Is India Subsidising China's Defence Budget?
China's defence budget for 2025 was announced at $246 billion, of which India contributes $100 billion through its trade deficit with that country. Someone would look at this trade deficit as 'anti-national,' even "criminal." Others, as "pragmatic" or "beneficial," according to their understanding of China as an enemy, an opponent, competitor or a friendly neighbour.

Those in authority see India as the beneficiary of this trade, since most Chinese imports are used to produce goods like pharmaceuticals for profitable export. Lamentably, India still has only $13.3 billion in goods for China, mostly raw materials, while importing $113.5 billion worth of a wide variety of goods.

India's Dependence on Others Keeps Growing, Despite Atmanirbhar Boasts
Manmohan Singh had wisely sought to strengthen trade with China, because one is less inclined to do harm to a partner from whose friendship one is making significant profit. Undoubtedly, the situation has been steadily changing. China's recent growth has few parallels in history. The $100 billion profit she makes from Indian trade is nothing for her, whose trade surplus this year was $1 trillion. Trump's frantic effort to humiliate Xi Jinping's China has only strengthened them. How does India strengthen its enemies? By being unreasonable and humiliating them: e.g., Pakistan beyond borders and minorities within!

India's inability to reduce its trade deficit with China calls for deeper reflection. Even with Russia, India's trade is still expected to rise to $100 billion. There has been more pretension of outstanding achievements by the RSS-BJP-led government and greater investment in self-advertisement than actual performance. Sushant Singh had India's defence capacity in mind when he said it was stunted because our weapons manufacturing was highly dependent on critical components imported from abroad.

Empty Slogans
Modi's Atmanirbhar Bharat is mere rhetoric. Parts of Patel's 182-meter-high Statue of Unity in Gujarat were sourced from China, while the work is contracted to non-Indian companies. While the statue's size was meant to display Gujarat's pride and symbolise her 'asmita,' a large number of tribals were displaced. Robbing tribals is a planned strategy: promote one to the President's position and systematically loot tribal land and natural resources; appropriate their religious symbols and traditions until they cease to exist!

That exposes the deceptive dimensions of the Prime Minister's Atmanirbhar call and commitment to tribals. "Boastful announcements and catchy slogans" merely create blind followers, says Sushant Singh. LK Advani found Modi to be a creative slogan-formulator. In the long term, such gimmicks only harm the cause of the nation's self-reliance. India's share of manufacturing in its GDP has come down under him.

Ways of Strengthening Your Enemies: Threaten, Go Fanatic, Humiliate
Humiliate the enemy, and you strengthen him, says the famous historian Arnold Toynbee. The Persian Empire humiliated Greek pride, and Alexander arose to punish Persian arrogance and throw it into the dust. Carthaginian Hannibal sought to weaken Rome's glory, even in her own capital; Rome wiped out Carthage.

European nations vied to humiliate the emerging Islamic forces in West Asia through the Crusades. Islamic powers in response took Spain, Sicily, vast areas of Eastern Europe, stormed Vienna and threatened to march right across the Continent. This prolonged Islamic threat united Europe and so strengthened their collective resolve to terminate Islamic control of parts of Europe and move on to their worldwide colonial conquests!

According to Toynbee, Alexander's humiliation of India gave rise to the Mauryan Empire in response. Napoleon's crushing of the Germans led Germanic communities to build a powerful kingdom in self-defence. Italians did the same. With the Napoleonic humiliation of Russia, the nation began to emerge as a power of extraordinary prominence in Eastern Europe, gradually developing into a global force as the Soviet Union. This background explains the grudging support that Putin still enjoys, as long as he gives hope of recapturing Russia's former preeminence in Europe. Never humiliate a nation or a people to excess, be it Pakistan, India or China!

Rulers Assuming Unlimited Powers
In Greek history, we read of ambitious leaders seizing unlimited power in moments of crisis to confront an enemy or expand commercial interests. Even though called "tyrannus," such a leader was not always a tyrant. No doubt, some of them did turn tyrants. Similarly, we learn of Israelite "judges" assuming greater powers than were assigned to them, or of Roman "consuls" overstaying their terms or assuming illegitimate authority. That was how monarchy arose even in tribal states over time.

Historians notice this process in the choice of Saul, or Caesar crossing the Rubicon in 49 BC, and the rise of Roman imperialism; in our own days, the elevation of Putin, Xi, Erdogan, or Orban to undefined tenures. What is the limit of Modi's power under an 'Undeclared Emergency,' in the name of the struggle against terrorism, and defence against national threats? It is for political observers to evaluate.

Neighbours learn from each other. Asim Munir of Pakistan has been given lifetime immunity and expanded powers following Pakistan's Sindoor humiliation.

Is there the Danger of the 'Pakistanisation' of India?
Indian Constitution stands in mortal danger of being reordered after the norms of Varnashrama Dharma (caste regime), under which the chief responsibility of the Ruler would be to re-establish and strengthen the Brahminic order. Discussions on Vande Mataram and Nehruvian miscalculations are set to create a climate for reaffirming Varnashramadharma. And suddenly we shall discover we are not in Gandhiji's India!

More concretely: repeat the Bihar manipulations, and we are in another country. SIR can mean Slow Infiltration into Reasoning.

A Silent undermining of Right Reasoning and balanced reflection has been going on for a long time: creating an "emotion-driven" society over temple-building, poojas and tirthas, Kumbha melas and pre-election cash-distributions; misuse of media; divinising and subsidising of sadhus and godmen; surrender to the interpretations and strategic decisions of RSS-preceptors; glorification and appropriation of Dalit and tribal gods and symbols; presentation of deities like Ram and Hanuman in aggressive postures; limitless boasts about weapons' creation (Brahmos, Vishnus) and imports; play on words like India/Bharat, Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism, patriotism/nationalism/fanaticism; self-adulation based on India's mythological past (pushpa vimana/head-grafting/atomic energy); formation of violent dharm yodhas, gau rakshaks; sanctioning of mob-violence and creation of armed radicals and moral police.

A hidden style of 'Pakistanisation' of India has been going on for a long time. Then you discover that an Indian version of the Taliban rules the land of Buddha, Kabir, Tagore and Gandhi.

Exaggeration Invites Exaggeration
Now it is for you to judge who threw up Asim Munir as the military supremo with unfettered authority. Was it Rajnath Singh who called for readiness for a 5-year war, or RSS-BJP voices in many roles, positions and regions who called for the humiliation of Pakistan in various ways: eyeing Sindh, prodding the Balochs, threatening PoK, accusing that nation of every imaginable crime; or Amit Shah who hinted that Indian self-defence had reached a turning point? Aesop says, "The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit."

What sent Asim Munir to Donald Trump, who earlier considered Pakistan the homeland of terrorists, seeking aid, buying weapons, and proposing collaborative ventures? Trump has already lined up 686 million US dollars in military assistance to Pakistan in the form of fighter jets and other guarantees.

What made Pakistan persuade the UAE to enter into an agreement for mutual defence in real earnest? What widened the gap between India and most Muslim nations of the world? Bangladesh is openly hostile. Recently, a Pakistan Navy ship paid them a token visit.

Making Enemies at Home
The destruction of Babri Masjid, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, the changing of the status of Kashmir, and repeated violence against Muslims have affected something similar in India itself. Continuous provocative statements draw a response from affected people, vibrating with a sense of insecurity.

Recently, Mahmood Madani, Chief of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, warned that the present forms of oppression would necessarily trigger a veritable 'Jihad.' He referred to Babri Masjid, Triple Talaq, the court bending to the government, and the ignoring of the Places of Worship Act 1991. The Supreme Court is supreme, he stated, when it follows the Constitution. He decried ongoing bulldozer actions, mob-lynching, seizure of property, and negative campaigns. There is bound to be a reaction, he cautioned.

Himanta Biswa Sarma was the first to admit to a rise in "radical" activities in Assam. Vulnerable youth may fall prey to jihadi literature, he feared. The Kashmir situation has aggravated. Kashmiri students studying in different parts of India wrote to the Prime Minister complaining of harassment. Kashmiris keep pleading: the acts of terror of an individual should not be attributed to the entire community. Maharashtra's gau rakshaks (some 6,000 of them) have fuelled fear among meat traders and cattle rearers.

Is a Sense of Co-Belonging Created by Forced Homogenisation?
Has Shah's style of propagating Hindi and promoting Sanskrit contributed to the nation's integration? Udhayanidhi Stalin was emphatic that Sanskrit was a 'dead language,' and that Hindi was unacceptable. Has RSS-BJP's insistence on the homogenisation of Indian culture strengthened our sense of co-belonging? It has only widened the emotional distance between communities. Einstein (attributed by Frederick S. Perls) was right in saying, "Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity!" Hindutva obscurantism has descended to unbelievable depths.

States feeling that their rights are being nibbled away by Governors are bound to offer stiff resistance. MK Stalin swore that the fight for State rights will continue. Shah speaks of "zero tolerance" of terrorists. Has his determination to wipe out Maoists borne fruit? Maoist military brass, while admitting that 320 of their cadres have been lost nationwide, swore that they would "fight till the last breath." Over 116 security personnel have been killed. But the struggle continues.

Shah must remember Sallust's caution, "By union the smallest states thrive. By discord, the greatest states are destroyed." State terror will not succeed in crushing terrorism. Haryana DGP threatened that artists who promote gun culture will face strict action. Any success?

Oxford Word for the Year: "Rage Bait"
What we have said above explains why Oxford chose "Rage Bait" as the word for the year, which is described as 'evoking anger, creating discord, effecting polarisation.' By making this choice, Oxford does not intend to encourage violence, but invites people to understand the present painful situation and initiate dialogue before worse disasters overtake us. Thomas John Barnardo warns, "Only disaster can follow divided counsels and opposing wills." Divide and rule? Or divide and face ruin?

Unlimited ambitions point to disasters. Is Trump happy enough with the Mighty Empire he has inherited? No. He longs for more. He wants nothing less than the elimination of Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. His staff keeps flying around Greenland.

A World Divided
China is restless until Taiwan is united with the Mainland by force. In response, Taiwan is arming itself in sheer despair. President Lai Ching-te plans to spend $40 billion more in defence purchases to counter Beijing, raising arms expenditure to 5% of the GDP. He is determined to avoid "slavery," he says. Sanae Takaichi of Japan promises to help.

Trump's turning back on Europe has definitely divided the Western World. He bluntly refers to Europe as a "decaying" culture and its states as too feeble to halt immigration. With humiliating remarks like "Europe is facing 'civilisational erasure,'" he has widened the emotional distance between Europe and America. Europe is seriously prioritising self-defence. France has decided to give military training to thousands of young volunteers aged 18-19, and Germany is strengthening its army.

Meantime, killings continue in Sudan, mass shootings in South Africa, and recently in Sydney. Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have displaced 3 lakh people. Trump's peace initiative has totally failed. UN spokespersons say that violence can push 35 million in Nigeria to the brink of starvation. Kidnappings increase. Some 250 children have been kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria.

At Christmas time, people sing "Peace to people of goodwill." But where is goodwill visible?

India is to buy $92.8 million worth of javelin missiles from the US. You may appease Trump, but peace moves out of sight. Indian reputation is tarnished by 'honour' killings, 'dowry' deaths, cow-defence murders, Dalit elimination, and tribal liquidation. Such trends have become 'normal.' Restlessness in Kashmir and Manipur continues.

People suffer when the rupee is devalued, enriching the rich. Inequality keeps widening, anger mounting. Sindoor boasts do not satisfy the hungry. Bulldozer justice yields no result.

Our Mission: Generate Goodwill
These lines are written not evidently to strengthen the so-called "enemy," but to disarm him with goodwill as Gandhiji did: to generate goodwill in the heart of the opponent, soothe the feelings of rivals, befriend the competitor, and explore together areas of collaboration.

Even extreme forms of political pragmatism need not exclude the generation of goodwill toward the "Other." One step at a time ... until the "enemy" becomes your best friend. That is how one becomes truly Vishwamitra. That is being Indian.