India’s concerns on the technical hold against declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar a terrorist, shared with China at various levels, have been dismissed time and again. China cleverly asks India to have direct talks with Pakistan, where Azhar lives.
India also has been gentle in its response. After giving a visa to Uyghur activist Dolkun Isa, it has revoked the visa, after China’s protest. This shows a weakness in India’s foreign policy. As a tit-for-tat response, India could have told China to talk to Germany where Isa has asylum.
India’s predicament has been cogently characterised by Nobel laureate VS Naipaul as suffering from a million mutinies. India must become internally strong to project a strong image abroad.