BEYOND BORDERS
Of all the major nations in the world, India has the smallest number of journalists stationed overseas. Many of them are stringers, not even full-time correspondents. For all its protestations of nationalism, the news-consuming class is quite happy viewing the world through western eyes. While China occupies so much of our mindspace these days, there are only four Indian reporters stationed there, says Ananth Krishnan in his highly readable book written after reporting from Beijing for close to a decade (2009-18).
We are fortunate, though, that the quality of Indian reporters has made up for the quantity. After Pallavi Aiyar’s delightful account of life in pre-Xi Jinping China (Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China, 2008), we now have Krishnan’s insightful account of Xi’s China. Both Aiyar and Krishnan began their stint learning Mandarin, an essential requirement for a foreign correspondent. Familiarity with the language helps open doors and Krishnan’s access is impressive. He manages to speak to important leaders in Beijing as well as common people across China.
Krishnan offers interesting insights into the play of power politics, the workings of the ‘workshop of the world’, a modernising cultural landscape and the corruption of China’s political ‘tigers’, compared to the ‘flies’ of Indian babudom. Non-specialists will find his survey of the India-China bilateral relationship useful in understanding the ongoing stand-off in the high Himalayas.
Krishnan has three key messages for all thinking Indians: first, while India and China are equal in population size, are both great civilisational states and were at similar levels of development till the 1980s, in the first two decades of the 21st century, China has taken off and now sees itself as a Great Global Power. It does not view India as an equal and, worse, does not think India will catch up in the near future.
Second, China has an authoritarian state that is run by an increasingly assertive communist party manned entirely by Han Chinese. That said, the Chinese are a lively people, with differing views, desires, aspirations and concerns like any other people. Many are also now turning to religion in search of solace. While governance is still highly decentralised, regional competition and local leaderships spur growth, driven by an increasingly welleducated and enterprising people.
Third, China has problems along its outer reaches—Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong—but it is quite capable of managing these. I agree with Krishnan’s assessment that China is unlikely to integrate Taiwan into the communist republic. Taiwan’s demography, ethnic composition, democratic politics and society and culture have made it far too independent-minded for easy annexation.
Krishnan’s portraits of interesting individuals reinforce the argument about China’s internal plurality. Any hope for China’s normalisation lies in the full fruition of this plurality. What both Aiyar and Krishnan have buttressed is the need for Indians to have a direct experience of China and be able to relate to the ordinary Chinese even though relations between the two nations are unlikely to improve anytime soon. China has to come to terms with India’s rise just as much as India has to come to terms with China’s power.
Krishnan believes the Covid pandemic has accentuated a trend towards greater centralisation of power, while at the same time also contributing to growing criticism of the government. In the end, however, it is unlikely to alter the ‘course of history’, which is the rise of China relative to other powers. However, China’s belligerence and attempt to keep India tied down have only encouraged the latter to leverage its relations with other democracies, including the US, Japan, France, Germany, UK, Australia and Canada, while also preserving her relationship with Russia.
In the end, the answer to India’s China challenge lies at home. India must not only regain its economic momentum and continue to pursue all-round economic and human development, it must also retain its credentials as a secular, plural and liberal democracy. The world has to want a New India to overcome the China challenge. ■
Sanjaya Baru was media advisor to former prime minister Manmohan Singh and is author of The Accidental Prime Minister