Of fire and fury

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unannounced visit to Ladakh on Friday has not only sent strong signals to India's neighbour in the north, but has also provided a big boost to the morale of the troops in particular and the countrymen in general. His surprise trip came barely 18 days after the violent stand-off at Galwan Valley, during which India lost 20 brave soldiers including a senior officer in the hands of the Chinese PLA troops who had resorted to a kind of brutality never ever heard in the history of mankind. The speech that the Prime Minister delivered in front of the troops at an elevation of over 11,000 feet, and the messages emanating thereof have already sent strong and assertive signals across the Himalayas. The Prime Minister definitely sounded loud, bold, confident and reverberating when he crafted his speech with very well-chosen words, woven into crisp sentences. Yes, he did say that the age of expansionism was over, and that this was the age of development. History has been witness that expansionist forces have either lost or were forced to retreat, he said, not just for the consumption of the Indian troops engaged in defending the country in the sub-zero Himalayan heights, but for those sitting in Beijing and finding one wicked trick after the other to fool the world in general and India in particular. Interesting to note, in September he had, in his Tokyo trip referred to "expansionist forces" encroaching upon other's territory, entering other's seas. And in October 2019, he was welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mahabalipuram and talking about further strengthen ties between the two countries. And then, having praised the soldiers for their "fire and fury" against the "enemies" of this country, Modi telling the troops that their tales of bravery and valour have been echoing in every house in the country has indeed reached every Indian home. As he had rightly said of the Indian troops, from Ladakh to Kargil, their courage has been seen by all. Describing Ladakh as the crown of India, Modi definitely lifted the morale of the soldiers several times when he said that the whole world knows about India's strength, and that the devious designs of her enemies will not succeed. The best part of his speech however was his invoking of Lord Krishna. "We are the same people who pray to Lord Krishna who plays a flute. But we are also the same people who follow the same Lord Krishna who carries the Sudarshan Chakra," he said in his typical style.