Indian students in 'China rush'

"I love China. I want to study, work and live in China and marry a Chinese girl," Bilas Mukherjee, a 20-year-old Indian student said. "This is my dream."

Mukherjee, studying Chinese at Santiniketan school, founded by the legendary Indian writer R. Tagore 100 years ago near Kolkata in eastern India, posts news and photos about China on Facebook every day, ranging from political events to economic and culture stories.

More and more Indian young people are nourishing their China dreams.Some call it the "China rush."

Besides the Chinese language, Indian youths are attending courses on Chinese politics, history and economics.

China is a major trading partner of many countries, and the world is going to look toward China in the next 30 to 40 years, said Manpreet Singh Chawla, a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

The university's School of International Studies, one of the oldest in India, has become a preferred destination for Indian students to study China.

He said the Chinese language is an official language of the United Nations and that China is an important country.

Kota Mallikarjun Gupta, a student of Chinese studies, said that if people travels by train across India, they find all sorts of Chinese products.

"All the mobiles you use are from China and all the technologies we get in India are from China. And we are so much connected with China, but we really don't know what is real China. So this is one motive that I joined this course to learn more about China," he said.

Sakshi Anand, another student of Chinese studies, said China is a growing power in every fields, especially in economics and politics.

"If we study this, it will provide a better area for us and it will be good for our career growth also," said Anand.

Better career prospects are one of the reasons why many Indian students are learning the Chinese language and subjects related to the country.

Thanks to the increased number of scholarships awarded by the two governments under student exchange programs, more and more Indians go to China for further studies.

D. Varaprasad, chairperson of Chinese Studies at the School of International Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the trend "is good for both India and China and particularly their bilateral relations."

Today's students will start career in various organizations, government departments in the next 10 to 15 years, and the current "China rush" may contribute to cementing bilateral relations.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, India and China are two ancient civilizations bound by "a unique chemistry" in relations.

The growing number of Indian students studying the Chinese language and China-related subjects is a clear sign that the two countries are bracing a new surge of people-to-people and cultural exchanges.