Most of the respondents firmly believe that India cannot go the Sri Lankan way. Almost half of the respondents also disapproved of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi, December 2021
wooWith approximately 13,000 civilian casualties and an estimated 80,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded, the ongoing war in Ukraine is considered the most intense conventional conflict in Europe since World War II. New Delhi has acted cautiously – condemning civilian deaths without naming old strategic ally Russia, and avoiding UN votes on the conflict. It’s taking a tough step: India wants Russia and Ukraine to resolve the crisis, but its (strategic) interests—energy needs, as well as the fact that 70 percent of its military hardware is Russian—have given it Russia’s need. Condemnation is not allowed. Forty-nine percent of MOTN respondents believe that Russia was wrong to invade Ukraine. Sri Lanka, whose economy is in the grip of an all-out recession, is worried about its proximity to India as well as its strategic position. When asked whether a similar situation could happen in India, over 57 per cent of the respondents to MOTN replied in the negative, saying that India’s economy was very strong. A cocktail of bad decisions and geopolitical uncertainties led to the Lanka crisis—an abrupt switch to organic fertilisers, catastrophic fiscal imprudence of Sri Lankan leaders, a tourism-dependent economy from the pandemic and high oil prices to diesel-powered power plants. is burning. None of this applies to India.
On the snowy peaks of eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have been locked in a border standoff for more than two years. About a million Indian soldiers—as a mirror deployment in the Chinese concentration—are stationed there. Sixteen rounds of Corps Commander-level talks as well as diplomatic negotiations have failed to bring about a complete disintegration. How has the Center handled border infiltration from China? More than 44 percent of respondents say ‘very well’; 30 percent consider it ‘satisfactory’. Over 14 percent say it was handled poorly. Can it be done better? Militancy is not an option, but India is improving infrastructure, preventing China from infiltrating further. Since 2020, India has built 2,088 km of all-weather roads for areas further along the border.
Talks and terror emanating from Pakistan cannot go together. This is India’s stand when it comes to negotiating with the western neighbour. Should India not talk to Pakistan, it seems that 56 per cent of MOTN respondents echoed the same percentage in January 2022. They have good reasons: the new Shehbaz Sharif-led government does not have a New India policy. His stand on abrogation of Article 370 and J&K has not changed. Security planners in New Delhi believe Islamabad has no credible elected authority to talk to, as the current regime may not last long.
