have become just another India-Pakistan dispute. India had some experience with this ho-hum reaction when it took Pakistani aggression by so-called tribal raiders in Kashmir in 1947 to the UN Security Council. The evidence clearly showed the involvement of the Pakistan Army in the invasion, but the UN Security Council chose to play politics and treated the aggressor and victim similarly, and imposed a cease-fire. Ultimately the UN Security Council’s intervention only made finding a solution more complicated. Faced with a dispute between two traditional rivals, the world’s default response is to call for peace and to split the blame and credit 50:50 in the name of fairness or even-handedness.

He further adds on

This was just what the Pakistan Army wanted. An attack on Pakistan would have weakened the civilian government in Pakistan, which had just been elected to power and which sought a much better relationship with India than the Pakistan Army was willing to consider.

So, what did we achieve from such diplomatic and covert measures? It was probably the first time when the world recognized Pakistan as safe heaven of terrorists and moreover, US administration also started looking Pak from different lenses. India had successfully garnered the support of the international community in isolating Pakistan and placing it in the FATF grey list. India also had unmatched support from Saudi Arabia and even the Persian Gulf countries. Moreover, even China gave support to the information of such terrorist groups.

Was this decision a cake-walk for Manmohan Singh?
Certainly not, because when crores of your people want a strong fierce retaliation against Pakistan, we can agree that it would have been an uphill task to still take such cautious decisions understanding the future repercussions of it. This is what made him a “Discerning Statesman”.

Did Manmohan Singh never want to choose a military attack?
David Cameroon, former British Prime Minister, in his memoir talks about that Manmohan Singh was ready for a robust military attack in the wake of another such terrorist attack from Pakistan.

Hence, we can always debate that such measures from Manmohan Singh Ji were adequate or not, but in the long run, we can agree that such insightful actions built the base for the current viewpoint of the international community towards Pakistan.

Lessons from John F. Kennedy

1962 is the year when the Indo-China war took place but it is also the year when the notorious Cuban Missile Crisis occurred which had the potential for starting the World-War III. Let’s zoom in a bit into the development of the Cuban Missile Crisis to take the lesson from “Discerned Statesman” who happens to be USA’S 35th President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, popularly known as JFK.

The year 1945–91 witnessed the Cold-War era, a time of heavy mistrust between the two superpowers and ideologically opposite nations, between the USA and the erstwhile Soviet Union. Tensions were already running high when one day, the situation took a turn for the worse. On 14 October 1962, the USA’s prominent U-2 spy plane, while passing over Cuba, clicked the images of deployment of Soviet’s Ballistic missile on the island.

Why did this development concern the USA?
Because those Ballistic Missiles were Nuclear missiles of the Soviets and Cuba was only 90-miles away from the southern-most point of Continental USA.

This marked the beginning of the intense diplomatic, political and military struggle between the two giants, the result of which could have changed the flow of current history. What transpired in the 13 days that followed, ensured President JFK had given a fresh dimension to handling a crisis and had redefined leadership rules for the upcoming world order.

President JFK was presented with 3 options from his Defense Secretary to tackle the situation:

1. Diplomacy with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev
2. A naval quarantine of Cuba (the US didn’t call it a naval ‘blockade’ because the blockade is considered as an act of war)
3. An air attack to destroy the missile sites, which might kill thousands of Soviet personnel and trigger a Soviet counterattack on USA’s foreign allies. JFK chose the option of diplomacy with Khrushchev and the naval quarantine and not war.

On 22 October 1962, US President JFK gave one of his brilliant speeches, that lasted 17-minutes long, communicating to USA’s population regarding the missile deployment on Cuba by the Soviets. This development added fuel to the already existing Anti- Soviet sentiments among US mass with equivocal demands of attacking and bombing Cuba and surprisingly from his administration as well. President JFK stood firm in his stride and did not ride the populist sentiment.

So, is this the moment that made him a “Discerning statesman”? Not really. Then what is it?
All this while President JFK and his administration had been prudently handling the situation with the first-time hotline established between both the nations. However, in an unexpected turn of events, on 27th October 1962, a US U-2 pilot was shot down and killed over Cuba.
This was nothing less than an act of war from the Cubans supported by the Soviets. The Defense Secretary made the statement:

“ They fired the first shot”.

Now, this development made JFK come under behemoth pressure from not only his population but also from sections of his administration including the CIA and FBI to launch an attack on the Cubans. War was appearing inevitable now.

Guess what JFK opted for under this situation?
He chose not to launch an attack and rest his history. This decision of JFK makes him a “Discerning Statesman”. Why? Because US leadership until John F. Kennedy used to ride on a populist sentiment and reply to their adversaries with an iron hand to an extent of even nuking a nation (WWII). Though this unconventional way of handling the Cuban crisis made JFK appear weak in the eyes of his mass yet we all know over time that his decision saved the world from another catastrophic experience.

The Evolving Modi

The kind of popularity our PM Modi Ji enjoys is unparalleled which also indicates the kind of fiasco the nation witnessed in the first term of NDA. With legislation like the Black Money Act, 2015, and ill-planned Demonetization and haste implementation of GST. Modi Ji was surely riding on a populist wave because tackling the menace of corruption was one of the many reasons why BJP was voted to power.

It is a well-established fact populism gives only myopic result.

The 2nd term of NDA with PM Modi Ji back in action tackling the Chinese virus pandemic and the Chinese nuisance at borders, such issues shouldn’t be resolved by taking knee-jerk reaction to appease the masses nonetheless such unprecedented obstacle should be handled with a well deliberated and discussed plan.

Modi Ji is now evolving into a statesman and it can be seen not only from the current digital strike on the Chinese apps but also from his recent Unlock 2.0 speech where he did not utter a single word about China, even when his population wanted him to. This is a positive development in our very own Prime Minister that he is not giving in to populism and is becoming a “Discerning Statesman”.

It is also to be noted that I’m not encouraging that leaders should not pay heed to the voices of their people. However, with this article, I intend to make the point that there are multifarious dimensions in a crisis which the masses won’t be aware of at the time being, as shown above in the 26/11 terrorist attack or The Cuban Missile Crisis.
The current situation on the LAC has a similar backdrop to these events. These events have clearly demonstrated that great leaders don’t lose their ability to make a meticulous decision which is better for their countries in the long run. A “Discerning Statesman” can show his commitment through his actions, like PM Modi Ji visiting Leh-Ladakh in person on 03 July 2020 and understanding the ground reality. This move by Modi Ji will send a more strong signal to Chinese, much more than calling out China in unlock 2.0 speech.

Jai Hind!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the National Youth Express or its members.