New Delhi, Feb. 12 -- In early February 2026, political controversy erupted in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, when Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi attempted to cite an unpublished memoir of former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane. He alleged that during the 2020 India-China standoff, political leaders failed to issue clear directives when informed of advancing Chinese armour. The government dismissed the reference as unverified and procedurally improper.

The parliamentary dispute, however, distracts from a more fundamental question: has India's long-standing "bulletless" border doctrine unintentionally enabled Chinese coercion along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)?

For decades, India and China have manag...