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karatecatman · Guest

www.telegraphindia.com/1091007/jsp/frontpage/story_11585564.jsp
No Chinese, please: Delhi speaks payback language

JAYANTH JACOB

New Delhi, Oct. 6: Delhi has shot down Beijing’s proposals to teach Chinese in schools here and take Indian students to China under exchange programmes, the rejections coming in the wake of the neighbour issuing “stapled” visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

The veto of the plans, mooted as part of the celebrations to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries next year, comes amid indications that preparations for President Pratibha Patil’s visit to China early next year have been slowed, too, sources said.

Last week, New Delhi had protested China’s move to issue visas on separate pieces of paper stapled to the passport — the standard practice is to stamp it on the passport — of visitors from Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi saw in the step an attempt by Beijing to question Jammu and Kashmir’s status as an integral part of India and endorse ally Pakistan’s stand.

Officially, the ministry of external affairs said the proposals for teaching Chinese and student visits were “unacceptable”. China had initially suggested that its teachers would come to India to teach the language.

Later, Beijing modified its proposal and said that “it will be a locally administered programme”, the sources said. This meant that while Chinese teachers would have come here, the control of the programme would be in Indian hands.

The Kashmir visa provocation may have acted as an unstated flashpoint but Delhi seems to have had other misgivings, too. Indian officials also suspected a Chinese design to spread its “soft power” — widening influence by using culture as a tool — by camouflaging the Confucius Institute in the language proposal.

The institute, started in 2004, has a presence in 50 countries, including the US, Pakistan and Bangladesh. But the institute’s two pilot centres in India — based in the Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu and Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University — have not made much progress so far.

The Confucius Institute, a non-profit body based in Beijing and working like the American Center, was conceived to promote Chinese culture and language across the world. But there has been concern in various quarters about the institute’s real aim.

Among those who have cast doubts is the Canadian Security Intelligence, which said in a declassified intelligence report: “China wants the world to have positive feelings towards China and things Chinese, which… (is a sign of) a desire for soft power.”

On Pratibha’s visit, the sources said the external affairs ministry had got “some valid excuse” from the Presidents’ office for slowing down the preparations. The President’s office, the sources said, has made it known that Pratibha will not be free till this month’s elections in Haryana and Maharashtra. That leaves some time, but such trips require elaborate planning over several months.

“The visit will eventually happen. But not much progress is taking place now. The visit is reciprocal. We also expect a high-profile visit from the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party,” said a diplomatic source.

VictorKilo · Member Joined: 18 Feb 2007 Posts: 196 Location: USA

Why the F would anybody wanna learn chinese!!!!...that too in India.The Beijing Chinese are really delusional.... Mad

HAWK21M · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:15 am Post subject:

There is no language called "chinese" Smile

Off topic.....however I think India should take a firm stand vis-a-vis China policies if its against our secutity interests.

regds
MEL.
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Spiderguy252 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 9:51 am Post subject:

I come into contact with so many Chinese students at my University, and they have a tough time learning any other language other than their own! How can this work out?

flightgearpilot · Member Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 587 Location: BLR

iflytb20 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:31 pm Post subject:

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 752 Location: bund-bay

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 1:31 pm Post subject:

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 752 Location: bund-bay

sshank · Member Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 190 Location: NYC

star*gold · Member Joined: 29 Jan 2009 Posts: 103

My school board allows its students to pick any one of the following languages as their second language during the 11th and 12th standards: French, German, Arabic, and a host of Indian languages. We seem ready to learn French and German-spoken by far fewer people than the masses that speak the Asian tongues, and whose populations are also fast learning English-it sure is a good idea to allow those that are interested to learn Mandarin and Japanese.

(As far as I know people opted/opt for the language that brought/brings them the highest marks while putting in the least amount of effort.)

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 719

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2451

Interesting story here: I was having dinner at a very authentic Cantonese restaurant in the Chinatown district of San Francisco about 20 years ago with my parents, and a Sindhi uncle (and accompanying Sindhi aunty decked out in diamonds wondering "arre, whaaay we are in this dirty restaurant"), when the intricacies of Chinese languages came into play.

So, the Chinese Mamasan who was the waitress/proprietress comes with all these bowls and plops them down in front of us, and then she brings chopsticks.

Sindhi uncle is like "I will naaaat eat wtih these "mini garba sticks. I waaant faaark and knife." So he tells Mamasan "bring me faaark and knife."

Mamasan comes back with a bowl of shrimp paste.

Sindhi uncle says "faaark, I waaaant faaark."

Mamasan comes back with a bowl of dried fish heads that make any Mumbai fisherfolks village smell like a Chanel perfume counter in comparison.

Sindhi Uncle says "faaark and knife, please" and makes the necessary gestures to show what he wants.

Mamasan comes back with a big bowl of live writhing eels to show him.

Finally Sindhi Uncle says exasperatedly in Sindhi "Arrrrre, Cheeeni Maai, Kaata Churi Khani acch" (Arre, chinese lady, bring me some forks and knives), to which Mamasan suddenly lights up, smiles, runs back to the kitchen and returns proudly brandishing a fork and knife.

Lesson of the story: We're not all that different I guess. Second Lesson: Sindhis do good business everywhere and now we know why.

tayaramecanici · Member Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 447

yash777 · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:42 am Post subject:

Mini garba sticks! lol
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