It’s the economy: Shourie

And China had a similar equation with the Americans. US firms that had invested in China lobbied hard to keep the US from taking any consequential steps in the wake of Tiananmen killings. According to Shourie, China constantly benchmarks itself against the US, and ‘‘regards India as a potential nuisance in the likelihood that India will become an instrument of the US for containing China.’’

With the Chinese army in the throes of a revolution in strategic thought, its strategy, should it wish to damage India, might be ‘‘murder with a borrowed knife,’’ he said, quoting from a Chinese military classic. Which explains China’s ‘‘arms aid to Pakistan and Chinese advances in Myanmar.’’

Convinced that ‘‘economic levers are routinely used to achieve political and diplomatic ends,’’ Shourie called for good governance coupled with a ‘‘capacity to deliver on its announcements.’’ Which translates into an approach that is without the blinkers of political correctness.

‘‘We may have atomic weapons but if we don’t manage our governmental finances well and we turn to the International Monetary Fund, we will be squeezed into submission.’’ Vulnerability, says Shourie, arises ‘‘not in spite of our atomic weapons but because of them.’’

Urging policy makers to move out of their ‘‘denial mode in regard to Chinese economic advances,’’ Shourie said that unfortunately, the system had become ‘‘dysfunctional’’ in carrying reforms through.

Advani, rounding off the evening’s talk, appreciated Shourie’s ‘‘challenging and provocative’’ thoughts but called for greater focus on solutions, not problems. ‘‘If we just focus on the weaknesses, we don’t strengthen national will,’’ Advani said.

In an extended tribute to Field Marshal Cariappa, he quoted extensively from Chandra Shekhar Dasgupta’s book on the first war for Kashmir to make the point how the British, including Mountbatten, had conspired with Pakistan to deny India a clearer victory in the war.

He also quoted from the book to describe how Cariappa fought that war not justagainst the Pakistanis but also against his own British leadership.

While the talk was focused on national security, economics hung heavy over the hall. And a touch of humour too. Army Chief Gen Padmanabhan, introducing Shourie, joked that the Minister of Disinvestment, given his travails of late, could be called Minister for Disenchantment.

Shourie, though, was not to be left behind; he began his talk —- after asserting that his lecture was purely his personal view —- by saying that he realised he hadn’t been given the privilege of opening this talk because of his position as Minister of Disinvestment. He also hoped the media wouldn’t make a diary item out of the fact that he was speaking on defence at a time when the Defence Minister was speaking on disinvesment.

The occasion was attended by a large number of top Delhi officials including the three Service Chiefs, Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, diplomats and Delhi L-G Vijai Kapoor.