2/15/2023 0 Comments The lost caves of tibet![]() On top of that, in 1947, Tibet didn’t accept India’s call for ratifying the 1914 Simla Convention or the McMahon Line Treaty and even refused to send an official delegation to attend India’s first Independence Day celebrations. Not surprisingly, Jawaharlal Nehru explicitly rejected this demand. It would surprise many that barely two months after India’s independence, the Tibetan Bureau in Lhasa sent two shocking telegrams (dated October 16, 1947) asking independent India to return the alleged (lost) territories of Tibet including Sayul, Walong, Lonag, Lapa, Mon, Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Lowo, Ladakh etc. In essence, Tibet was claiming its boundary down to the line of the river Ganges. Third, Tibetan irridentism has remained an abiding concern for India. Second, even British India never explicitly recognised Tibet as a sovereign entity instead it favoured Tibet’s suzerain status as a means of protecting Indian commercial interests, deterring Russian advances, and checking Tibetan irredentist claims over the Indian Himalayas. Not only has India been reiterating this position but it also pledged “not to allow Tibetans to engage in anti-China political activities in India”. As such, Tibet remained a settled matter. In return, when Wen Jiabao visited India in April 2005, China formally accepted that Sikkim is a part of India. On June 23, 2003, the Vajpayee government endorsed Beijing’s new formulation of recognising the ‘Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as a part of China’. India has never changed its stand since then, not even during the 1962 conflict. It was only after their explicit decision to join China that India accepted Tibet as a part of China – on April 29, 1954. ![]() India was left with no choice in the matter after the Tibetans themselves relinquished their wish for independence by signing the 17-point agreement with China on May 23, 1951. The fact is that there was never a card from day one. This debate begs over New Delhi’s latests tactics begs a more fundamental question: What is this the so-called ‘Tibet card’ that India can play in order to harvest a big diplomatic payoff? At the same time, there are also counter voices on social media calling for the Modi administration to abandon this ‘card’ and put the interests of 1.2 billion Indians first. The Indian government’s advisory note to its officials to stay away from the Dalai Lama’s eventshas caused disappointment to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and embarrassment to the Tibetan spiritual leader personally and has evoked predictable and undue criticism from the usual quarters. They argue that it is imprudent for India to give up the ‘Tibet card’ and cave in to China’s bullying tactics when the payoff from Beijing is unsure.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |