PROF. SHETTY VISITS CHINA

VISIT –
Member Secretary Prof. N.R. Shetty visited China at the invitation of the Bureau for External  Cultural Relations of the Minisitry of Culture, Peoples Republic of China.  The visit by a four-member goodwill delegation, from May 19-28, was part of the Chinese government’s efforts to promote understanding and friendship between India and China.  Prof. Shetty speaks about his impressions about China in this first-person account.

“We visited the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen and the Shantong province.  We were taken to places of cultural interest such as the Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China, The Underground Palace, the Grand National Theatre, several museums and places where showcasing of Chinese cultural diversity has been done.

I found that China has made tremendous progress during the last 20 years, since the time they introduced economic reforms, in the early’80s (as against India which started in early’90s).  The instruments that appeared to have helped the rapid development of the country are high rate of growth in literacy (20 years ago India and China had almost the same literacy rate), successful population control and civic discipline.  Today, China’s effective literacy is over 90 per cent, the policy of single child per family is strictly followed and the discipline followed by the workforce and others, because of the Communist rule should be seen to be believed.  If there is one area in which they are lagging behind it is technology software, because of the language barrier.  They are trying to overcome this, by special programmes to boost learning foreign languages, especially English.  It is also said that the aged people in China have suffered, living in inhuman conditions and sacrificing their lives for a better future of their children.  In short, country has offered one generation as sacrifice for achieving this rate of growth and progress.

China seems to have plunged into the market economy regime, which has attracted the setting up on industries, particularly hardware electronic, from all over the world.  I learnt that the country has made a lot of changes in laws, particularly in the farming sector, enabling individuals to hold land and more importantly share the profit of the land, unlike the previous system where only community farming was allowed.  I also gathered that they have generated resources from within the country for developing their infrastructure like roads and airports and for maintenance of places of cultural interest-the areas where heavy investments are needed – rather than depend on external sources and borrowings.  the cultural heritage of China, belonging to a past not acceptable to the present ideology has also been taken good care of.  We can see that the palaces, the royal living quarters and even the items of daily usages and the throne have been preserved in excellent condition.  Their tombs are well maintained with no attempt whatsoever to negate the legacy.  The other members of the delegation were former Governor Bhism Narain Singh, Mr. M.N. Seth and Mrs. Komala Varadhan

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