First person

INFOCUS|INDIA-CHINA|OpINION INFOCUS|INDIA-CHINA|FIRST PERSON

signature software company Infosys makes quite the cut on Chinese shores.

The challenges of measuring perceptions are subject to subjectivity howsoever objectively done.

It becomes more in a society that is inherently busy in its own chores and is disciplined to the point of determination to better the next day.

This is what I figured out along the corridors of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and across the Zhejiang province – one of China’s richest provinces that borders Shanghai and Yiwu – the world’s biggest small commodities market that trades millions worth of goods with India.

Political Perceptions For the first time in nearly two decades, Transparency International in its annual survey of corruption, ranked India lower at 85th position than China’s 100th. Interestingly, it came despite

China’s much publicised and ongoing multi-level crackdown against corruption up to the highest level. Few in India would bother about their country beating China on the global corruption index. As mixed election results in recent weeks and various opinions in Indian newspapers suggest, many Indians are yet to believe that the watershed 2014 Loksabha elections brought a real change in India. However, India

For common chinese, issues oF TibeT-india complexiTies or border dispuTes are immaTerial since Their coverage in chinese media is nexT To none. censorship and propaganda are norms noT excepTions

under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being keenly watched in China by intellectuals and policymakers alike.

Talks of India’s resurgence abounds and India gets a serious attention on topics far and wide.

For the common Chinese, issues of Tibet-India complexities or border dispute are immaterial since their coverage in Chinese media is next to none. Even when they are published, it matters little for the Chinese since few of them read newspapers in detail like those in India. The news to the public here mostly comes from Weibo (Chinese Twitter) and at times TV. This means that the news they often read is primarily updates and that too the most popular ones. This turns out into a situation where the political worldview of the Chinese is tilted in favour of economics and not really politics. The controlled and limited student politics in Chinese

Tilak Jha at Zhejiang University

India’s Perception Among Common Chinese U Tilak Jha

What perceptions do common Chinese hold of India?

Are diplomatic efforts capable of enhancing India’s image among the Chinese vox poupli? Or does Soft power of ‘Bollywood’ hold more sway? Tilak Jha explores China through his eyes

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ntil the Loksabha elections of 2014, for common Chinese, India was ‘tied power’, grappling with poor situation of law and order, infrastructure bottlenecks, red tape and apathetic work culture.

The only two exits amid these gloomy perceptions of India were the city of Bangalore and the Hindi film industry ‘Bollywood’. Neither, though, fully projects India’s real image. While ‘Bollywood’ provides enough space to oscillate between a ‘3 Idiots’ and a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Bangalore’s

A monastery wall talking about India-China January–February 2015  India-China Chronicle |57|

INFOCUS|INDIA-CHINA|OpINION

universities are regimented to toe the one party line does the rest of the bit.

With specific reference to India, Chinese students are not taught about the 1962 Sino-India border conflict, let alone have any sense of pride or regret about it. They express wonder on India’s discomfort about China but look shocked when told that China waged a war against India and continues to occupy large swathes of Indian territory including portions of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. In general, few Chinese students involve in political debates and discussions.

Questions and counter questions, let alone difficult questions, are only occasionally heard in Chinese classrooms. And if the class is in

i have a chinese roommaTe in my universiTy dormiTory, someThing quiTe rare in china since dormiTories oF inTernaTional sTudenTs are usually separaTe From The chinese sTudenTs. There are 14 oTher sTudenTs From across china on my Floor buT none oF Them are inTeresTed in visiTing india excepT To see The Taj mahal English, one can rest assured that only a few Chinese students will raise any question. On a discussion regarding democracy in a class of political economy, everyone but Chinese students will speak. It is thus, not surprising to see a point in Renaud Egretau’s 2012 paper which says that even Chinese diplomats who worked in India had far less understanding of India than desired.

The Chinese, in general, have a high regard for the Western countries and their political system even though they believe that things are going in the right direction in China. Chinese do not easily entertain political discus-

sions. However, persuade them and most of them concede that the Indian political system is like the American or the British and is hence, something better than China in the long run, even if not currently efficiently working. They particularly find the Indian Parliament to be a very difficult place and remain clueless about decision making in India.

Indian courts are nevertheless considered powerful and their freedom to deliver judgments against the party in power is praised. Their view of the Indian judiciary gets little support from Chinese media which reports more about India’s poor infrastructure and growth bottlenecks apart from news of rapes and floods.

Social Perceptions I have a Chinese roommate in my university dormitory – something quite rare in China since dorms of international students are usually separate from Chinese students.

Besides, there are 14 other Chinese students from across China on my floor. None of them plan to visit India,

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except for a brief period to see Taj Mahal. Still, everyone has seen a few Bollywood movies, love Indian dance and know about India’s software prowess. The teaching community shows keen interest in India’s potential though with caveats. Caste questions are often raised and end up with their curiosity in knowing my caste.

In any case, less and often negative news from India provides few reasons to a Chinese to cherish the idea of India.

Few young Chinese profess to be associated with any religion though personally I find them closer to Indian civilisation than most Westerners.

Buddhism and Yoga are two other major Indian ideas they find more in resonance with than any software programs originated till date Those who have visited India unfailingly mention the bad state of hygiene and sanitation. India is seen to be poor and backward albeit with remarkable potential. This is quite palpable in Chinese thinking of Indian education. Most often it has to do with English. Indian English is difficult to

figure out even for most English-savvy Chinese professors. They are used to aspirated tones – Chinese language herself has high number of them.

Chinese are ethnically, linguistically and visually more homogenous as opposed to Indians. It is difficult for a Chinese to identify an Indian. With the typical North Indian look, you will be more often identified as a Pakistani Muslim or an Arab eating Halal food.

Indians from Northeast are often identified as Chinese. Racial bias is rare in busy markets, tourist sites or universities and an Indian often gets more attention than any other South Asian national.

Bi-lingualism is rare and being a non-Chinese does not make you any less likely to be talked out in nonstop Chinese. Mandarin is the first, second and the third language for life outside university and you can expect little more than a few English phrases from shopkeepers and chauffeurs. In this regard, Indians are considered smart as they often speak more than two languages.

Vegetarianism in China is an alien

concept other than religious Buddhists who happen to be a rare species.

Chinese eat more variety of meat than any other race in the world. No surprise, they doubt the survival of a purely vegetarian Indian!

Economic Perceptions There is phenomenal gap between India and China’s infrastructure. Be it roads, railways, electricity, real estate or public spaces; China has more infrastructure. The increasing infrastructure gap between India and China makes India look bleak to a Chinese. India is perceived to be a small economic power with little other than software. While the Indian market, like markets over the world, is flooded with Chinese products; ‘Made in India’ products are difficult to locate in China.

A ‘Made in China’ product is costlier in China as compared to India. That matters little to urban Chinese who are used to a distorted market. India for them is the poor little cousin which remains destined to suffer. This view though is changing post the May 2014

elections. There is a realisation that India is getting its act together very fast under this new leadership and it could be a matter of less than a decade of consistent development when India would start to matter. The Chinese believe that the Western world wants India to pick up momentum.

The Chinese don’t want to miss the Indian bandwagon, either. The urgency to keep an eye on India is significant as they want to make up for the gap that is left due to weakening Western economies. Nearly 2300 Chinese students study in India’s metros and their feedback back home is creating another sequence of vox populi about India and Indians’ abilities. India is particularly welcome in a buyers’ market like Yiwu even as they face competition from the same markets.

On a recent visit to Yiwu, interactions with the traders’ organisation revealed emerging challenge from low cost countries like India. Wages in China are moving upward and online sellers eat into the already small margins. At the same time, the untapped potential of the huge market of India is what they depend on.

My Takeaway Popular perceptions about India are shallow and the Chinese are quite likely to get influenced by propaganda of its state-led media. In China, censors and propaganda are norms not exceptions. Few countries enjoy continuous goodwill in the Chinese media, least of all Japan. Yet, Japan is seen far positively compared to some of China’s friendly nations.

Japanese products command admiration and envy. A whole lot of tourism campaigns by India’s culture ministry does precious little, compared to the reputation of an Infosys or a ‘3 Idiots’.

In all likelihood, under the new leadership India is well placed to have an incremental reputation in the eyes of a common Chinese than it does now.  Tilak Jha is doctoral researcher on Chinese media at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

He is currently in China’s Zhejiang University.

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