The first ‘fistfight’ between Indian and Chinese soldiers was reported on May 5, 2020, in the Galvan Valley, Ladakh. The Indian media have covered the subsequent developments, and Indian scholars have come out with analysis, at times insightful, of China’s intentions and capabilities.
However, in understanding the current ‘face-off’ between India and China, we need to ask a simple but crucial question: To what extent does India does understand China?
It is my view – and shall be grateful to be corrected by our Sinologists – that India has not taken much trouble to understand China. I do exclude the Ministry of External Affairs from this observation. Our scholars, with a few honourable exceptions, do not know the Chinese language and therefore have no access to the Chinese language media in China.
The state-controlled media in China tell their readers, in Chinese or English, what the state chooses to say to them. What the state decides to tell the Chinese people need not be the same as what it wants to tell the international community. Moreover, given China’s strict controls on information and lack of transparency, a comprehensive and accurate assessment is a problematic task.
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