It Is Time For India To Recognise Tibet As An INDEPENDENT COUNTRY
by
Brig Arun Bajpai
In the recent all-party conference called by Prime Minister Modi due to Chinese shenanigans and amassing of troops in Eastern Ladakh, Mr Yechury the top Neta of Communist Party Maoist wanted India to follow the path of Panchsheel with China. So be it. However, it appears that he did not know the basics of Panchsheel which he was advocating India to follow.
This Panchsheel was signed in Beijing on 29 April 1954 in presence of Nehru then PM of India which basically concerned India-Tibet relations. The agreement with China was titled Chinas Tibet Area and India Commerce and Relations Treaty.
It emphasised that Despite China now controlling Tibet, India – Tibet relations will continue as before. It must be remembered that till 1951 Tibet was an independent country. At no point of time Indian international boundary touched China it was all along with Tibet on its entire length of 3488 km.
However, it was in 1951 that China attacked Tibet, India under its then PM Nehru who was lost in his own praise and the concept of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bahi, did nothing to decry China in world body, rather he helped China by supplying Chinese troops with rations. It is worth remembering that in March 1947 in Delhi in Asian Relations conference Tibet attended it as an independent country along with China.
In 1914 India and Tibet had earmarked their official boundary and recognised it. Point to note is that if quoting history China claims Doklam as theirs based on documents of 1890 then Tibet was also an Independent country till 1951.
Since Nehru allowed Chinese to run over Tibet so Chinese came up with Panchsheel Agreement. Truth is that it was just a mirage. If Yechury wants India to follow Panchsheel then he must agitate that our relations with Tibet should continue as before without visa, passport or permit.
It is also interesting to note that way back in 1952-53 the Indian ambassador in Beijing after seeing what happened in Korea had warned Nehru and India that china will attack India in 1962.
But Nehru who was in heart a communist discarded this warning. He never thought that Chinese leaders whom he helped in capturing Tibet will one day deceive him and turn against him.
It is also true that world opinion looked at India to say something against China on Chinese aggression in Tibet. But since India the neighbouring country of Tibet had no problem with China, thanks to Nehru, the world opinion remained muted.
Till 1971 it was Taiwan which was permanent member of security council and not China. Till 1978 America had no diplomatic relations with china.by keeping quiet on Tibet issue India has scored a self- goal of monumental proportions.
After 1962 debacle in the hands of China, still Nehru did not wake up. Had we taken up the case of Tibet even at that time, China instead of brow beating us at Ladakh now would have been trying to develop good relations with us.
Anyway, what happened in the past and the blunders of Nehru are now all history. Question is after Galwan deceit by China in Eastern Ladakh and now China apart from Galwan Valley, amassing its troops in PP 14 as also finger 4 to 8 an 8km area, Hot Springs and now opening a new front in Depsung near Karakoram highway of theirs, where do we go from here?
First and foremost, we stand firm and demand from China that come what may they must go back to their side of LAC as it was on 5 May this year. If they do not withdraw as the signs they are showing then we should go and take over by ingression in those areas where they are weak.
There is no sense in attacking those areas where they are entrenched. At the same time now, we must take up the issue of Tibet and demand from China to leave Tibet so that it gains its independence.
Our people, NGOs etc all must demand that independence of Tibet should be restored. Presently the entire world opinion is against China after the outbreak of COVID-19 which started from Wuhan China and now no body has any doubt that it is Chinese Bio Logical Warfare. Tibet today is a Chinese colony which it colonised in 1951. This must be set free.
Finally, Indian Neta’s must understand that loan waivers, doles to the farmers etc are required but not at the cost of national security and integrity. The Defence budget should not be cut year after year. If China is daring to act funny with us in Ladakh is because its intelligence know that we are not fully prepared for war.
Case in point is our defence Minister Rajnath Singh rushing to Russia on the pretext of attending their 75th year parade of victory in 2WW but basically to request to Russia that they must supply fighter planes to India on emergency basis and air lift spare parts of Tanks, Fighter planes etc to India.
We are authorised 42 fighter sqns in IAF but today we have got only 31 sqns just two more than Pakistan while we face threat both from China and Pakistan.
We are authorised a 200 ships Navy and a minimum of 24 modern submarines while we have just 130 ships Navy and 13 rickety submarines. Our Mountain Strike Corps has been reduced in strength and still not fully ready.
All this China knows and that is why it is acting this way. In todays world of information technology, intelligence gadgets, traitors in the country, a country has to be ready and prepared all the time for a limited war. India must take a lesson from this and must never be caught pants down.
Only silver lining is that India of 2020 is not India of 1962. We may not be fully prepared but we are enough prepared to teach China a lesson if they do not listen. Our political leadership is also very strong.
Brig Arun Bajpai (Retd) is a distinguished Defence and Strategic Analyst.
