Developing China Studies in Indian Higher Education

China and India are the two giants of Asia, yet opportunities for undergraduate students in each country to learn about their neighbor are relatively few. At a January 16-20 workshop in Delhi, Indian educators discussed ways in which classes about China might be introduced into the curricula. These educators find that overly simplistic images of China persist in India, and they believe that higher education can opens avenues to develop an informed “people’s perspective,” built on comparative study of China and a more nuanced understanding.

The three organizers of the workshop – the United Board, the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi – all have long histories of working with China and are considering ways in which to offer support to Indian colleges and universities that want to introduce some form of China studies into their curricula.