Recently there was an intrusion into ladakh in India by the Chinese army.
Though the intrusion was claimed to be of a routine nature by some and now armies of both the nations have withdrawn to pre April-15 positions, the presence of Chinese army and their setting up tents in Indian territory has elicited strong reactions from not only the political class, but also from citizens across the nation.
In Dehradun, the youths have their own strong opinions regarding how the Government of India should handle this situation. College student Rajesh said that this was a failure of India's foreign policy because though the incursion was noticed in the past, the government had been apathetic and allowed the situation to escalate.
"The Chinese were on a routine patrol when they started painting the rocks and boulders with messages of Chinese possession. With no response from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, they quietly pitched their tents. The incursion was noticed but was not revealed by the authorities as our Foreign Affairs minister was to visit China in May," he pointed out.
Another college student Kapil also expressed similar views stating that China's foreign policy is stonger and follows a specific direction to handle Asian issues for the benefit of China.
He said, "Their will to dominate and dictate has been proved with handling of the North Korea issue with Americans avoiding war with North Korea with the help of China.
“The issue of Aksai Chin should be resolved amicably so that the future generations do not suffer due to foreign policy lapses of the present government.
“The general feeling is the the situation projected India as a weak State. Why should we have a feeling of being let down when our troops are strong and capable of handling such situationsIJ”
Another youth Ashutosh felt that India should act aggressively and regain the lost ground which was an option left for the armed forces to decide. “Sitting in Dehradun or Delhi one cannot know the ground realities which are better known to the soldiers on the ground. China has two reasons to occupy this barren land as its motive is to create a safe passage to Pakis tan and to overlook the Kashmir valley in case of an Indo-Pak war in which case China can play a decisive role in the conflict," he said.