印度與中國在近代的交往,合作與衝突兼有之。若以古典傳統國際關係理論觀察,則兩個相鄰而同時崛起的大國勢必走向衝突,而當今印中關係雖仍屢有齟齬,卻能異中求同,跳脫古典理論的僵局。這樣獨特的交往風貌源於兩個文明古國在吸收近代民族國家理論之前就已有豐厚的歷史與文化視野,產生各種對彼此與對自我的設想。在印度方面,其知識界自詩哲秦戈爾創立中國學院以來便一直以有別於西方現實主義強調精神文明的觀點來認識中國,但這樣的觀點也使其中國認識不夠全面。而中國出乎其預料的行為進一步帶動知識界的討論,形成今日印度中國研究社詳的多元風貌。
There have been ups and downs in Sino-Indian relations. From the classic realist point of view, competition between two neighboring powers is not untypical. However, China and India seem to be able to transcend this realist destiny due to mutual positive images embedded in their rich cultural heritages, which are much older than the modern national identity. Beginning from Rabindranath Tagore and his Cheena Bahvan, the spiritual perspective has prevailed over realism in India's approach to China. However, such a spiritual perspective has led to misperception in 1962, as China reacted to India's territorial exploration with force. The national perspective is added to the spiritual perspective since then.