The Chinese chowmine

The India China border dispute has taken a turn for the worse. The Doklam road construction issue is escalating in a manner which pushes the two nations who have not fired a single bullet in last 40 years on the path of war.
India is considering the Doklam as an area associated with Tri-Junction whereas China claims it as her sovereign territory. Given Chinese rhetoric and belligerent reaction, the issue may lead to a short term war against Chinese. In this regard, we need to raise some relevant questions.

First: Is India right in asserting itself in Doklam area?
The answer is yes. India has long been on a back foot vis-a-vis China. Be it OBOR-CPEC, Azhar Masood issue, Brahmaputra dam issue, NSG membership or trade deficit between the two nations, India could never get across Chinese wall on the international forums. This is leading to a diffident image of India across the world.
So, by asserting itself on Doklam issue, India would reinstall confidence among its partner nations and its citizenry that it is capable of protecting their as well as its own national interest. It would send a clear signal to Beijing which seems to be playing violin over our defensive approach that India can not be taken for granted.

Second: What if the war breaks out between the two nation?
There is an old saying that in war, winners lose and losers die. This may have been true in the pre-19th-century era but it is not true anymore. The wars of the 21st century are controlled short term strategic wars. In this context, A war with China would be good for our country. It will lead to anti-China rhetoric in our country and would dampen the trade and commerce with Beijing. This will prove to be a godsend opportunity to revive the dying Make-in India project.
The general business principles tell that Make in India can not succeed unless we displace China in some or other way. The war could be one very strong excuse to put trade imposition against China. There is an old adage, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions". Any kind of trade embargo would boost Indian innovation.
Further, It'll flush out the free radicals from Indian ecosystem by infusing the nutrients of patriotism. It'll awaken the society from a state of deep slumber and help in reinvigorating the national consciousness. Moreover, this will also give us time to put GST in place.

But then another question: Is India prepared for war?
The answer is no country would ever be prepared for a war. But India is better placed than what could have been a situation 5 years ago when Daulat Beg Oldie happened. The reason being, Government is financially in a sound position due to high FDI and better tax collection. Inflation is at an all time low. This will allow RBI to mint new currency without adding too much to the inflationary pressure. Monsoon is going to be good so India will have enough on its plate. Trade is any way slow due to GST issue. So war-time will increase the economic activities. NPA crisis is an issue which may worsen things further but the excuse of war will allow the government to take extraordinary measures to handle the issue. The extraordinary issue may be in the form of nationalization of the resources or heavy taxation or financial emergency and alike measures. Overall, in the economic sense, we are very well placed though not fully prepared to tackle the consequences of war.

But could the same thing be said for military preparations as well?
The answer is No. The Indian military is severely unprepared to deal with the Chinese challenge. The 2012 proposal of training a mountain force to tackle the Chinese challenge has remained on the paper. Therefore, we must devise a right exit strategy even before entering this realist game of power politics.

But if the military is certain to face defeat in the game of power politics then what is the point?
The point is India should go for a controlled short term rhetorical war. In fact, War would be a wrong choice of words. Let us call it a micro-battle between India and China in a border area of 2 kilometers. Indian leadership and diplomacy should follow the progress closely and rather than winning the war, we should leverage this to defeat China diplomatically and economically.

At the least, by way of Doklam issue, China should get a clear message that India can not be taken for granted anymore.