Seminar Series: Abstract

Framing the Sino-Indian relationship through the construction of the ‘other’ in the Indian and Chinese press, 1960-2008
Louise Merrington, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Political and Social Change, ANU

This research aims to complement existing academic analyses of the Sino-Indian relationship by examining the way the Indian and Chinese press have constructed images of the ‘other’ (India or China) since arguably the lowest point of the relationship, the Sino-Indian War of 1962. My research aims to show how the Sino-Indian relationship has evolved over time as seen through the lens of the media; in other words, how the relationship has been and continues to be constructed. Media sources differ from traditional sources (such as interviewees) in that they provide a snapshot of a particular time without the benefit of hindsight or reflection. This so-called ‘first draft of history’ is valuable because it is a reflection of particular views at the time, untainted by knowledge of how events subsequently unfolded. Newspapers are the best medium for an historical study because, firstly, in the 1960s television was only just beginning to make an impact in China and India, and although radio was prevalent, newspapers are still the only type of media which is reliably archived. In addition, newspapers provide room for opinion and analysis which broadcast media often do not. I have chosen to examine three English-language Indian papers and three Chinese papers, all of which target an urban, educated, middle- to upper-class audience, as these are the papers which are most likely to have strong foreign affairs content. As well as charting the construction of the ‘other’ in China and India since the Sino-Indian War through semiotic textual analysis, I also wish to interview journalists and others involved in the media industry in order to gather contextual information about the working environment under which these views are developed, including any pressures (such as political, financial, technological, time-based etc) which journalists feel may influence their reporting.