MMilitary tensions in eastern Ladakh have affected academic exchanges between India and China. In the past, Sichuan University and others have welcomed Indian scholars to develop research initiatives, but the border standoff has put university-level exchanges, which functioned as track-II level dialogues, in a serious state. has been brought to a standstill.
China experts in India tell me that invitations from Chinese universities have been put on hold and they are now looking to develop academic partnerships with Taiwanese colleagues.
Galvan changed it
In March 2019, the second Track-II dialogue was Held Between Institute of South Asian Studies, Sichuan University and Center for Chinese Studies, Manipal University and Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi at Manesar, Haryana. State Councilor Dai Bingguo, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and over 40 political figures and scholars from India and China gathered for the dialogue.
Important Center economy and trade, while border issues, defense and security received less attention. This was a time when both sides showed willingness to engage in trade, temporarily setting aside the border dispute.
Subsequent editions of the Track-II dialogue went ahead, but the level of engagement was significantly reduced after the Galwan clash in June 2020.
Sichuan University and Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyzes were involved in the third and fourth editions of the dialogue held virtually in 2020 and 2021. It is not clear whether the 5th round of talks, originally scheduled for 2022, took place on schedule.
“It only takes one side to spoil relations, but it takes two countries to make good relations,” he said. China-India relations should be a two-way street of mutual respect, taking into account each other’s concerns and promoting cooperation, not a one-way street in which one side makes requests and dictates conditions while the other is forced to respond It happens. said Ambassador Sun Weidong during the Fourth Track-II Dialogue in 2021.
The third and fourth rounds of talks did not show any way forward as both India and China spoke to each other. Military tensions have made these dialogues more important, but both sides have almost ceased all academic exchanges.
During the fourth talks, Sun Weidong, the then Ambassador to India, criticized ‘some Indian people’ for describing China as India’s ‘major threat’ or ‘strategic rival’. Since Weidong’s departure from office in 2022, Beijing has not appointed a new ambassador to New Delhi.
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it’s hurting the scholars
Before 2020, Chinese scholars could also enroll in India for graduate programs including doctoral degrees.
Li Li, director of the Center for South Asian Studies at Tsinghua University holds PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Many Chinese scholars have studied in JNU.
Tsinghua University’s Center for South Asian Studies says its mission is Study “India’s Strategic Culture, Political System of South Asian Countries, Regional and Sub-regional Economic Cooperation in South Asia, China’s Policy towards South Asia, China-India Relations and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in South Asia”.
But in the last three years, the Centre’s program has left India out of discussions on ‘South Asia’.
The limited interaction between the two countries, despite some investment in expanding India’s expertise in China, has also hurt Chinese scholars. South Asian studies in China now focus primarily on the study of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with a heavy emphasis on Pakistan.
In India, the Center for China Studies, Ashoka University, is actively promoting Chinese studies through a rigorous examination of Chinese history and culture. However, students studying China will face difficulties traveling to and spending time on the mainland, as the current climate of geopolitical hostility is unlikely to change over the next decade.
Taiwan is an option
As invitations from Chinese universities have declined, Indian scholars have turned to Taiwanese universities for collaboration. There is tremendous interest among China experts in India to acquire ‘Taiwan Tenure’.
However, interactions between India and Taiwan are not entirely new.
Republic of China, when the predecessor government of Taiwan was once located on the mainland funded China Bhavan (Chinese Hall) in Santiniketan, West Bengal. Established in 1937, China Bhavan began as the Indian chapter of the Sino-Indian Cultural Society, whose ‘Honorary Presidents’ included MK Gandhi, Nehru, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang’s wife Soong Mei-ling.
After India officially recognized the People’s Republic of China on 1 April 1950, a legacy of scholarly dialogue between British-ruled India and Taiwan was left behind.
As geopolitics continue to influence relations between Beijing and New Delhi, Indian scholars must again rely on Taipei to understand Beijing. The road to Zhongnanhai now passes through Roosevelt Road in Taipei.
The writer is a columnist and freelance journalist. He was previously China media correspondent with the BBC World Service. He is currently a MOFA Taiwan Fellow based in Taipei and tweets @aadilbrar. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)