Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 4 months ago
According to Mood of the Nation survey, 48% of respondents said they were “very worried” about the development, while 24% were “somewhat worried.” Only 20% felt the situation was not worrying.

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:00Opinion on emerging nexus between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
00:0548% are saying very worrying.
00:08Somewhat worrying is 24%.
00:09So, remember, this is a nationwide poll.
00:12Foreign policy may not always be top of the mind for an average citizen.
00:15But still, 72% see some kind of a nexus between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
00:21Only 8% say not very worrying and 12% say not at all worrying.
00:25So, it almost seems as if the average Indian citizen fears that we are being encircled, Sandeep,
00:31by Pakistan, China and Bangladesh.
00:35Does the government again need to get its communication strategy right to address these concerns?
00:40You are going to China just two months after you've accused that same country, rightly so,
00:45of being in military cahoots with the Pakistanis.
00:49Absolutely, Rajiv.
00:50And I think that is the nature of geopolitics in 2025.
00:53We are in a bit of a spot given the way our ties are playing out with the United States,
00:59with the Russian Federation, with China, of course,
01:02and, of course, a resurgent Pakistan which is being propped up by the United States.
01:08You know, that said, there is a groundswell of public opinion against China.
01:13And if I would take a dipstick on this,
01:16I would look at one of the biggest Bollywood superstars,
01:20what is the movie that he is shooting even as we speak in the studio today.
01:24It is Salman Khan shooting in Ladakh for a movie made on the Galwan strife.
01:28Now, the Galwan conflict.
01:30That clearly tells you that the mood of the people is moving against China.
01:34And it is for Prime Minister Modi to balance this frenemy act.
01:38It's not going to be Jula diplomacy again.
01:40It's going to be trust but verify.
01:42Rajdeep, just allow me to make a point.
01:46Look, the same set of audience in our five-year-ago survey,
01:50mood of the nation survey of 2020,
01:52said overwhelmingly with a majority of 59%
01:54that India should go to war with China post-Galwan.
01:58Same set of people.
01:59So, suspicion remains.
02:00Post-62, things have changed.
02:02People do have that memory and we have to give it to that.
02:05India has civilizational memories.
02:06So, we do not tend to forget things.
02:08The reality remains so.
02:09But let me complete the point that this is also a reality
02:13that despite having Galwan and the visuals of people smashing TVs
02:18and banning off those applications and throwing their mobile phones,
02:21this remains a reality that India still imports
02:23$100 billion worth of equipment and things from China.
02:27So, that manufacturing, that dependence.
02:28And government trade deficit has ballooned.
02:30Exactly.
02:31Baya, you wanted to make a point.
02:32Yes, Hindi, Chini, Bhai, Bhai.
02:33This is what we are aiming for, right?
02:34If we look at this.
02:35But, Rajdeep, let's look at what the data is actually showing.
02:4060% of Indians believe that nation's global influence has improved.
02:43But there is also a 72% expressing worry about this new axis which has emerged,
02:49which is China, Pakistan, Bangladesh nexus.
02:52So, on one hand, there is this broad perception of India's international stature.
02:57But there is tangible anxiety.
02:58Anxiety, I think that has to be juxtaposed when we look at both the situations.
03:03No, no, because remember, Prime Minister Modi has always tried to project,
03:07or his government or his cheerleaders have promoted him as a Vishwa guru,
03:11who has raised India's standing globally.
03:14We saw that even after G20, that India was going to be a leader of the global south.
03:18The last few months have upended some of that,
03:21both the way in which post-Operation Sindur Pakistan was also able to launch
03:26a relatively successful diplomatic offensive,
03:28got their IMF loans, got their ADB loans,
03:31is in the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment

Recommended