The reason India and China may always be at odds is their aspirations which they have in common. Each nation wants to be the dominate power in the region and become a dominate power in the world. Each society hasn't evolve very far, and sees military might and economic might a means to become equal to us. India isn't building its military merely to check China's power, example their aircraft carrier program which is designed for force projection not coastal defense. Like the mind set that permeate the world in the 30s, it not about right or wrong it is about power. Each society has a male dominate mind set, and is swimming in nationalistic fever. Take their space programs, do you believe they are interest in the peaceful exploration of space, not likely. They along with us and Russians are going to weaponize space, if hasn't happen already. India and many other nation have a infantile response to trivial matter. Rioting in the street over a kiss is stupid, and killing because of some off color cartoons are just some signs that many nations are overly emotional. They also lack an understanding of what a civil society really is. This particularily true in the Moslim world. Free speech says we can denounce a cultural affront without burning things and rioting.
What makes you think the PLA would want to pacify India? The Brits ruled India for 200 years not by trying to pacify local population but through brutal force.
“Each society hasn’t evolve very far, and sees military might and economic might a means to become equal to us.”
India does not really share the American idea of a “unipolar” world. Rather on similar lines of Europe and Russia, India would like to see a “multi-polar” world one of which would be India. India does not have a problem with existing superpowers or emerging ones, rather that is very much part of India’s strategic interest. Problem arises when some countries such as China would like to see itself as the only regional power. It is a power struggle of course, it always was and will be (not just in the 30s but all throughout history) just that we have got to see who is on the right side of it and who is not.
“Take their space programs, do you believe they are interest in the peaceful exploration of space, not likely.”
Depends on what exactly you mean by peaceful exploration of space. The space race between US and USSR wasn't really about “peaceful exploration of space”.
“India and many other nation have a infantile response to trivial matter. Rioting in the street over a kiss is stupid, and killing because of some off color cartoons are just some signs that many nations are overly emotional.”
Not nations, some people are. If India (as a nation) had the habit of taking emotional decision then by now you would have witnessed a nuclear war with Pakistan (there have been plenty of provocation of that to happen).
As for the kiss incident, you can expect the media to make all kinds of hype over it. Its India’s national pass-time for the media to make a mountain out if a mole hill. In a population of one billion there would be at least a million emotionally hyper active people. If India had been emotional you would have seen people carrying Ak-47s and chanting death threats, and leaders issuing fatwas like they do on the Arab street.
In India the real serious rioting is mostly Hindu-Muslim rioting.
“Free speech says we can denounce a cultural affront without burning things and rioting.”
You think rioting does not happen in US? What do you think of the 2005 Toledo Riot, Seattle Mardi Gras Riots 2001, Seattle WTO conference riots in 1999, 2001 Cincinnati Riots, Michigan State University student riot 1999, Washington State University student riot 1998, LA riots 1992, St. Petersburg, FL Riot 1996, 1991 Washington, DC riot in D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, May 1991?
The only thing that keeps large number of Americans from coming out on the street every now and then is that the average American is hardly aware of political events happening in the country let alone outside the country. Many Americans in my University haven’t even heard about the Vatech shooting. Its not that they can be any less emotional and juvenile.