Tibet: India must Rescind its Interim Recognition
of Tibet as being part of China
Anjali Kanojia, PhD, and
Ryan Baidya PhD
Tibet has
flourished for centuries; it has been a living hub of ancient culture and
spirituality, minding its own business, so to speak. Tibet has made vast contributions to the
world in terms of spiritual wealth and philosophy. As parts of the Indian subcontinent were
being invaded and the Hindu civilization was obliterated by the barbaric
attackers, many seekers, gurus and spiritual masters took refuge in the safety
and solitude of Tibet, allowing Hindu and Buddhist thought and literature to
survive and flourish. Thus, Tibet holds
extreme importance to Indians as it denotes resilience and survival.
India & Tibet
– Mutual Roots
One usually
thinks of the recent history of Buddhism arriving from India to Tibet. However, the harmonious relationship between
India and Tibet runs farther and deeper and predates the time of the Gautama
Buddha. Tibetan scholar Bu-ston wrote
that the Tibetan race comes from the descendants of the Military General –
Rupati – a general from the Kaurava army from the times of the Mahabharata. Tibetan chronicles documents that Rupati went
to Tibet after the Kauravas were defeated by the Pandava army after the epic
battle of Mahabharata ended and Rupati was followed by a large number of his
consignment into Tibet.
India in a sense
can be considered as a mother, which gave birth to the beautiful culture of
Tibet where the same stream of consciousness flows between the two
entities.
The roots of
Tibet are Indian, and this continued with the advent of Buddhism in Tibet and
noble Buddhist thought and philosophy influenced the people and the way of life
for the region of Tibet. Two Tibetan
kings – Songtsen Gampo and Trisong-Detsen played a vital role in history by
introducing Buddhism to their praja (citizens) in the 7th and
8th century. This influence
is still practiced and observed in the rituals, art, literature, poetry and day-to-day
lives of the beautiful Tibetan people.
Political
Background
This historic border between India and Tibet was called the
Indo-Tibetan border and China (Sino) had no mention in defining that
border. Tibetan history shows that Tibetan
powerful rulers in the 7th century invaded parts of China, and the
annexed Chinese territory was even paying taxes or tribute according to a
treaty (Treaty of 821 A.D.) between the Tibetan king Tsenpo and the Chinese
Emperor Hwang citing “neighborly contentment,” and “establishing a great era
when Tibetans shall be happy in Tibet and Chinese shall be happy in China,
shall never be changed.” The Chinese forces violated the 821
A.D. bilateral treaty by continuously invading Tibet over the centuries.
Tibetans have lost most of their Central Asian possessions to the
Chinese and the great Tibetan Empire all but vanished by the 9th
century due to Chinese and Mongol invasions.
The British signed the Lhasa Convention with the Government of
Tibet after their expedition and this denotes Tibet’s sovereignty. It should be noted that China is nowhere in
the picture and all official business was conducted with the government of
Tibet.
Twentieth Century
Mongolia and
Tibet had a formal, bilateral treaty in 1913 where the two nations maintained
recognition and Mongolia had kept an Ambassador in the Tibetan capital –
Lhasa. In 1913-1914, the representatives of British
India, Tibet and China met in Shimla and settled the political status of Tibet
and defined Tibet’s relations with China.
British-ruled India and Tibet signed an Indo-Tibet border treaty
establishing the McMahon Line, which mainly
defined the eastern Himalayan international borderline at the Shimla
Convention. However, the
Shimla Convention failed to meet the goals it set out to accomplish.
Neighboring
Nepal, in 1949 applied for the United Nations membership and formally stated
that the Tibetan nation had independent, diplomatic relations with the United
Kingdom, India, Burma, the United States of America and Tibet. This clearly shows Tibet as an independent
entity.
Chinese Invasion
The Chinese again
invaded Tibet in 1949. India’s foreign
office responded to the violation (of 821-treaty) on October 26, 1950 as: “In the context of world events,
invasion by Chinese troops of Tibet cannot but be regarded as deplorable and in
the considered judgment of the Government of India, not in the interest of
China or peace”.
India’s response clearly shows that
India did not recognize Tibet as part of China.
If India did recognize Tibet as part of China, it would not refer to the
violation of the 821 A.D. as an “invasion.”
When India became
independent of the British in 1947, the Government of India sent the following
note recognizing the Tibetan government: “The Government of India would be glad
to have an assurance that it is the intention of the Tibetan government to
continue relations on the existing basis until new arrangements are reached
that either party may wish to take up. This is the procedure adopted by all
other countries with which India has inherited treaty relations from His
Majesty’s Government”.
Mao Zedong acknowledged
independent Tibet
After the fall of the
Manchus in 1911, China offered both Nepal and Tibet to join China and both the
nations refused. China clearly
recognized each of these nations as being sovereign entities up till this
moment of time. During World War II,
Tibet continuously maintained neutrality and did not allow passage of any
troops through its territory. Even Mao
Zedong acknowledged the independent status of Tibet in year 1938 when traveling
through the Tibet-China border regions and said that “This is our only
foreign debt, and some day we must pay — the Tibetans for the provisions we
received from them”.
Soon
after the failure of the Shimla Convention where China refused to sign the
treaty, Mao Zedong declared a liberation plan for Tibet and began claiming that
Tibet has always been a part of China.
The Indian Prime Minister – Jawaharlal Nehru for the first time
recognized China’s claim over Tibet and signed the Panchsheel Treaty in 1954
acknowledging the same.
Nehru’s
ill thought faux pas set a dangerous precedent in history which affects the
relationship between India and Tibet as
well as other foreign policy decisions.
On
June 23, 2003, while visiting China, in a joint declaration signed by then
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, for
the first-time recognized Tibet as a part of China. However, soon after the declaration, China
repeatedly violated this declaration and Panchsheel accord by substance and
spirit. China’s aggression has continued
even today with increased vigor and voracity.
India
had enough and India has begun to ‘Right’ the ‘Wrong’. In 2014, when Mr. Narendra D. Modi got
elected by an unprecedented mandate by the citizens of India, Mr. Modi invited
the head of the exiled government of Tibet to his swearing-in ceremony.
Righting the Wrongs
More than 1.2
million Tibetans have died as a result of China’s occupation of Tibet. The culture and people have been systemically
destroyed and redirected resources that put Tibetans in a terrible position for
survival. China indiscriminately diverted
water from the multinational rivers which originate in Tibet thereby putting
the lives and well-being of billions of people at risk.
India not just
from a moral and ethical perspective but from a cultural perspective needs to maintain
a protective status towards nations such as Tibet and Nepal and it is in
everyone’s mutual interest that their sovereignty remain intact and protected
from the neighboring Communist dreams and agendas.
Given the recent
issues between India and China over land grabbing, India needs to firm up its
policies towards all its neighboring nations, especially Tibet. Nations often declare treaties to be moot,
and it is time for India to declare that it will no longer recognize the
Panchsheel Treaty of 1954 to be valid. India
has no choice but to rescind its reluctant recognition of Tibet as a part of
China, and formally re-recognize Tibet as a sovereign nation.
-----------------
Bibliography
1. Art: Phauzdar, 2010 (www.Phauzdar.com)
2. Deb-snon and
Mkhas-pahi-dgah-ston
3. Tibet: A
Political History by Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa,Yale University Press,
4. New Haven and
London. 1967. p.5.
5. India Tibet
Policy, L.L. Mehrotra, 2000
6. http://www.umass.edu/rso/fretibet/education.html
7.
Memoranda
and Letters Exchanged and Agreements signed by the Governments of India and
China, Vol. 2, 1959 p. 39.
8.
Red star
over China, New York edition. 1961. p. 214.
9.
Tibet - A
Source Book - edited by Dr. Anand Kumar, New Delhi, 1994.p.55.
iDR: Indian Defense
Review
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