The China wars continue to be fought well within Indian territory and between Indian actors.

Union home minister Amit Shah opened the latest front, making the eminently questionable claim that Beijing could not encroach upon a “single inch” of Indian territory under Prime Minister Narendra Modi whereas India’s first premier, Jawaharlal Nehru, had “said bye-bye” to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh during the 1962 Chinese aggression.

“During the Chinese aggression of 1962, instead of fighting, Nehru had said ‘bye-bye’ to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. People of these states can never forget this,” Shah told an election rally in Assam’s Lakhimpur. “In contrast, China could not encroach even a single inch of land under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added, referring to the 2017 Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese forces.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress media head, was quick to launch a counter-assault, calling out Modi’s “lie” on the Chinese incursions into eastern Ladakh and arguing that the government’s denial of Chinese occupation of Indian territory had weakened India’s case in dealing with China on border issues.

In a detailed post on X, Ramesh said that Modi’s “lie” that not a single Chinese soldier had crossed over into Indian territory had been “used by the Chinese all over the world to deny their encroachments onto Indian territory”.

On June 19, 2020, following the Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, Modi had told an all-party meeting that not a single Chinese soldier had crossed over into Indian territory. Since then, the Chinese have repeatedly claimed the Galwan Valley as their own without meeting any challenge or rebuttal from South Block.

Alongside, Indian and Chinese military commanders have held multiple rounds of “de-escalation” talks during which the Chinese have consistently held the upper hand and pushed new territories along the undefined line of actual control as their own.

“Now, the only man who can give the Prime Minister competition in lying and falsifying facts — his Home Minister — has also given aclean chit to China. He has claimed that China ‘could not encroach a single inch of land’ under the Modi government,” Ramesh said.

In the Congress’s assessment, China has occupied 2,000sqkm of Indian soil, taken over 26 out of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh, and built complete villages 50-60km deep inside Arunachal Pradesh.

The Congress manifesto, released last week, details the China issue in two segments — defence and foreign policy.

In the segment on defence, the manifesto says: “The Chinese intrusions in Ladakh and the Galwan clash in 2020 represented the biggest setbacks to Indian national security in decades. On 19 June, 2020, PM Narendra Modi gave a clean chit to China that considerably weakened our negotiating position. Despite 21 rounds of military-level talks, Chinese troops continue to occupy Indian territory and deny Indian forces access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points, equivalent to an area of 2,000sqkm in eastern Ladakh. A Chinese buildup in Doklam threatens the Siliguri Corridor that connects northeast India with the rest of the country.”

While on foreign policy, the Congress manifesto said that it “recognises that national security is not enhanced by chest-thumping or exaggerated claims but by quiet attention to our borders and resolute defence preparedness. We will work to restore the status quo ante on our borders with China and to ensure that areas where both armies patrolled in the past are again accessible to our soldiers. We will take the necessary steps to adjust our policy towards China until this is achieved.”

Shah claimed that the Indian Army had stood firm in Doklam and pushed back Chinese military efforts to encroach upon Indian territory, seeking to credit Modi for the valour shown by the armed forces. “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Army stood firm against China in Doklam for 45 days, compelling the Chinese forces to retreat,” he said.