The Real Problem Underlying India-China Tensions
from Aarva Hosted by Pallavi Aiyar
When India and China look across the border, why do they only see old wounds? For the past few years, India and China have essentially banned each other’s journalists. The two countries share a massive border and a third of the global population, yet they rely almost entirely on Western reporters to translate their neighbor's actions. Writing on 23 July 2026, Pallavi Aiyar frames this media vacuum as the symptom of a much older problem. Beyond the troop standoffs and economic rivalry, Beijing and New Delhi are trapped by century-old grievances. When their diplomats sit down to talk, they are usually having completely different conversations, unable to read the other's basic intentions. An examination of the historical memories driving the tensions between India and China. Traces Chinese skepticism of India to colonial-era Sikh policemen and opium merchants, and Indian distrust of China to the 1962 border war. Concludes with a case for bringing back resident foreign correspondents so the two countries can observe each other directly. Read at source: Noema For more features and details, visit aarva.app
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