NEW DELHI, May 13 � Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that notwithstanding the border dispute, both India and China are keen to have good ties.
Singh was addressing a gathering after releasing The Divided Soul and Makam, authored by Sahitya Akademi Award winner Dr Rita Choudhury at the Constitution Club of India on Tuesday evening.
The Home Minister said that though in the 20th century India and China had gone to war, his understanding was that China today wanted good ties with India. Both countries wanted to resolve the border dispute, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leaving for China tomorrow and both the sides are trying to improve relations. �We can change our friends, but we cannot change our neighbours,� Singh said.
The Home Minister also recalled the contributions of Indian doctors during the China-Japan war.
Earlier, addressing the meeting, Dr Choudhury, who screened a documentary titled War and Tear on the Chinese population living in the country, said that the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 led to displacement of people. A majority of the Indian-Chinese community spoke Hindi, she said.