Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India and its neighbourhood, Issue: India-China relations.
Context:
India-China relations remain tense, shaped by history, politics, and security concerns. India lacks deep expertise in understanding China compared to other global powers.Without investing in serious China studies, India risks reactive policymaking.
Key Highlights:
Current Challenges in India’s China Knowledge:
- Superficial Analysis:
- Focus often limited to troop movements, trade numbers, and border tensions.
- Misses deeper historical and political contexts like Century of Humiliation, Maoist revolutionary experience, and Confucian governance ideas.
- Deficient Academic Infrastructure:
- Very few Indian universities offer China Studies.
- Only a handful of fellowships for students, limited Mandarin training, and poor funding.
- Knowledge remains confined to a small group in Delhi and a few institutions.
- Dependence on External Narratives:
- Much of India’s China discourse shaped by ignorance, imported fact-checks, or uncritical acceptance of foreign perspectives.
- Risk of misreading China remains high.
- Lack of comprehensive approach:
- Lack of investment in research and training.
- Overdependence on security lens alone.
- Political and ideological biases in understanding China.
Importance of Deeper Engagement:
- Strategic Need: China’s rise is shaped by nationalism, digital governance, Communist Party politics, and environmental strategies, all of which impact India.
- Policy Formulation: Informed engagement requires ability to interpret Chinese policy documents and decode cultural references.
- Global Comparison:
| United States | Australia | India |
| Strongly embedded China Studies across disciplines and universities. | Robust academic infrastructure to study China | Lags behind other countries, leaving policymakers dependent on external views. |
Way Forward:
Conclusion:
India cannot afford to engage with China through ignorance or surface-level analysis. Without building expertise in Chinese history, politics, and society, India risks formulating short-sighted, reactive policies. Strategic investment in China Studies is essential for informed decision-making and long-term national interest.
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