Opinion India and 1911

If the elite of a globalising India has little sensitivity to history,the Indian national movement was much enthused,a hundred years ago,by the establishment of Asia’s first republic in China that called for rule of law and constitutionalism. As China looms large in the world,the current politics of Chinese history should be of great interest to India.

On October 10,1911,also called “the double ten day”,a rebellion in the port city of Wuchang led to the ouster of the 267-year-old Qing dynasty and two millennia of continuous imperial rule in China. Sun Yat-sen proclaimed the Republic of China in January 1912. China’s struggle to overthrow imperial rule and embark on political and economic modernisation at the turn of the 20th century produced some of the first contacts between the Chinese and Indian national movements.

Sun Yat-sen,one of the guiding spirits of the 1911 revolution,helped Indian nationalist leaders like M.N. Roy,Rashbehari Bose,and Lala Lajpat Rai to establish contacts in Japan,where he had considerable goodwill and influence,to mobilise support against British colonial rule in the subcontinent.

The credit for being the first Chinese leader to call for China-India unity against imperialism,however,goes to another leader of the 1911 revolution,Zhang Taiyan. Writing in 1906,Zhang argued that “unless China and India embrace each other and support each other,Asia will not become secure”.

“When they become independent,” Zhang wrote,“China and India must form a holy alliance”. It is a theme that continues to resonate in one form or another,despite twists and turns in India-China relations over the last decades.

Delicate legacy

In China itself,the anniversary of the 1911 revolution is being handled delicately. The Chinese communist leaders do acknowledge the significance of the republican revolution,but are careful not to overstate it.

As everywhere else,history intrudes into contemporary politics in China and dealing with anniversaries is always a complicated affair. For the CCP,the Communist revolution of 1949 that followed the “bourgeois democratic” one in 1911 is far more important. The memory of the bloody civil war between nationalists and the communists in between the two great events is underlined by the continued existence of the Republic of China or Taiwan,where the nationalists led by the Kuomintang had fled in 1949.

China marked the 1911 anniversary over the weekend with all the top leaders present at the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion,President Hu Jintao stressed the contemporary relevance of the main theme of 1911,the “revival and rejuvenation” of China.

He also pointed to the unfinished task of uniting the Chinese nation by integrating Taiwan into the mainland. Hu emphasised that “unification is the hope of all Chinese people”. Beyond Beijing’s formalism on 1911,the CCP is quite circumspect in defining the current relevance of 1911,whose three principles were nationalism,people’s welfare,and democracy.

The CCP rightly takes credit for having advanced the first two — for it has successfully created a rich and powerful nation. But the CCP would clearly want to avoid any emphasis on the question of democracy in China,a major legacy of 1911. China has a long tradition of rebellion against corruption and autocratic rule,and the CCP is wary of any potential for mobilisation against the current conditions in China in the name of 1911.

Taiwan’s ambiguity

In Taiwan,where the ruling Kuomintang party is celebrating the centenary with much vigour,President Ma Ying-jeou has called on China to embrace democracy. As a functioning democracy,Taiwan represents the ideals of the 1911 revolution,Ma said.

But Taiwan has its own ambiguities on 1911. Many in Taiwan see the ROC as an exiled force from the mainland and do not share the political mythology of “one China” that both the CCP and the Kuomintang espouse.

The sentiments for a clear break from the mainland and independence are expressed by opposition Democratic Progressive Party. President Ma,who has pushed for Taiwan’s deeper economic integration with the mainland in the last few years,faces stiff competition from the DPP in the presidential elections due in January.

Accused by opponents of being too close to China,Ma sought to find the middle ground by cautioning China against a forceful unification and displaying Taiwan’s military might in the ceremonies to mark 1911.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research,Delhi