India, after its forces were badly mauled by the Chinese in the Galvan Valley at Ladakh, is trying to strike back by raising the Hong Kong issue at UN. For the first time since the Hong Kong protests broke out last year, India on 1st July, spoke out at the United Nations Human Rights Council and said the relevant parties should address the issues “properly, seriously and objectively”. This is being seen as a retaliatory step in terms of reputational cost to Beijing, after India inflicted economic cost to Beijing by banning Chinese mobile apps.
The statement was delivered by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Rajiv Kumar Chander, at the 44th session of the Human Rights Council being held between 30 June-21 July in Geneva.
It is ironic that a country whose unbridled hegemony knows no limits, has the temerity to point fingers at others. In 1947 it forcibly occupied Kashmir. Pakistani troops and volunteers managed to liberate one third of Kashmir before India approached the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a ceasefire. The UNSC approved Resolutions declaring Kashmir to be a disputed territory, whose fate would be resolved through plebiscite for Kashmiris’ acceding to either India or Pakistan. India agreed to abide by the UNSC Resolutions but later reneged, wreaking havoc on the Kashmiris.
In September 1948, Indian troops invaded the Princely State of Hyderabad, which had invoked its right to be independent in accordance with the Independence Act of 1947. Junagadh met the same fate after its ruler announced the accession of his state to Pakistan on 15 August 1947. Manavadar did not fare better. On14 September 1947 the Khan Sahib Ghulam MoinuddinKhanji unilaterally acceded the state of Manavadar to Pakistan. On 22 October 1947 Indian forces arrested the ruler and annexed Manavadar. In December 1961, Indian armed forces annexed the former Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu. On 16 May 1975, the Independent Hindu Kingdom of Sikkim ceased to exist and became a part of India despite protests by its citizens.
In 1971, India conspired to create unrest and separatism in East Pakistan, later invading it and declaring the former Pakistani territory as Bangladesh, which may be independent but by planting pro-Indian rulers, the now liberated state continues to follow Indian diktat.
In 1984, Indian troops furtively occupied the disputed territory of Siachen Glacier. On 5 August 2019 the unilateral action of Indian Parliament abrogating Article 35A and amending Article 370 of its Constitution, annexing Indian Administered Kashmir (IAK) and Ladakh into its Union territory has been condemned by all and sundry. IAK continues to suffer under forced lockdown and suppression of protests by the Indian military.
Chinese leadership is pragmatic. When Pakistan’s eastern wing was severed, reportedly Chairman Mao, while receiving a Pakistani delegation, commented that looking at the positive aspect, it was the loss of the first brick in the edifice of India. Indeed, with insurgencies in Nagaland, Bodoland, Naxalites, Mizoram, Khalistan and numerous others, Indian Union is ready to implode from within.
The recently introduced draconian laws of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) meant to target Muslims and National Register of Citizens (NRC), which excludes 1.9 million of northeastern Assam state’s 33 million population as well as rising inflation in the country is being protested by Indians vehemently. The controversial CAA promises to fast-track Indian citizenship for religious minorities from the three neighboring Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan-but not if they are Muslim. The law threatens India’s secular foundations by marginalizing its 200 million Muslim minority population.
What happened to India on 15 June 2020 is that hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops entered into a physical brawl on the ridge of a mountain in Ladakh. The skirmish, in which no firearms were used, has been the bloodiest since the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. India buried 20 of its dead soldiers but considered striking back at China through other means. It conceived the act of banning Chinese Apps, which proved futile because China has permeated into Indian economy so deeply that bans on Chinese investment in India will hurt New Delhi much more than Beijing.
Narendra Modi choreographed a visit to Ladakh. Videos and visuals of Narendra Modi inquiring of the health of injured Indian soldiers were blatantly displayed in the Indian media. International media noted the shoddy manner in which a conference hall was hurriedly converted into a hospital ward for Modi’s fake visit. In its clumsy portrayal, the Indians forgot to remove the large multimedia screen and projector installed in the conference hall. There was no medical paraphernalia usually fitted in hospital wards, just some phony Indian soldiers masquerading as patients.
With the exposé of this slapdash drama, India once again became the laughing stock of the international community. Now in its clutching at straws to hide its frustration and is trying to rake up the Hong Kong issue but with its own hands dripping with the blood of innocent Kashmiris, Naxalites, Nagaland, Bodoland, Mizoram, Khalistanis, India has no face to comment on Hong Kong, which is an internal matter of China.
The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host
