Onus on India to exert pressure on China over Tibet
AFTER needling China for its unilateral breach of protocols and attempts to alter the status quo in eastern Ladakh, India went on to call China a bully and expressed hope — for the first time since 1962 — that the US would come to its aid against the Dragon (going by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane’s statement at the India-US Defence Summit in February). A few weeks ago, India reached out to the Philippines with a pledge to stand by it in its dispute with China in the South China Sea and sold it BrahMos missiles.
All this is quite something, but New Delhi has stopped short of talking about Tibet, even though Beijing has continued to rename in Mandarin several places in ‘south Tibet’ (parts of Arunachal Pradesh). The last time New Delhi upped the ante over Tibet was in 2010, when it stopped talking about the One China policy during parleys with Beijing. Of late, former Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane has spoken at public forums on Tibet’s annexation and its demand for autonomy. The Forum for Non-Violent Alternatives (FNVA), an NGO, is espousing the Tibetan cause. It has several former government officials and veterans supporting it. Since 2008, it has issued policy papers, with the most recent in 2022: Resetting India’s Tibet Policy. Prior to Independence, Gen Sir Francis Tuker, in his paper, Defence of India, had highlighted the strategic salience of Tibet and advised early occupation to pre-empt the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from doing so. The rest is history.
On April 25 in Dharamsala, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, repeated its longstanding demand for the return of the 11th Panchen Lama at a function to celebrate his 35th birthday. Panchen Lama, who was abducted by the Chinese government, has been missing for the past 29 years. Tsering informed journalists at the ceremony that the Tibetan government in exile had been engaged in back channel talks with Beijing since last year; dialogue being resumed after nine rounds ended in 2010. Tibetans are pitching for greater autonomy in sync with the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way policy.
Promptly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, without refuting the back channel claim, reacted: “China does not legitimise government in exile at Dharamsala; the so-called Xizang (Chinese for Tibet) government in exile is totally against the Chinese constitution and laws and is illegal. No country has recognised it”. He clarified that talks had been held with representatives of the Dalai Lama and not with the envoys of the government in exile. In February, the US House of Representatives had passed a Bill that would push China to resolve the outstanding Tibet-China dispute through talks with the Dalai Lama’s envoys.
In response to the BJP seeking public suggestions for its election manifesto, the FNVA sent recommendations to the saffron party and the RSS — re-establishing India’s diplomatic mission in Lhasa as a quid pro quo for additional Chinese missions/offices in India; no foreign interference in the succession of the 14th Dalai Lama; preservation of Tibetan Buddhism; and creating a joint India-China commission on the Brahmaputra river, similar to the one in the Indus Water Treaty Commission with Pakistan. Other recommendations were the restoration of pilgrimage routes to Kailash Mansarovar through Nathu La, commencing one from Demchok and reviving the routes via Nepal; and encouraging China to continue with an outcome-related dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives for early resolution of the Tibet-China dispute.
The ruling party has not bitten the bullet, though in the 1970s, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had sought autonomy for Tibet in its manifesto.
The most worrying aspect of recent developments in Tibet is the depth and scale of Sinicisation of the region. Since President Xi Jinping took charge in 2013, China has been trying to erase Tibet’s cultural identity of Tibetan Buddhism. A white paper issued in November 2022 titled CPC Policies on the Governance of Xizang in the New Era: Approach and Achievements is silent on the colonial boarding school system and massive relocation programme to diminish Tibetan culture. Around 8,00,000 children/youngsters in the age group of six to 18 years are being educated in Chinese in a highly politicised curriculum. Tibetans are forced to send their children to these schools in cities. If parents refuse, they are blacklisted, their welfare benefits are stopped and kids can’t go to school ever. Their political indoctrination is systematic. Inter-marriage with Hans yields a reward of 20,000 yuan.
The military buildup is spectacular: six-lane highways, double-line railway to Shigatse from Lhasa and from Lhasa to Gormu. Of the seven million Tibetans, only around 8,000 have joined the PLA, but that will change with military conscription being ordered in the mainland. Reports suggest that over 2.3 lakh Han Chinese were settled in Tibet till 2020. The Tibetan population in Dharamsala is diminishing as Tibetans are unable to flee Tibet since Nepal has clamped down on free passage. A decade ago, 2,000 youth used to escape from Tibet every year. Now, it is just a trickle of six to eight persons. Last year, two women — Namkyi and Tsering Kyi — escaped from Tibet via Nepal and reached Dharamsala to narrate the grave human rights violations in their homeland.
At this rate, the Tibetan population in US could overtake the 66,000 Tibetans left in Dharamsala, and the government in exile might consider shifting there. The Central Tibetan Administration is frustrated with India for its silence on Tibet but extremely grateful for the sanctuary and hospitality. It is time for India to take a call on Tibet as Beijing digs deeper into Arunachal Pradesh and continues with Sinicisation of Tibet. China’s latest warning was on the construction of the Sela tunnel and the planned deployment of an additional 10,000 troops opposite central Tibet. As China ratchets up its claim to south Tibet, India needs to gently open the Tibet front by urging Beijing to settle the Tibet-China differences and follow up with reopening its mission at Lhasa. After a hiatus of 18 months, China has sent an ambassador, Xu Feihong, who arrived in New Delhi recently. And with the election results next month, the new normal is going to change.
