Perception and its Implication

Dangerous Misperceptions: Chinese Views of India’s Rise

It is extremely surprising to see how perceptions vary from person to person, culture to culture and country to country. Minxin Pei, Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and the author of China's Trapped Transition: The limits of Developmental Autocracy explains how the ignorance and amplification may hurt the development of India. Upon studying the survey which included the Chinese, Mr. Pei observes that the Chinese can be divided into two levels, mass and elite in relation to their perceptions on India's growth.  Poor and underdeveloped image of India seemed to have remained fixed among the mass. various factors can influence such varied awareness. 

In my opinion, Media plays a very important role in molding the thoughts of common people. More they hear about, more are they convinced. needless to say Indian media has been impressively doing this from a number of years. Many Indians acknowledge the immense growth and power of china and believe India is not far beyond the chart. 

As the discussion reaches the higher level, the elite group, awareness seems to be the opposite . They realize and understand the competition from India. Though the practices in India are completely contrasting to the single party rule, some of them appreciate the transformation and challenges of India and use them as a model, But for few, poverty, illiteracy and other social problems of India still remains as the criticizing tools.

Having written about the differences in awareness, initiatives should be taken by the Government and Mass for the free flow of information. As mentioned earlier, media should play a very important role in not only publicizing the information but also driving interest and respect for each other. Further, Government of India and China should must maintain and encourage mutual co-operation and appreciation between the countries. We as citizens must keep ourselves educated about the ongoing activities around us and act to further support spirit of 'Common Good'.