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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first official visit to China has evoked a large number of articles in the media, mostly exhorting him to stand firm in his dealings with the Chinese leadership. One did not see very many articles that supported the trilateral India-Russia-China grouping expected to balance the unilateralism of the United States. Understandably enough a majority of the writings drew attention to the Chinese stand on the Tawang tract and their tactics of negotiating endlessly. Wire money online to India with Xoom.com for as low as $4.99.   There were references to the Chinese strategy of string of pearls by which they were developing facilities in countries around India – Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and their increasingly growing arms transfer relationships with those countries. There were also references to the rapid development of infrastructure in Tibet and its implications for India. A few articles also focused attention on the positive developments in the India-China relations since the visit of Prime Minister Wen Jiao Bao to India.     There has been rapid development of trade – now in favour of China and mutual investments have been stepped up. Prospects for further economic and technological interaction are considered bright. A small number of articles had referred favourably to India being included in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an observer and regretted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was reluctant to attend its last meeting as an observer while the heads of state of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran did not mind attending in their capacity as observers.   While the present visit of the Indian Prime Minister to China has generated a vast range of views on the past, present and future state of India-Chinese relations what is badly needed is a comprehensive assessment of China’s policy towards India.   Obviously it is unrealistic to assume that China intends to confront India militarily across the Tibetan border or using their facilities in our neighbouring countries, or their navy in the Indian Ocean or with the threat of use of nuclear weapons. However, it is true that Chinese leadership had been having a somewhat patronising view about India.   At the dawn of Indian Independence the Chinese Communist Party termed Jawaharlal Nehru, an imperialist lackey. Even when Nehru visited China he complained to the Indian journalists that when he was meeting Mao Dze Dung he was ushered in as though [...]

In redeeming his promise to deliver a car at Rs 1, 00,000 or $2,500, the Tata Group chairman has disproved all his critics, including rivals in the Indian auto industry, who claimed he would have to renege on his promise. Though he had to post-pone the launch by several months, he finally made available his dream car that will displace Maruti 800 from its lofty position as the cheapest car in the world. Wire money online to India with Xoom.com for as low as $4.99.   Nano’s price is only half of Maruti’s entry-level model. It will take a few months for it to hit the roads and it is too early to ‘ comment on how good the car is. Going by the looks, which are contemporary, and the specifications, which show Nano has 21 per cent more space inside than the Maruti 800, the Euro IV-compliant Nano is bound to catch the imagination of the motorists.   It was the sight of a small family of four struggling on a scooter to reach their destination that kindled the idea of a “people’s car” (Volkswagen) in Tata’s mind. For millions who commute on their two-wheelers, Nano is an alternative, affordable and comfortable mode of personal transport. Critics will carp at the environmental damage it will cause- clogging the roads and parking spaces, increasing the pollution levels in cities and making a deleterious effect on the import of fuel- but the common man will simply lap it up.     For comfort, here is a description of the scene in Paris soon after automobiles arrived in large numbers: “Streets filled with cars day and night; vehicles could be seen parked outside farms that, even after the war, had still relied on horses. Rush hour traffic became a pain and worse, and Paris began to measure air pollution and warn the citizens of unavoidable poisons. No one really cared; the freedom that came with mobility trumped all the rest”.   which enabled him to shift to a new and bigger house in the outskirts of the city where he lived, before graduating to a new Bajaj Chetak, and so on knows how aspirational a car is for the average middle class Indian.   Nano marks a milestone in the annals of Indian auto industry, dominated at one time by gas-guzzling Ambassador, Fiat and Standard until the arrival of Maruti 24 years [...]