Jojo Mathews

June 4
Practice Question for IAS Prelims 2014:

Agriculture is primary activity in Rural India. In course of
time, marked changes have been observed; especially in the
method of production; living standards, and even
occupational structure in rural society. Consider the
statements about rural India. Choose the incorrect one from
the codes:
1. Over 90% of farmers in India are small and marginal.
2. Out of total work force in villages in India, less than 25%
are engaged in non-farm activities.
3. Modern farming methods have eased the capital
requirements.
Code:
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 3
d) None

Answer: C

Statement 2 correct. It is 24%
Statement 1 wrong. Over 80% less than 90%
Statement 3 wrong. Instead more capital is required for
modern farming
19Like Comment




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India-China Bilateral
Relations >> Historical Ties


Written records of contacts between
India and China date back to at least
2nd century B.C. Such contacts at the
level of people through commerce got a
fillip with the advent of Buddhism into
China from India in the first century
A.D. under imperial patronage. A
Chinese monk, Fa Xian (Fa-Hsien, AD
399-414), visited India in AD 402,
stayed for 10 years, and after his return
translated many Sanskrit, Buddhist
texts into Chinese. His record of
journeys Fo Guo Ji (Record of Buddhist
Kingdoms) is an important historical
source. Kumarajiva, a scholar in Vedas
as well as Buddhist Sutras, was born of
Chinese mother and Indian father. His
translations of Sanskrit sutras into
Chinese are valued even today. In the
5th Century AD Bodhidharma, a South
Indian monk, became the first patriarch
of the Shaolin Monastery in China. Xuan
Zang (Hiuen Tsang) visited India during
Harsha Vardhana's reign in the 7th
Century AD, in search of Buddhist
scriptures. His journey became part of
traditional Chinese lore when narrated
in a later period book called "A Journey
to the West".
The decline of Buddhism in India
and spread of colonialism in both the
countries resulted in diminished cultural
exchanges. However, when people of
both the countries started searching for
new answers to new questions, old
friendship was revived. The respective
national struggles for freedom saw
resumption of contacts, mutual interest,
and feelings of solidarity. Landmark
events of this period are Kang Youwei's
stay in India (1890s), Tagore's visit to
China (1924), setting up of Cheena
Bhawan in Viswabharati University by
Professor Tan Yunshan under Tagore's
guidance (1937), sending of the Aid
China Medical Mission, which included
Dr. Dwarakanath Kotnis, by the Indian
National Congress (1938), and Xu
Beihong's visit to Shantiniketan (1939-
40).
The early fifties and the Hindi-Chini
Bhai Bhai phase of 1950s witnessed a
further strengthening of these ties.
Indian films like Awaara, Caravan and
Do Bigha Zameen as well as stars like
Raj Kapoor and Nargis left a lasting
impression on Chinese audiences. The
resumption of political relations in
1980s has provided an impetus to
cultural exchanges.
INDIA RELATED HISTORICAL
SITES IN CHINA
Grottoes
DUNHUANG: In Gansu province, an
oasis town at the eastern edge of the
Taklamakan desert. Was important
along the ancient Silk Route and has
many imprints of Buddhism from India,
including the Thousand Buddha Cave
and the Mogao Grottoes with
impressive frescoes reminiscent of
Ajanta, from 366 A.D till the 10th
century.
XINJIANG: Ancient architectural art in
Xinjiang was greatly influenced by the
Indian Buddhism that are reflected in
grottoes built on cliffs, temples and
towers found in large numbers across
Xinjiang. Some important locations are
Bezeklik in Turfan, Kucha, Kizil,
Cherchelik and Niya.
LUOYANG: Near Luoyang city in
Henan province, the Longmen Caves
are one of China's four major Buddhist
caves. Construction began in the
northern Wei dynasty (488 AD) and
lasted through the Tang and Song
dynasties until the 14th century.
Consists of over 100,000 statues, some
40 pagodas and 3600 tablets.
DAZU: Dazu Grottoes are cliff-side
carvings in Chongqing municipality, of
which the Baoding Grotto is the largest
and the best preserved. Construction
began in the Tang dynasty (650A.D.)
and continued through the Ming and
Qing. Includes more than 50,000
Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian rock
carvings.
DATONG: Datong in Shanxi province is
famous for the Yungang Grottoes, hewn
in a cliff side in a honeycomb pattern,
forming grottoes that stretch about a
kilometre. Belonging to the Northern
Wei period (453-494 A.D.), it consists of
about 1,000 grottoes and some 100,000
Buddhist statues.
Temples
Five Pagoda temple (Wuta Si),
Beijing: Built in the reign of Emperor
Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1403-
1424), the temple is modelled after the
Bodhgaya temple. Attracted countless
pilgrims each year during the Ming and
Qing dynasties. Carvings in Sanskrit and
Tibetan. The pagoda was heavily
damaged during the Cultural Revolution
and the earthquake at Tangshan in
1976. Restored since 1979.
White Horse Temple (Baima Si),
Luoyang: Northeast of Luoyang in
Henan province, the original monastery
at this site, constructed in AD 75, was
one of the first Buddhist temples in
China. Legend has it that two monks
from India riding a white horse
delivered the Buddhist sutras to
Luoyang--hence the temple's name.
Dharmaratna and Kasyapa Matanga,
the first Indian teachers of Buddhism in
China in the first century AD, stayed at
this temple. The buildings seen today
date from the Ming dynasty. The
Baimasi today is an active centre for
Zen (Chan) Buddhism and a few monks
still live on its grounds. At present, to
celebrate the historical role of the
Temple in bringing India and China
together, Government of India is
building an Indian style Buddhist shrine
within the original temple complex.
Big and Little Goose Pagodas,
Xi'an: Originally built in 589 A.D. in the
Sui Dynasty in China's ancient capital
Chang'an (today's Xi'an in Shaanxi
province), the Big Goose Pagoda is
more famous as the temple
reconstructed by the Tang Emperor for
Xuan Zang to stay and translate the
original Sanskrit texts which he brought
from India. The texts were
subsequently stored here. Xuan Zang
was also the temple's abbot. The little
Goose Pagoda was built in 709 AD and
was associated with the Buddhist monk
Yijing, who translated some 400
volumes of Sanskrit scriptures brought
from India.
Top
Famen Si, Fufeng: Near Xi'an, and
founded in the Western Wei dynasty,
but assuming greater importance during
the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), the
centrepiece of the relics at Famen Si, or
the Gate of Dharma, was a set of four
finger bones that were believed to be
those of Buddha himself. The reliquary
objects lay undisturbed for centuries,
until the 1980s, when the pagoda
collapsed and renovation revealed three
stone chambers beneath the
foundations.
Shaolin Temple: Near Dengfeng in
Henan province, the Shaolin Temple
was established in the 6th century AD
by the Indian Buddhist master,
Bodhidharma (Damo, in Chinese) as a
great centre of martial arts. Under
Bodhidharma, Shaolin flourished as a
centre of Zen Buddhism, which became
the most influential branch of Chinese
Buddhism after the Tang.
Kong Xiang Temple,
Sanmenxia: Built beside
Bodhidharma's grave in Sanmenxia in
Henan province, the Kong Xiang temple
recently held a large-scale celebration
of Bodhidharma's 1500th birth
anniversary.
Kaiyuan Temple, Quanzhou: Built in
7th century AD in Quanzhou, which was
founded by Emperor Kaiyuan in the
Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan Temple's
Mahavira Hall has two carved stone
poles bearing carvings of Shiva. The
poles were apparently transported to
Quanzhou from Indian temple nearby.
Other unique stone relics include a
carving of a winged Buddha, an
elephant offering flowers to a
Shivalinga and a standing statue of
Vishnu. Over 300 Hindu architectural
and sculptural fragments have been
identified in Quanzhou since they were
first discovered in 1933. Since many
fragments were found near the
Tonghuai Gate as part of the city wall
rebuilt in the Ming dynasty, it is likely
that there was a Hindu temple in the
south-eastern part of the city.
Remnants of Hindu temples are also
believed to be in Lijiang in Yunnan
province and at Fuzhou in Fujian
province.
Memorials/ Museums
Dr. Kotnis Memorial,
Shijiazhuang: A member of the Indian
Medical Mission sent to China during
the war with Japan, Dr. Kotnis' grave is
presently at Shijiazhuang (Hebei
province). A memorial in his name is
located in the city's Martyr's Museum
Park.
Museum of History, Xi'an: The
museum has a large collection of Xuan
Zang's scriptures.
Parsi Cemetery,
Guangzhou: Remnants of an old Parsi
cemetery discovered close to
Guangzhou in southern China reveal the
18th and 19th century trading links
between the Parsi community from
India with southern China.
Tagore Museum,
Hangzhou: Established by a Chinese
scholar, Wei Fengjiang, who studied in
Shantiniketan in the forties, the
museum has memorabilia of Tagore's
visit to China in 1924 and other objects.
Across the Hump Memorial,
Kunming: Carries WW II collections
from British India, when allied forces
flew transport planes from Calcutta to
Kunming to support the KMT-
Communist United Front in the war
against Japan.
Chengdu: The museum contains a
collection of Pali scripture etchings on
bamboo discovered near Chengdu in
Sichuan province. Most of these
scriptures are believed to have been
originally brought from north-east India
through the overland route and to have
been etched on bamboo in China.
Qingdao: Buddhist scholar Fa Xian's
(Fa Hyan) return voyage from India is
commemorated near the port city of
Qingdao in Shandong province where
his ship, believed to have been drifted
astray, managed to return after a long
voyage from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Top

Political Relations
On 1 April, 1950, India became the first non-socialist bloc country to establish
diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China. Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru visited China in October 1954. While, the India-China border conflict in 1962
was a serious setback to ties, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis landmark visit in 1988
began a phase of improvement in bilateral relations. The Joint Statement issued
during the visit on 23 December 1988 clearly stated, The leaders of the two
countries held ernest, in-depth discussions on the India-China boundary question
and agreed to settle this question through peaceful and friendly consultations. They
also agreed to develop their relations actively in other fields and work hard to create
a favourable climate and conditions for a fair and reasonable settlement of the
boundary question while seeking a mutually acceptable solution to this question. In
1993, the signing of an Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility
along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China Border Areas during Prime
Minister Narasimha Raos visit, reflected the growing stability and substance in
bilateral ties. This was augmented by the Agreement on Confidence building
Measures in the military Field Along the LAC in the India-China Border Areas.
Visits of Heads of States/Heads of Governments
Cumulative outcomes of seven key visits in recent times have been transformational
for our ties. These were that of Prime Minister Vajpayee[2003], of Premier Wen
Jiabao [2005 & 2010], of President Hu Jintao [2006], of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh [2008 and 2013] and of Premier Li Keqiang [2013].
During Prime Minister Vajpayees visit, the two sides signed a Declaration on
Principles for Relations and Comprehensive Cooperation and also mutually decided
to appoint Special Representatives (SRs) to explore the framework of a boundary
settlement from the political perspective.
The two sides established a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for Peace and
Prosperity during the April 2005 visit of Premier Wen Jiabao.This visit also saw the
signing of an agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles which
signaled the successful conclusion of the first phase of SR Talks.
During Chinese President Hu Jintaos visit to India in November 2006, the two sides
issued a Joint Declaration containing a ten-pronged strategy to intensify cooperation.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited China in January 2008. Ajoint document
titled "A Shared Vision for the 21st Century" was issued during the visit.
When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India in December 2010, both sides
decided to establish the mechanism of regular exchange of visits between Heads of
State/Government.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid a State visit to India(Delhi-Mumbai) from 19-21
May 2013. During this visit, the two sides signed eight agreements and released a
Joint Statement. Some of the significant proposals included in the Joint Statement
were the decision to designate 2014 as the Year of Friendly Exchanges between
India and China, decision to hold the first High Level Media Forum and the
agreement to facilitate cooperation and linkages between Indian and Chinese cities
& states/provinces. The first meeting of the India-China CEOs Forum was also held
during this visit.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official visit to China from 22-24
October 2013. He met with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman
of Standing Committee of National Peoples Congress Zhang Dejiang and former
Premier Wen Jiabao. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh also gave a speech at the
Central Party School in Beijing. The two sides released a Joint Statement titled A
vision for future development of India-China strategic and cooperative partnership.
Agreements relating to border defence cooperation,trans-border rivers, establishing
service centers for servicing power equipmentin India, road transport and Nalanda
University were signed. Also signed were three agreements establishing sister-city
partnership between Delhi-Beijing, Kolkata-Kunming and Bangalore-Chengdu.
It is noteworthy that more than 60% of the agreements between India and China
have been signed during the last decade. As of today, both sides have established
nearly 40 dialogue mechanisms covering diverse sectors.
The leaders of India and China have also been meeting on the sidelines of regional,
plurilateral and multilateral gatherings and conferences. In terms of recent
interactions, mention may be made of the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to
India in March 2012 for the BRICS Summit. On 27 March 2013, during the 5th
BRICS Summit in Durban, Prime Minister met with the new Chinese President Xi
Jinping for the first time. The leaders of the two countries have also met on the
sidelines of various multilateral summits.
Other high level visits
While External Affairs Minister visited China twice in 2012, Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi visited India in February. External Affairs Minister, Shri Salman
Khurshid, paid an official visit from 9-10 May 2013 and met with Premier Li Keqiang,
State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. EAM also met with his
Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bruneion the sidelines of the ARF Foreign Ministers
Meeting on 2 July 2013. During this visit, the Protocol between the Ministry of
External Affairs of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Peoples Republic of China on cooperation in bilateral relations was signed.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also visited India from 9-11 November 2013 to
participate in the RIC Trilateral Foreign Ministers Meetingand the ASEM FMs
meeting.
Chinese Defence Minister visited India in September 2012. Raksha Mantri Shri A.K.
Antony paid a three day official visit to China from 4-7 July 2013. He held delegation
level talks with his counterpart Gen. Chang Wanquan and also called on Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang. A Joint Statement was also released during the visit on 6 July.
The Special Representatives on the India-China Boundary Question have met 16
times so far. The 16th round of talks between the Special Representatives,
Shri Shivshankar Menon, National Security Adviser and Mr Yang Jiechi, State
Councillor took place in Beijing on June 28-29, 2013. Shri Menon called on Premier
Li Keqiang and met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 28 June 2013. It may be
recalled that at the conclusion of the 15th round of the SR Talks in New Delhi in
January 2012, the two countries reached a consensus to set-up the Working
Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, which
has already met four times.
To facilitate high level exchanges of Party leaders from China and State Chief
Ministers from India, a special arrangement has been entered into by the
International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA-ILD) since 2004. There areregular Party-to-
Party exchanges between the Communist Party of China and political parties in
India.
Major dialogue mechanisms
The year 2013 saw a continuation and expansion of the bilateral dialogue
mechanisms. The fifth round of India-China Strategic Dialogue was held in New
Delhi on 20 August 2013. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary,Smt. Sujatha
Singh, and the Chinese side was led by Vice Foreign Minister Mr.Liu Zhenmin. Also,
consultations on Afghanistan (April), the Sixth Round of the Counter-Terrorism
Dialogue (April), Consular Talks (May) and the first Central Asia Dialogue (August)
were held in China in 2013. Besides, Foreign Office Consultations was held in
September 2013. Further, the seventh meeting of the Expert-Level Mechanism on
Trans-border Rivers between China and India was held in Beijing in May 2013.
Others
India-China political relations are enhanced and strengthened by various
mechanisms. There is a close and regular interaction between strategic and foreign
policy think-tanks. These exchanges continued to be strengthened during 2013.
CICIR has regular interactions with IDSA and ICS; there is a dialogue between
China Reform Forum and Aspen India; between USI and China Institute for
Internationa Strategic Studies; as well as between ICWA and CPIFA.