“A half-finished democracy, a harmonious co-existence between past and present, and Indians who are good at thinking” – this was the impression of some journalism students from Shantou University, located in southern province of Guangdong in China, who travelled to India recently.
In an article “India through the eyes of Chinese Students” published in the South China Morning Post on March 6, Yuan Lei and Guimei Feng write about their “eye-opening experience” of India, “our largest Asian neighbour and competitor,” and confess that they knew little about this country which they had known only from Bollywood films and the Oscar-winning Life of Pi.
“It was an eye-opening experience. Looking back on the trip, three major impressions pop up in our minds – a half-finished democracy, a harmonious co-existence between past and present, and Indians who are good at thinking,” they write.
Yuan and Guimei were quite overwhelmed by their experience of what they described as the “messy democracy” of India. Coming from a closed political system and one-party state, it’s not surprising that they found the maddening carnival of Indian democracy and all the antics that go on at the time of elections amusing and befuddling. Observing a local campaign event in Jaipur, they write: “Political ads with candidates’ photos everywhere, leaflets scattered on the roads, plastered over walls, cars and on bridges. Even elephants joined the campaign, with huge photos hanging from their backs. Young people standing on top of cars enthusiastically cheering for a handsome candidate.”
The spectacle, which Indians are all too familiar with, left them with conflicted feelings. On the one hand, they were excited to see a large democracy at work,” but on the other hand they were puzzled by bribery and inefficiency built into the Indian system. “We saw some people being offered refrigerators and TV sets in order to get their votes”. They were told by a retired businessman that people could not do business without committing bribery.
Their take on the caste prejudices was slightly disconcerting, but behind their critique lurked a sneaking admiration of India. “In democratic India, people from the lower castes still cannot enjoy equal opportunities like people from higher castes. Gender inequality was also very severe and visible. Most interesting, almost every Indian we met was extremely proud that India was a democratic country.”
“While Indians strive to reduce the side effects of democracy such as inefficient governance. China badly needs to maintain its efficiency and order while laying down roots for a democratic framework. In addition, to achieving more democracy, the two countries should focus on eliminating illiteracy, promoting universal education and, on top of that, cultivating people’s ability to participate in politics.”
Interestingly, the two positive things observed by these students on their trip to India were the harmonious co-existence between humans and animals! “We are not sure whether India will outpace China because of its democracy, but we did observe two positive things there.”
“When travelling in India, one is amazed at how people and animals harmoniously co-exist. Buffalos, monkeys, camels, elephants and other animals have their places on the road. And there are so many pigeons in squares, at crossings, on wires. Although their droppings are said to cause respiratory diseases in humans, people still voluntarily feed them. Some may regard these as symbols of a primitive society, but we prefer to believe it is a special gift for India, where people enjoy getting along well with the natural world.”
Secondly, these Chinese students found Indians’ ingrained habit for argument and debate, the “argumentative Indians,” laudable. Living in a system which is not tolerant of dissent or encourage questioning of the system, one can imagine where this admiration comes from.
“When we asked for an interview in India, we seldom got turned down, even when we touched on sensitive topics like corruption, the caste system and the wealth gap. People did not feel nervous or uncomfortable discussing these topics. Under most circumstances, our interviewees were willing to give us their full names and contact information, whereas in China, it is very hard to get someone in the street to talk about controversial issues on camera, let alone giving their names. Many Chinese are still not comfortable expressing opinions in public.”
And then comes the priceless gem of observation that China’s new leaders may like to give a thought to: “In fact, we believe this has led to an unexpected aftermath: Chinese people’s thinking ability is declining. In comparison, we were surprised to hear ordinary Indians explaining some social issues in articulate and scientific language, for example: “About 30 per cent of Indians live below the poverty line, and 60 per cent have basic literacy skills.” “There are eight companies providing online service nationwide.” It seemed they had done some preparation before expressing their opinions.”
The article ends on an ambivalent note, and bristles with ironies which the rulers and people of both countries should note carefully. “After the trip, we finally understood why Indians chose “Incredible India” as their tourism promotion slogan. It sums up the whole picture of India: marvellous scenery, unique cultural traditions, a seemingly disorderly and messy society, ruled by a feeble government. We admire Indians’ confidence and enthusiasm in describing their country. How would we Chinese describe our nation to the world, when given the opportunity?”
Well, Indians are itching to hear how the Chinese describe themselves. Harmonious China! For many Indians, exposed to a glut of Chinese toys, the Chinese food and images of swanky malls in Shanghai, China is simply incredible!
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