March 2021
       

Dear Friend,

 

As the second surge of the Covid pandemic acquired menacing proportions in India in March, scholars at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) were closely following the latest developments in this regard. Our webinar on vaccines in India and China provided expert insights on the subject. As the ICS aims to generate informed analysis on China and East Asia, we also took up diverse topics relating to China such as ‘the commercialisation of healthcare in China and the ‘medical ruckus’ phenomenon; we had Amb. Smita Purushottam and other experts speaking on the implications of India’s dependency on Chinese telecom; and Dr. Mumin Chen gave us a lucid account of India-Taiwan economic ties.

 

As March marked the month of International Women’s day, ICS Translations focused on three remarkable pieces on women issues in China. We also announced the winners of Mira Sinha-Bhattacharjea Award from the 13th All India Conference of China Studies and published the winning paper as an ICS Occasional Paper. The paper was titled ‘Reigning in the Brahmaputra: Challenges to and Opportunities of Inter-basin Cooperation’ and it was co-authored by Mr. Yash Johri, Mr. Shivi Sanyam, and Mr. Rahul Suryavanshi.

 

This month we had an active discussion on North Korea as part of our East Asia programme. This included an illuminating lecture on ‘Managing China's Rise with North Korean Characteristics’ by Prof. John Delury, an ICS Analysis on ‘China and Denuclearization of North Korea’ and a research blog on ‘North Korea’s Growing Economic Dependence on China’.

 

In March, the ICS published two major monographs. Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan’s monograph discusses China’s economic relations with Zambia with a special focus on the agricultural sector and Dr. Debasish Chaudhuri’s monograph discusses China’s Xinjiang region, examining the rise of the ‘surveillance state’. Our other publications included an elaborate comparison of Indian and Chinese economies since the 2008 financial crisis in the form of an ICS Working Paper.

 

 

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

 

The ICS conducted five webinars this month.

 

Dr. Mumin Chen, Deputy Representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India; Mr. Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow and Treasurer, Institute of Chinese Studies, and a partner at Link Legal; and Dr. Joe Thomas Karackattu, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras spoke on ‘India -Taiwan Economic Ties: Is Right Now the Right Time’ on 03 March. Mr. Ravi Bhoothalingam, Founder and Chairman of Manas Advisory and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, chaired the event. (YouTube)

 

Prof. Biswajit Dhar, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dr. Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow, ORF spoke on ‘Vaccine Diplomacy – India and China’ on 10 March. Prof. Rama V. Baru, Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies was in Chair. (SoundCloud) (YouTube)

 

Amb. Smita Purushottam, former Ambassador to Venezuela, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Holy See and Founder, Science, Indigenous Technology and Advanced Research Accelerator (SITARA); Mr. Rajiv Mahajan, Senior Vice President, Tejas Networks; Ms. Charulatha V, Solutions Architect, Larsen & Toubro Smart World and Military Communications; and Mr. Parag Naik, CEO, Saankhya spoke on ‘Wireless Vulnerability: India's Dependency on Chinese Telecom’ on 17 March. Mr. Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow and Treasurer, Institute of Chinese Studies, and a partner at Link Legal was in Chair. (YouTube)

 

Prof. John Delury, Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Yonsei University spoke on ‘Managing China's Rise with North Korean Characteristics’ on 24 March. Dr. Sandip Kumar Mishra, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies; and Visiting Fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) chaired the event. (YouTube).

 

Prof. Maitrayee Chaudhuri, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dr. Madhurima Nundy, Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies spoke on ‘Yinao: Healthcare Commercialization in China and the "Medical Ruckus" Menace’ on 31 March. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies,  Jawaharlal Nehru University and an Honorary Fellow with the Institute of Chinese Studies chaired the event. (YouTube)

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

This month we had eleven publications in total – one Occasional Paper, one ICS Analysis, three ICS Translations, three ICS Research Blogs, one ICS Working Paper and two ICS Monographs.

 

ICS Monograph

  1. Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan, Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies authored an ICS Monograph titled ‘China - Zambia Economic Relations: Perspectives from the Agricultural Sector’.
  2. Dr. Debasish Chaudhuri, Faculty, Department of Foreign Languages, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies authored an ICS Monograph titled ‘Countering Internal Security Challenges in Xinjiang: Rise of Surveillance State?’.

 

ICS Occasional paper

Mr. Yash Johri, former Research Assistant, Institute of Chinese Studies; Mr. Shivi Sanyam, independent law practioner; and Mr. Rahul Suryavanshi, independent researcher  on ‘Reigning in the Brahmaputra: Challenges to and Opportunities of Inter-basin Cooperation’.

 

ICS Analysis

Mr. Sudarshan Gupta, former Research Intern, Institute of Chinese Studies on ‘China and Denuclearization of North Korea

 

ICS Working Paper

Prof. Manmohan Agarwal, Adjunct Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies on ‘Chinese and Indian Economies since the 2008 Financial Crisis’.

 

ICS Research Blogs

  1. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on ‘Two Sessions: NPC & CPPCC Ignore Demand to End Xìngbié qíshì
  2. Mr. Pritish Gupta, former Research Intern, Institute of Chinese Studies, on ‘North Korea’s Growing Economic Dependence on China’.
  3. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on ‘Year of the Ox Brings Cheers for China’s Diplomacy: PRC Scholar’.

 

ICS Translations

  1. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dr. Usha Chandran, Assistant Professor, Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University translated ‘Xiang Jingyu: The Only Woman among the CPC Founding Members’.
  2. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University translated ‘Wedding Gift New Regulations 2021: Is it really true Caili is gone? Is demanding ‘bride price’ now against the law?
  3. Ms. Snigdha Konar, Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University translated ‘Illegal and Viewed as Unethical, China’s Surrogacy Debate is Caught between Blood Affinity and Parenting’.

 

 

IN THE MEDIA

 

Amb. Shyam Saran, Member, ICS Governing Council and former Foreign Secretary, Government of India authored four pieces –  for The India Express on India’s Climate Change Strategy on 6 March; for The Tribune on ‘Echo Chamber of Governance’ on 10 March; for ThePrint on ‘For India, Quad is Just One Option’ on 24 March; and  for The Tribune on ‘Political drama at Anchorage’ on 24 March. Amb. Saran’s interview was published by The Wire as ‘India Seems a Critical Part of Biden's Response to China Threat': Ex Foreign Secretary on 11 March. His review of ‘All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China’ by Amish Raj Mulmi was published in The Business Standard as Nepal’s uneasy balancing act on 28 March. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University authored two pieces for Modern Diplomacy on ‘US, China Officials to fly down all the way to Anchorage, to disagree’ and ‘Why Biden’s “America is Back” for Beijing is “Cold War is Back”’ on 15 and 20 March respectively. Dr. Adlakha also penned a piece for The Quint on ‘Why is India's MEA Silent on China's Dam Project near Arunachal?’.Mr. Santosh Pai, Honorary Fellow and  Institute of Chinese Studies , and Partner, Link Legal authored a piece for Money Control on ‘Why China is putting its internet champions on the backfoot’ on 24 March. Dr. Shamshad A. Khan, Visiting Associate Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani Dubai Campus was quoted in an article title ‘Why Quad boosts India's vaccine diplomacy: 5 things to know’ by Nikkei Asia on 22 March. Dr. Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies was quoted in an article titled ‘BJP’s idea of flood-free Assam is a pipe dream; locals know it too well in EastMojo on 24 March.

 

 

FACULTY UPDATES

 

Our Adjunct Fellow Amb. Gautam Bambawale, former Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and China and Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune co-authored paper titled ‘Strategic Patience and Flexible Policies: How India Can Rise to the China Challenge’ for Pune International Centre on 23 March. The findings of the paper were published as an op-ed piece in Hindustan Times 27 March. Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan, Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Chinese Studies spoke on the topic Japan, Africa and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific at a webinar organised by Stellenbosch University and the Embassy of Japan in South Africa on 24 March. Mr. Nishit Kumar, ICS-HYI Fellow (2018) presented his paper in an online lecture series titled ‘Multilingualism and Multiculturalism: Perspectives in Linguistic and Cultural Discourse’ organised by Department of Foreign Languages, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on 17-18th March. Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies and Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University delivered a lecture on the topic ‘Lu Xun's Hard Translation, the Politics of Translation and Translating Chinese Literature: A Painful Pleasure’, in an international webinar on ‘The Wonderful World of Translating from Chinese’ jointly organised by the Doon University, India and The Paper, London on 15 March. Dr. Adlakha has also been confirmed as PhD supervisor for Miss Priyanka Keshry by Centre for Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Miss Preksha Shree Chhetri, Research Assistant, Institute of Chinese Studies presented her paper titled ‘EU-India Strategic Partnership: Challenges” in a national webinar on ‘Global Order and India: Challenges and Choices’ organised by Kirti M Doongursee College, Mumbai on 29 March.

 

We are pleased to announce that we have shifted to a new location in Chittaranjan Park. Our new address and phone number is:

 

     

 

 

Institute of Chinese Studies,

B-371 (3rd floor), Chittaranjan Park,

Kalkaji, New Delhi- 110019

India.

Tel: +91-11-23938202

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ICS WebsiteFacebook and Twitter accounts are among the several ways you can get the latest on our publications and activities. You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter to follow our events and publications as well as browse our YouTube and SoundCloud channels.

 

We look forward to your participation in our events and activities in the coming days and hope for your continued support.

Please take care and stay safe and healthy.

 

Best regards,

Ashok K. Kantha

Director

Institute of Chinese Studies

 

 

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