An editorial of the May 30 Global Times of China, entitled “We Morally, Emotionally Support India’s Decolonization,” endorses India’s genuine moves toward decolonization, while reminding India not to be fooled by the West’s deceptive imperial attempts to pit India and China against one another. Above all, it asserts that the world is big enough to accommodate “the rise of both China and India.”
With China extending its hand toward India, the article expresses the idea that the giants of the Global South can come to terms with each other.
The GT editorial welcomes India’s opening on May 28 of its new $120 million Parliament building, aimed at “freeing the Indian capital from colonial-era traces. In his speech, [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi said that ‘the new parliament isn’t just a building,’ and will witness, ‘the sunrise of a self-reliant India.’” The old parliament building, built during British colonial rule, is to be made a museum.
The Global Times editors say, “In recent years, the Modi government has devoted itself to presenting an image of a rising India that engages in decolonization and emphasizes independent confidence. India has also undertaken large-scale actions to remove symbols of colonialism, including renaming and remodeling iconic buildings, changing budget practices associated with colonial history, decreasing the official use of English and increasing the use of the Hindi language.” GT says, “As a society that was also bullied by Western colonists and is dedicated to achieving national modernization, China can clearly empathize with India’s desire to uphold national dignity and pursue a more independent status.”
Global Times warns that two difficulties lie in the path: “For India, the most challenging part lies ahead—removing the remnants of colonialism from culture and the hearts of people.” Second, “The Britain at that time was able to implement nearly 200 years of colonial rule over India, which had a large area and population, through divide-and-rule tactics that were far from noble. Now, the West, particularly the US, attempts a more concealed form of ‘divide and rule’ on a larger scale. They concoct and emphasize the concept of ‘dragon-elephant rivalry’ and engage in sinister psychological manipulation between China and India. The West no longer has the power to subdue China and India through overt means, so they resort to creating rifts between the two to fish for benefits. In a sense, this is also a form of ‘persistent colonialist mentality.’
“Nowadays, in order to drive a wedge between China and India, the West has repeatedly flattered India, deceiving India to ‘replace China.’ ”
Instead, the editorial vows, “Asia and the world are big enough to accommodate the simultaneous rise of both China and India. China’s wishes for India’s development are sincere. In Chinese society, few people believe that India’s economic and social development will become a threat to China. The vast majority of people agree that the two countries can achieve mutual success.” (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202305/1291598.shtml)
