‘Indian media focuses more on Chi’s rise’

Kolkata, Feb 5:  Indian newspapers, in their coverage on Chi, have moved away from a “single-minded concern” with the border issue and now devote more attention to its status as a rising power, an alysis said on Sunday.

The focus is also on emerging issues like river water sharing and climate change, according to a report titled “Indian Media’s Perception of Chi: Alysis of Editorials”, published by think tank The Observer Research Foundation (ORF). The report, which examines the data collected from select tiol newspapers, covering a period of three years from 2012 to 2014, says: “The newspapers devote more and more attention to Chi’s status as a rising power or to emerging issues like river water sharing, environment protection and climate change or trade between the two countries and have moved away from a single-minded concern with the border issue.” “While the border remains a sensitive issue, the newspapers are of the view that there are multiple areas in which India can move forward in its relations with Chi.”

The report authored by Rakhahari Chatterji and Asua Basu Ray Chaudhury is part of a larger study of public perception of India-Chi relations. The two countries fought a brief war in 1962. The 3,488-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), remains undefined between the two neighbours. Chi claims India’s Aruchal Pradesh as its own while New Delhi calls Chinese-occupied Aksai Chin.

Chi, the world’s second-largest economy, is the No. 1 trading partner of over 120 countries. The tiol newspapers chosen from India are The Times of India, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Economic Times and The Fincial Express. (IANS)