Making an apparent hit at china, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the age of expansionism is over and added that the new age of development is here.

“Age of expansionism is over and this is the age of development. History is witness that expansionist forces have either lost or were forced to turn back,” Modi said addressing soldiers in Ladakh’s Nimmoo. However, the Prime Minister did not mention China at all in his address to the soldiers.

The remark comes amidst the on-going tension between India and China at Line of Actual Control in the eastern Ladakh. In a violent brawl between forces almost 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 midnight when Chinese troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation.

The Prime Minister also said that the people of Ladakh have rejected every attempt to create separatism in the region.

“Ladakh is the head of the country. This is the symbol of pride for the 130 crore citizens of India. This land belongs to the people who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country… Every attempt to create separatism in the region was rejected by the nationalist people of Ladakh,” Modi said.

He further added, “We are the same people who pray to the flute playing Lord Krishna, but we are also the same people who idealise and following the same Lord Krishna who carries the Sudarshan Chakra”. The two countries, India and China have been involved in talks to ease the on-going border dispute since last month.

Praising the bravery displayed by the soldiers, the Prime Minister said: “The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India’s strength.”

“Your courage is higher than the heights where you are posted today,” he added.

“Atmanirbhar Bharat ka sankalp aapke tyag, balidan, pursharth ke karan aur bhi mazbut hai,”(The vision of self-dependent India gets strengthened from your sacrifice and courage),” the Prime Minister said.

During Prime Minister’s address the soldiers were observed maintaining social distance amid pandemic.

PM Modi on Friday made a surprise visit to Ladakh and was briefed by senior officers at Nimmoo amid ongoing tension with China. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat.

He reached Nimmoo, early in the morning and interacted with Army, Air Force and ITBP personnel. Located at 11,000 feet, this is among the tough terrains, surrounded by Zanskar range and on the banks of the Indus. Prime Minister Modi Also performed Prayer rituals at the Holy Indus River.

The idea of India started its journey with high moral values (non-violence, democracy, people rights) and since 1947 we’ve indulge into many wars, conflicts being internal or external both resolved with democratic path. This path of Democracy is extremely hard, to pass one reform bill in the parliament of India could take years, as we all (Indians) know it’s quite hard to please the majority, though for good things. This does make progress of India slow but what wonder it does is the trust and believe it seeds among the rest of the Nations in the world. World would definitely prefer a democratic nation when compared to a communist country. Democracy has always been a safer place to live in and contributes zero threat to the world’s security and safety. This further boosts India’s take on becoming a reliable superpower to which world can trust.

The days of expansionism are apparently turning fade with the rising support for India’s stand at border disputes with China. The world now knows that the new India would never compromise on its national integrity and would never step back from its own territory. The recent aggressive response of Indian Army at the Galwan with close to 43 casualties on the Chinese side was a true representation of its new mood of hitting harder. The government of India following a straight path of “No Compromise” shows its rising diplomatic presence at global politics.

Indeed, a lot has changed since 1962’s Indo-China war. India in 2020 is much technically advanced than ever before. India is the biggest influencer of information technology, it is Indians who are providing software strength to major Chinese IT firms since China so far had focused only on manufacturing leading into a hardware oriented industry.

Apart from IT, India’s military might had boosted exponentially with more weapon, warheads and war machine imports, India is also focused on indigenous weapons, thus reducing the foreign imports and reliability.

Taking military strength, China does seem upper handed while looking at numbers. India has an approximate of 1.3 Million active armed personnel and China has close to 2.1 Million of armed personnel. Yet, strategically China is helpless. Surrounded with 14 neighbouring nations China could never risk putting all of its force on to the west, this will leave East China (China’s Densely Populated and Economy Region) in a huge threat from Japan, USA and other Nations.

India with complete command over Indian Ocean reflects threat to China’s trade route to the Gulf countries. India is able to improve its political position in the global community by making more of friends and forming strong business ties that works two ways, equally.