I understand the point that
@Falcon is trying to make.
However, there are few issues that I don't understand -
India had umpteen opportunities to get rid of Pakistan, which India did not.
As per your logic - 'what is to be done with Pakistan after defeating Pak army' being the reason behind the decision.
So, if I understand correctly, according to you -
1) We should not fry Pakistan, or else we will have a failed state as our neighbour resulting in a new Syria.
2) We should not escalate with China, since Pakistan will join in & it will be a two front war - we are not ready for it.
3) Even if Pakistan doesn't join in, 'We can hold our own, at great cost to both our economy & lives of army men'
All this applies, when we have the choice - to attack or not to attack, our decision affects the outcome directly. Fair enough.
Now, coming to current situation -
China is pissed as we are building the border infra (official statement), behind the curtains, what ever the 'actual' reason be.
India's position is, we are not going to stop building the infra as per our need & requirements. Where does this leave China in terms of options.
Either backdown, or escalate, right?
Now, what if - China escalates & Pakistan joins in ?
According to you, militarily where do we stand in such a situation?
And most importantly,
China & Pakistan have been a perineal problem for India starting right from the old days.
Despite that, today, when it comes to a place where 2 front war is a possibility, we realise we are not well equipped.
Yeah, our defence budget is not huge, true, but 1962 to 2020, is that not enough time to get prepared for something this obvious?
Also, in the economic arena, India was & still is a huge market for China. I wonder what that was allowed by our past governments?
Lastly,
@Falcon, could you please tell us, according to you, what are our i.e. India's options, in case of the worst case eventuality of a two - front war ?