Gandhian ideology of non-violence rests on the pedestal of turning to someone the right cheek, if you get slapped on the left. Almost all nuggets of wisdom imparted to us from childhood are meant to teach us how to operate from the premise of “love and compassion” for years. However, if your neighbour is a tiny-eyed, wolf-warrior diplomat, you need to err on the side of the caution.
With the global citizenry longing for peace and normalcy amidst the havoc wreaked by COVID-19, the role of neighbourhood in shaping the perception and adoption of “new normal” is of paramount importance. Moreover, talking turkey seems to be the only way to wrap our minds around an unedifying reality manifested by darkening of economic skies. While the idea of breaching geographical barriers seems pretty far-fetched at the moment, one can always leverage technology to strengthen bilateral ties that lies at the heart of combating the coronavirus menace.
Sadly, countries like China seem to have lost their sense of perspective on this issue at a very crucial juncture. Till now it was busy turning dross to gold, on one hand, and downplaying gloomy prognoses of pandemic, on the other. If this were not enough to elevate its status from “thriving on the breadline” to “spinning progress almost overnight”, Jinping is now keen to play on attention economy by registering the presence of his PLA in Galwan valley- a name synonymous with #patriotism, #sacrifice, and the very old teleological explanation of its existence as a region in the disputed territory of Ladakh.
If reports are to be believed, our neighbour is in no mood to walk the talk. This means that it would be foolish to assume that military and diplomatic level discussions would translate into actual restoration of peace. Until this happens, our leaders should rely on espirit de corps and our cops to maintain peace in these turbulent times.
For now, let us reserve our love for our next-door neighbour!
