What is the definition of Rape in India? Why convictions in rape cases are so much poor in India?

Why is it in the news?

1. The Supreme Court of India stayed on 26th March 2025, the Allahabad High Court judgement of March 17th which concluded that mere grabbing the breast of a minor victim, breaking the string of her payjama to bring down her lower garment are not sufficient to constitute an offence of attempt to rape. The Supreme Court took Suo motu cognizance of the judgement. 

2. In the instant case, the alleged incident occurred on 10th November 2021 in the Kasganj District of UP. A minor girl was forcibly taken away beneath the culvert. She was grabbed by her breast. The accused broke the string of her pyjama. The girl screamed and shouted for help. The passerby came to her rescue and so both the accused fled away from the scene of crime.  

3.The mother of the victim filed an application before the special judge, POCSO Act  Kasganj District. The special judge registered the application. After recording the statements the special judge issued a summon to the accused. The accused filed a revision petition before the High Court, Allahabad against the summons order. 

What is the definition of rape?

1. According to section 63 of Bhartiya Nyay Samhita, a man is said to commit a rape if he -

• Penetrates his penis to an extent into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a woman or makes her do so with him or any other person or 

• Inserts to any extent any object or a part of the body into the vagina, urethra or anus of woman or makes her do so with him or any other person or 

• Manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of her body or makes her do so with him or any other person or 

• Applies his mouth to the vagina, anus or urethra of a woman or makes her do so with him or any other person or 

2.These above acts constitute rape under the following circumstances -

• Against her will. It means that a sexual act has been performed in direct opposition to the woman’s conscious desire or intention. It implies active resistance, refusal and an absence of willingness on her part. For example, a man grabs a woman in a lonely place. He forces her to the ground and forcibly penetrates her vagina while she has been screaming and tries to push him away. This act of woman demonstrates her unwillingness and so her opposition is clear and against her will. During the medical examination, it may be possible that struggle marks or bruises may be found on the body of the victim. 

• Without her consent. It means absence of her voluntary agreement, no resistance is required, silence is not consent. For example, if a woman has been intoxicated and she is raped by penetration into her vagina either by penis or by objects, this consent is not consent because of her unconsiousness.  

• With consent when it is obtained under fear of death or hurt or injury to the person in which she is interested. 

• When consent is given under a misconception of fact, that is, when a woman believes the man is her husband who is not actually her husband.

• When the woman is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the act due to intoxication, unsoundness of mind or any other reason. 

• With or without consent if a woman is under 18 years of age. 

Exception : 

• A medical procedure or intervention does not constitute rape. 

• Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife where the wife is not under 18 years of age is not rape. For example, if a man forces a 20 year old wife to have sexual intercourse against her will. This would not constitute a rape. 

3.Thus, the definition of rape of India is gender specific. It is not gender neutral. It does not recognise male or transgender as the victims of rape. It does not account for female perpetrators. 

4.The second feature of the definition of rape is that, there must be some kind of  penetration whether by penis or any body part or an object or manipulation. Thus, non-penetrative acts do not qualify as rape. But may fall under sexual harassment or assault. 

5.The third feature is consent. It must be free, voluntary and informed. Any coercion, deception, misrepresentation or incapacity negate consent. 

6.The fourth feature is age. If a girl is below 18 years of age, her consent is illegal and so it would be construte as rape.    

7.The fifth feature is the enhancement of punishment for gang rape of a woman or a minor girl below 12 years and the punishment extends to not less than 20 years which may extend to life and a fine.  

8. Similarly, rape of a woman by a police officer, a public servant under his custody, security forces, incharge of the management of jail or remand home, hospital, a teacher, a guardian or a relative of a woman or a person under whose control or dominance a woman is raped have to be enhanced punishment extending to imprisonment for life. In case, the death is caused to the raped woman, the accused would be punished with the rigorous punishment which shall not be less than 20 years and which may extend to imprisonment for life or with death. 

What is the attempted rape?

1. Attempted rape means that a person takes all steps towards raping a woman but the act is not complete due to interruption, resistance or help extended by passerby after hearing the screaming or shouting of the victim. 

2. Section 62 explicitly states that whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable by this samhita with imprisonment for life or imprisonment or to cause such an offence to be committed, and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence, shall, where no express provision is made by this samhita for the punishment for such attempt, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one half of the imprisonment for life or as the case may be, one half of the longest term of imprisonment provided for that offence or with such fine as provided for the offence or with both. Thus, offence of rape shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not less than one half of the minimum punishment prescribed for rape and up to one half of the maximum punishment or with fine or both. Thus, an attempt to rape carries a punishment for not less than five years or up to seven years plus a fine. 

3. To constitute an attempt to rape, three elements must be proved : 

• Intentions - The accused must have the clear intend to commit rape.

• The accused must perform an overt act that goes beyond near preparation and directly moves towards committing rape. 

• The rape must not be completed due to certain external factors like escape of the victim girl/woman, interuption by woman/girl, voluntary withdrawal of the accused from the scene of crime without accomplishing the act or help by passerby. For example, a man drags a woman into a lonely place, tears her clothes and under garments and attempts to penetrate her vagina with his penis. She screams and shouts. Passerby people intervene and extend help to the victim woman. Thus, the intention of the rape is clear by the act of dragging or tearing clothes of victim. The Act goes beyond preparation. The rape is incomplete due to intruption. 

Secondly, a woman is lured by a man to his house and then he locks her inside the room and forces her to lie down on the bed. He starts unclothing her. The woman escapes from the window. This is a clear cut case of attempted rape.   

4. It should be noted that mere preparation to commit rape does not amount to punishable offence. It should be noted that the court uses the proximity rule to distinguish attempt from preparation. In the State of Maharashtra vs Mohammad Yakub (1980), attempt begins where preparation ends. In order to prove the attempt , the prosecution must establish that it has gone beyond the stage of preparation. 

Moreover, under section 120 of the BSA (Bhartiya Sakhya Adhiniyam), the court will presume that the victim did not consent if she tells the court that she did not consent to the sexual intercourse. Thus, the accused has the burden of proof to prove that he is innocent by providing credible evidence like prior relationship or explicit agreement to rebut the presumption.   

How the investigation of rape is conducted?

1. When a rape incident occurs, either the rape victim or her relative or someone on her behalf can lodge FIR under section 173 of BNSS (Bhartiya Nyay Suraksha Samhita). 

• If the crime has occurred outside the jurisdiction of a police station, an FIR under zero can be filed at the police station and then subsequently is transferred to the police station having the appropriate jurisdiction. 

• The identity of the victim must be protected under section 72 of the BNS, thereby, prohibiting public disclosure of her name or details. The investigating officer assigns a unique number to the victim and begins investigation by taking her statement and witnesses (if any) and proceeds to the scene of crime.

• Since, the rape is a cognizable offence, its non-registration would attract disciplinary proceedings against the erring police officer. The investigating officer inspect the scene of crime, collect physical evidence like semen, blood, hair, clothing and take photographs of the scene of crime depicting the sign of struggle (if any).   The visit of the scene of the crime must be done promptly to preserve evidence. Any delay would cause disappearance of evidence. The investigating officer must accompany a forensic expert for proper collection, sealing and labelling of evidence in tamper proof containers. 

• The victim must be taken to a registered medical practitioner for medical examination within 24 hours of the registration of FIR. However, the consent of the victim must be taken before examining her body. When consent is obtained, the doctor would examine the private part, injuries (if any), traces of semen, signs of struggle like bruises or scratches on her body. The doctor would also collect samples like vaginal swabs, nail scrapings and blood for intoxication tests. It is necessary that a female doctor conducts the above examination. It should be noted that the invasive two finger test has been prohibited to determine virginity or sexual history of the victim by the Supreme Court in the case of Lillu vs State of Haryana in 2013 as it violates the dignity of woman/girl and is irrelevant to consent. 

• The female police officer must be present during the examination of the victim girl/woman. The investigating officer collects clothes, weapons and objects used in the crime. He also collects CCTV footage, call records of victims and accused and relevant messages. 

• If the accused is identified the police will arrest him without a warrant. The accused is medically examined to collect evidence like semen, DNA, injuries from resistance, the medical examination can be done forcibly if he refuses. The investigating officer records the statement of the accused. But confession made by the accused to a police officer is not admissible in the court of law unless recorded before a magistrate under section 186 of BNSS.   

• Once the investigation is completed, the charge sheet is prepared, supporting the allegations and it is produced in the court of jurisdiction within 90 days of the arrest of the accused where the offence is punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of ten years and in other cases 60 days. On the expiry of the said period of 90 days or 60 days as the case may be the accused person shall be released on failure if he is prepared to furnish bail. 

• The magistrate reviews the charge sheet and frames charges under section 246 of the BNSS. The case is then committed to a session court.  According to section 193 (3) (1) of BNSS, the investigation must be completed within two months for rape cases involving minors. According to section 24 (3) of BNSS, a female police officer should preferably investigate rape cases ensuring insensitivity. 

Why convictions in rape is so poor in India?

1. The conviction rate for rape cases in India hovers around 27-28% according to NCRB in 2018-2022. The rate of conviction is poor in India when compared with the UK (60.2%), Canada (42%). This is because several factors : 

• The judge to population ratio in India is 21 per million against 120 per million in the United States.

• Prolonged trials in India cause evidence degradation, witness fatigue and victims turning hostile under pressure. 

• Police in India is very much overburdened so much so that only 151 police personnel are available for 1 lakh people according to NCRB, 2021 compared to 225 policemen available per one lakh in the UK.

• India has fewer forensic labs causing delays in DNA analysis and examination of physical and biological evidence.

• Because of cultural stigma, most of the rape victims either withdraw complaints or become hostile during trial under pressure from the powerful family of the accused. This results into 90% of rape acquitals on account of reluctance of rape victim during trials. Moreover, witnesses also turn hostile during trial under pressure from the accused party. Since, most of the rape cases involve close relatives, the pressure is mounted upon the rape victim resulting into her being hostile during trial. 

• Delayed reporting of the rape cases further destroys evidence. 

• Under section 120 of BSA, it is presumed that there is no consent if the victim has not consented but this lack of consent is not absolute in the court for want of corroborative evidence from struggle marks on the scene of crime, injuries on the body of the victim and statements of witnesses.     

How convictions in rape can be raised in India?

1. Improving sensitisation of police personnels with regard to rape cases. 

2. Increasing forensic science laboratories (FSLs) from the present 40 to 100 equipping them with DNA sequencing tools and enforcing a 30 day report deadline. 

3. Ensuring the completion of trial in rape cases within 60 days by activating all fast track special courts. 

4. Increasing the number of judges from 21 to 50 per million. 

5. Providing mobile medical units in rural areas. 

6. Offering legal aid, counselling and witness protection in every district.

7. Swift compensation to victim/girl/woman. 

8. Installation of CCTV networks in cities and kasba. 

9. Launching awareness campaigns to educate youths.

10. Formation of woman safety committees which are to be linked to police helplines. 

11. Swift disposal of cases in the court because strong justice delivery reduces the incidence of the rape cases. 

Ways forward

Systematic modernisation of police infrastructure, scaling up of fast track courts. Increasing forensic capacity, strengthening victim support, shifting societal attitudes with regard to rape cases, liveraging technology, data collections and crime mapping, ensuring witness protection and forming woman safety committees at work places and otherwise would go a long way in increasing the conviction rates in rape cases and thereby, mitigating the occurrances of rape in India. 

Conclusion

It has been observed that most of the rape cases in India are committed by close relatives, guardians, friends and acquaintances. The new provision under section 64 provides for enhanced punishments for accused who are a relative or guardian or a teacher or a person in a position of trust and authority or in a position of control or dominance over a woman.  Similarly, under section 65, the rape on a minor girl attracts enhanced punishment which may extend to life imprisonment. Similarly, under section 69, sexual intercourse by making a false promise to marry a woman has been clearly described in the BNS and provides for 10 years punishment. 

To sum up, the new provisions from section 63 to 72 under BNS would be very much effective in controlling and mitigating the incidences of rape cases in India.  

What is communalism? What are the causes for genesis and growth of communalism in India?

 Why is it in the news? 

1. Nagpur witnessed the outbreak of communal violence of mass on 17th March 2025. Members of right wing Hindu groups organised a protest in Nagpur’s Mahal area demanding the demolition of Aurangzeb Tomb at Khuldabad. They burnt an effigy of Aurangzeb wrapped in a green cloth. The rumour spread that the cloth bore Quranic verses. The misinformation was very much amplified by social media. 

2. Violence erupted. The protestors attacked police homes and vehicles. Over 60 vehicles were either torched or vandalised. More than 30 police personnels were injured. CCTV cameras were deliberately targeted by rioters. Curfew was imposed upon several areas of Nagpur. 

3. The release of the film Chhava in which Aurangzeb was depicted torturing and killing Sambhaji Maharaj, the great Maratha King triggered the immediate cause for communal riots in Nagpur. Police have taken 84 people under custody so far. It is reported that Nagpur is now returning to normalcy. 

What is communalism? 

1. It refers to the belief that people belonging to the same religious community have common political, economic and social interests, superseding the interests of other religious communities, thereby, fetching maximum benefits to the exclusion of other religious communities. Thus, communalism creates division and conflicts between different religious groups. 

Thus, communalism is a divisive ideology that gives priority to religious identity over national unity leading to religious polarisation, political manipulation to use religion for getting votes, outbreak of violence and riots, levelling minority Muslims as anti-national and majority Hindus as oppressors. It fails to separate religion from politics. Thus, it tries to conduct government on the basis of religious dogmas. In the extreme form communalism claims nationhood for the community concerned and seeks to raise it to a status of sovereign state. For example, majority Hindus clamour for Hindu Rashtra in India. 

There are three types of communalism in India. These are : 

• Assimilative communalism, whereby the majority community imposes its culture upon minorities. 

• Aggressive communalism, whereby majority Hindus assert its religious identity by resorting to violent methods like mob-lynching hate speeches targeting Muslims and other minority communities and reduction of political participation of minority Muslim community by not giving party tickets to stand in election. 

• Minority Separatism, whereby minority communities demand exclusive rights or autonomy or even independence. For example, Khalistani groups in Punjab demanded a separate homeland. Similarly, different separatist groups wanted independent J & K or its merging with Pakistan. 

What are the causes for genesis and growth of communalism in India?

1. Colonial legacy - It should be noted that during the 1857 War of independence, both Muslims and Hindus fought together. This unity raised concern to the British authorities and so they tried to crush Muslim zamindars, talukdars and Muslim princes from 1860 onwards till 1900. In this period, they pampered Hindus. But when Hindus became educated and started demanding more concessions from the British Government, the Britisher tilted towards Muslims. Lord Elphinstone, a Governor of Mumbai  wrote that divide and rule was the motto of the Roman Empire, it should be ours. Similarly, Sir John Wood wrote to Lord Elgin- “ We have maintained power by playing one part against the other and we must continue to do so.”  The Britishers provoked the Nawab of Dhaka to establish the Muslim league party in 1906 to safeguard Muslims politically.  

The Britishers adopted the policy of divide and rule by providing separate electorates for Muslim in 1909, which was further extended in 1919 Act by providing separate electorates for Christians, Europeans and Sikhs. The British Government tried to further extend a separate electorate to Dalit by communal award in 1932 but this divisive ploy was foiled by Gandhiji through the Poona Pact. 

2. The partition of India between India and Pakistan further entrenched Hindu Muslim hostility. About 10 lakhs Hindus and Muslims were killed. 60 lakhs Hindus had to be rehabilitated in India. One lakh women were raped. These incidents left a permanent scar between Hindus and Muslims.

3. The personal laws based on religion further perpetuated religious division in India. The Ayodhya dispute and demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 further politicised religious disputes, thereby, caused tension between Hindus and Muslims.  

4.In independent India, the political exploitation of different religious denominations further accentuated the religious divide. While Congress was accused of minority appeasement, BJP was accused of playing Hindutva politics and majoritarianism. Hate speeches delivered by politicians during elections further leads to consolidation of votes of different religious groups for different parties. 

5. Socio-economic disparity - According to Sachar Committee Report 2006, Muslims are very much lagging behind in education, employment and political representation. There is acute unemployment and resulting frustration among Muslim youths who are easy prey to radicalisation by extremists groups. Because of the fear of the Hindu majority, Muslims live in segregated areas in cities. The ghettoization tendency among Muslims further reinforces complete segregation from Hindu majority. 

6. Fake news in social media often leads to sensationalism causing Hindu Muslim conflicts. 

7. Weak law enforcement and delayed justice are causes for frequent communal riots in India. 

8. Large scale conversion activities taking place among Hindus by Christian missionaries and Muslim theologians further fuel communal sentiments among Hindus. 

9. Subversion of secularism by a few political parties also encourages communalism. 

10. Hindutva philosophy also ignited communalism in India so much so that this philosophy brands both Muslims and Christians as foreigners, thereby, accentuating societal divisions. 

     

How to mitigate communalism in India? 

1. Strengthening secularism 

2. Equal treatment of all religions by the state

3. No conversion from one religion to another should be allowed in normal situations by missionaries and Muslim theologians. There must be a stoppage of proselytising activities.   

4. Promoting interfaith education and communal harmony in schools

5. Highlighting shared cultural heritage of India in the school syllabus

6. Banning political parties that promote religious hatred

7. Electoral reforms to discourage identity politics

8. Ensuring equitable development of all communities

9. Encouraging interactions among communities through cultural programmes

10. Strict enforcement of anti-communal violence laws

11. Speedy trial of cases relating to communal violence

12. A mechanism should be developed to counter fake news

13. Strict penalties for hate speech 

14. Setting up of peace committees in the riot torn areas to bring normalcy. 

Way Forward

1. Focus should be on inclusive growth of all religious denominations.

2. Encouragement to secular values among the younger generation.

3. Promotion of interfaith dialogue. 

4. Stress upon India’s diversity as a strength rather than a weakness.

5. Adequate political participation of minorities in proportion of their population.

Conclusion

1. Communalism is a cancer to the Indian body politic and a threat to national integration.

2. Combating communalism requires proactive policing, strong social institutions, inclusive growth, proportional representation of all religious communities and collective societal efforts.

3. It should be noted that both religious and linguistic diversities are not hindrances to national integration and a cause for the outbreak of communalism. Communalism thrives when religious differences are politicised by different political parties for garnering votes. 

4. Communalism and democracy cannot thrive together. Hence it is necessary to curb communalism in order to strengthen democracy in India. 

Is China the greatest threat to India ?

 Why is it in the news? 

1. While giving an interview to the American correspondent Lex Freidman, the Indian Prime Minister said that India and China were working to restore conditions to how they were before 2020. The incident along the border created significant tensions between our countries. He said that our cooperation was not just beneficial but also essential for global stability and prosperity. He said, “Since the 21st century is Asia’s century, we want India and China to compete in a healthy and natural way.” He said that when two neighbouring countries existed, occasional disagreements were bound to happen but our focus was to ensure that these differences did not turn into disputes. Instead of discord, dialogue could build a stable cooperative relationship that served the best interest in both the nations.   

Relation between India and China in the Past 

1. Both countries in the past had contributed to each other. There was no hostility between them in recorded history. The old record suggests that both countries together contributed 50% of the world's GDP. At one time, Buddhism was the most prominent religion of China. There had been trade relationships and people to people exchange between both countries since ancient times. Noted scholars like Fa-Hsien, Huen- Tsang and Itsing visited India at different times. 

2. When China was brought under communist regime by Mao Zedong in 1949, India was the first non-communist country to recognise it. India established diplomatic relations with China in 1950. It always insisted upon giving China a permanent seat in the security council of the UN, instead of the Kuomintang Government of Taiwan.  Jawaharlal Nehru believed that India-China detente could stabilise Asia and keep the superpowers at bay. In 1954, both countries signed the Panchsheel agreement which included respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; non-aggression; non-interference in each other’s internal affairs; equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. India conceded China’s suzerainty over Tibet and recognised it as an autonomous region of China. However, the bonhomie between the two countries ended in 1962 when China attacked India on the western and eastern front. It captured forcefully the Aksai Chin area of J & K. It entered NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh). However, within a month, it retreated unilaterally from the eastern front.   Critics are of the view that China wanted to assert its regional dominance in Asia. It wanted to humiliate India which had become unquestionably the leader of the third world countries. The war caused mistrust and apprehension of India towards China. India detonated nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 contending that there was a perpetual threat of China. Moreover, China- Pakistan Axis has been a lurking danger over the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. 

Areas of Conflict 

1. The former Defence Minister, George Fernandes declared that China, not Pakistan, was the biggest threat to India. He cited occupation of Aksai Chin, support to Pakistan by providing nuclear and military aid and infrastructure build up of China near the LAC. Similarly, former Chief Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat accused China as the biggest threat to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He cited the gradual encroachment of China into Indian territory and Chinna-Pakistan collusion. Thus, he said while Pakistan is a chronic threat, China is the real long term challenge. Thus, the combination of Chinese Military power, economic influence and territorial ambition make it India’s most formidable long term adversary. The important areas of conflict between India and China are : 

• Border Disputes - China does not recognise the MacMohan line drawn between India and Tibet in 1914 Shimla Convention. 

• China had forcefully captured a 38000 sq km area called Aksai Chin in J & K in the Indo-China war in 1962. It constructed highways connecting its province Xinjiang to Tibet. 

• China claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh of India, calling it the part of South Tibet. 

• China has made infrastructure like railways, highways and air bases along LAC. 

• China is constructing the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, thereby violating India’s sovereignty. 

• China has also pursued the policy of strings of pearls whereby it has constructed and developed naval bases at ports like Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Chittagong (Bangladesh), Kyaukpyu (Myanmar), Gwadar (Pakistan), Djibouti (Horn of Africa) to encircle India. China has also invested in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) under belt and road initiative. It has also initiated debt trap diplomacy whereby in case of failure of debt repayments assets of borrowing countries are either purchased or pawned. These tactics of China in IOR have limited the scope of Indian diplomacy in these regions. 

• China has provided nuclear missile technology, JF-17 fighter jets to Pakistan and it seems that China wants to wage a proxy war with India. It should be noted that Pakistan is dependent upon China for its 70% military hardwares.  

• China has established its predominant power in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean by the deployment of nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. The presence of the powerful Chinese navy is a constant threat to India’s sovereignty. 

• Military asymmetry between India and China is another threat. India spends $81 billion on its military, China spends $230 billion annually. The Chinese regular army consists of more than 20 lakhs against India’s 14 lakhs. Moreover, China has manufactured hypersonic missile systems and high grades of aircrafts like the Chengdu J-20 and J-36 stealth fighters.  

• Cyber and hybrid warfare threats - Chinese hacking groups target Indian defence, healthcare and IT sectors. They spread disinformation campaigns by manipulating Indian social media. 

• The bilateral trade between India and China in FY24 stood at 118.40 billion (GTRI).  China has once again become India’s top trading partner in FY24 surpassing the United States. China had a 15% share in India’s total imports. India imported goods worth 675.42 billion from the world including goods worth 101.74 billion from China. There is a widening trade deficit of $83 billion in 2023 with China. This is because of the impediments for most of India’s agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, IT/ITeS in the Chinese market. Thus, there is economic leverage to China vis-a-vis India.

What should India do to mitigate the threats of China?

1. Engagement in military level talks with Chinese to de-escalate tensions.

2. An effort should be made to demarcate the boundaries between India and China.

3. Deployment of Indian Army on vulnerable points so that Chinese incursions can be checked in time. 

4. India should focus upon indigenous production of goods and services so that its dependence upon Chinese imports is minimised. 

5. Since, Chinese economy is five times greater than that of India in nominal GDP and two and half times greater than India in PPP terms, India should make all efforts to increase its growth rate by investing in infrastructure, FDI, providing employment opportunities to youths and increased allocation in educational and healthcare sectors. Moreover, the demographic dividend is favourable to India so much so that it would continue till 2049 against China’s in 2031. Dependency load of China would further increase leading to the decrease in its economic growth. India can catch up to China after 2031 in economic growth and development. 

6. India should reinforce its alliance with Japan, Australia and the US on the one hand to minimise the preponderant influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region, it should strengthen its ties with Russia because India is highly dependent upon military hardwares. Moreover, looking into the close relationship between China and Russia, it is imperative to have strong ties with Russia to neutralise its close relationship with China. 

7. Looking into the huge investment in the Chinese military, India should also match the military expenditure in proportion to its size of the economy. 

8. India should upgrade its missile technology. It should develop hypersonic missiles to match China. It should further strengthen Mountainous corps in the Himalayan region. The 4000 km long borders between India and China should be further reinforced with latest technology and logistics so that Chinese could be tackled effectively and no incursion is allowed into the Indian territory. It should be noted that India has more experience of warfare in mountainous and hilly terrains than the Chinese army.  

Areas of reconciliation 

1. Both countries can make reconciliation by the resolution of conflict over border disputes. Buffer zone should be earmarked on the border of MacMohan line so that no untoward incident recur. There should be agreement on patrolling protocols, better communication between two governments at different levels to prevent further clashes. 

2. Multilateral cooperation - Both countries can strengthen BRICS, SCO and G-20. They can also pursue the policy of de dollarization in order to reduce the dependence upon the US dollar. They can also raise the restructuring of the World Bank and IMF where the developed countries have greater benefits.      

3. China should also stop the policy of proxy war against India through Pakistan. It should reduce giving military hardwares and advanced technology to Pakistan. Similarly, it should stop vetoing in the security council with regard to Pakistani sponsored terrorist activities in the Kashmir Valley. 

4. Both countries can cooperate in the field of artificial intelligence, semiconductors and cyber security. 

5. Both countries should promote cultural tourism and people to people exchanges. 

Conclusion

1. Trust deficit between the two countries must be removed through the continued dialogue. They should understand that disputes and wars are not solutions to their problems. Any escalation of tension between two countries would not be beneficial for Asian solidarity and world peace. 

2. Both countries are rising powers. Both countries have huge populations. Both need peace for expediting developmental works. 

3. However, India should keep its military, diplomatic, economic and nuclear preparedness vis-a-vis China so that it should not be caught napping like in 1962 Indo-China war. It must be noted that it is a deterrence that heralds peace between countries more effectively than anything else.