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Syed Talat Hussain The killing of dozens of Indian soldiers in clashes with the Chinese border forces in Eastern Ladakh and subsequent warnings from Beijing to Delhi to not meddle in what the Chinese call their side of the Line of Actual Control has given Prime Minister Narendra Modi a bloody nose and a broken ego. If the shooting down of the Indian plane by Pakistan and the capture of its pilot Abhinand Varthaman after a quick dog-fight last year punched large holes in the Indian Airforce’s competence claims, the Ladakh clashes have shown the Indian ground forces’ extreme limitations. But for Mr Modi, who likes to portray himself as an avatar of Hindu gods of war and conquest, this is a blow right on the jaw and one that has led to total paralysis of his military strategy. For someone who likes to pretend as India is always battle-ready, and will go to any length to achieve its strategic goals---hot pursuit, incursions, cold start etc---he has had to hunker down in humiliation, lickin...