avinash.godbole

Optimism must translate into action Li Keqiang, Premier of People’s Republic of China’s State Council visited India during 19-22 May 2013. This was the first step in Premier Li’s first foreign tour after assuming the office in March this year and the Chinese media and officials, among others, highlighted the fact that he chose India as his first stop. Many are willing to consider this alongside Preside Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Moscow after becoming the President to treat as a decided shift in China’s global priorities or at least as a rise of a new perspective in Chinese foreign policy. In undertaking this visit, the Chinese Premier has also overlooked the protocol as it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s turn to visit China after Wen Jiabao had visited India in December 2010 to commemorate the 60 th Anniversary of the diplomatic contact between the two countries.  However, this kind of attention to India does little to improve the bilateral relationship as littl...

The People’s Republic of China continues to give out contradictory signals on the question of ethno-religious identity among its minorities. While its desire for economic prosperity in Xinjiang may be achievable, it has not seemingly found any solution to the sense of alienation felt by the local Uighurs. In yet another instance that demonstrates this dichotomy clearly, the provincial authority in Xinjiang has advised some sections of the ethnic Uighur Muslim citizens of the province, including Party cadres, civic officials and students, to “eat properly, study and work” during the holy month of Ramadan. This order remains in place in Hotan and Kashgar, which had witnessed ethnic violence in the recent past. The instruction proffering this advice also goes on to clarify that it is only a directive and that the authorities are not forcing the people to eat during Ramadan.  However, other reports suggest that a statement in this respect urges the “party leaders to bring "gifts...