Tackling Chipak!

India-China face-off worsens over ADB loan for Arunachal Pradesh
Pak claims Hafiz Saeed is a 'free man'

Clearly India finds itself in an unenviable position as it becomes increasingly clear that no cooperation can be expected from her two main neighbours. So is there a way out? There are no easy answers, but there may be worthwhile options to to explore...

Lets begin with China. First a quick snapshot of China's pesky behaviour. China has successfully blocked a 2.9 billion $ loan at the Asian Development Bank meant for infrastructural development in Arunachal Pradesh. It voiced maniacal protests about our prime minister's visit to the state. And stapled Chinese visas to passports of Indians travelling from J&K, in an attempt to underline its disputed status. Chinese incursions in Ladakh left behind scores of 'red' rocks with China written over them. Its probably now time to pay back in kind - the proverbial tit for tat.

First we must begin with our biggest asset in Indo-China relations - the Dalai Lama. Hail his contribution and efforts in attempting a peaceful resolution of Tibet, even in the face of severe Chinese repression. STOP scuttling protests by Tibetans in India. Rather, stealthily begin feeding them. And for good measure, give them wide publicity. Start stapling Indian visas to Tibetans. Rachet up rhetoric on Xinjiang and the human rights violations of Uighurs.

That should temper the Chinese a bit and lead them to think twice before they take us for granted. In the meantime continue the diplomatic offensive by lodging formal protests and raking up the issue in diplomatic forums. Payback!

And now, for Pakistan. No summary or recounting required here! When we say terrorism, US invariably comes into the picture. The only way a country can truly fight its war on terror is if that country is the US - and that is the harsh reality of today. India can do nothing till the US decides something needs to be done. So can we make that happen?

Well yes...the suggestion might sound atrocious...and this is probably the best time to do it. War mongering! (of course nobody wants a war)

Pakistan has launched a fresh offensive against the Taliban in the traditionally lawless province of Waziristan. And the US is impressed with Pakistan's new found commitment to fighting the Taliban. All we need to do is to change Pakistan's threat perception of India. And that will force it to pull out troops from Waziristan, badly denting the US's war on terror. And that might sufficiently capture the US's attention to Pakistan's duplicity in calling a set of people terrorists and another, freedom fighters. It is important for the world to know that India has been patient for too long and will now take no more at this juncture. Only then will it lead the US to pressure Pakistan to act against terror outfits targetting India.

Some might say that we did the same in 2001 after the parliament attack with little consequence. But the situation is different now. Then the focus was on Afghanistan. Now it is Pakistan. The US has a lot to lose today in case of a similar military deployment and standoff. It might just give us the breakthrough we have been waiting for so long.

We are and will always be a very responsible nation.
But it's time for audacious thoughts.
And it's time for confident actions.
Then the world will indeed stop and take notice.