US seeks to Check China in Tibet, India too backs Tibet independently
The US Department of State has a high-ranking official nominated as its special coordinator for Tibet. Uzra Zeya Under Secretary State will try to re start meetings between Chinese officials with the Dalai Lama and also try and persuade the Chinese to grant US diplomats access to the entire Tibetan region.
After Hong Kong and the Xinjiang autonomous region, Tibet has now also entered the spotlight for both parties in the US Congress. A week ago, a group of lawmakers called on the Department of State to strengthen contact with the Tibetan government-in-exile and urged US President Joe Biden to receive the Dalai Lama in the White House.
Beijing has slammed the decision as political manipulation and demanded that Washington stop attempts to destabilize Tibet. Beijing will naturally react sharply because it has subjugated a peace loving Nation of Tibet by brutal force since last 70 years. At that time no one came to the aid of the Tibetan people not even the USA. Even India, a direct neighbour of Tibet was busy consolidating its own newly gained independence from Britain which had bled it economically for more than 150 years. This they had done right after they had become the Diwan of the Mutual Emperor and then had also back stabbed the Mughals themselves. They also exiled the last Emperor to Burma and brutally killed a few sons of his after they had surrendered.
The Brits most probably as part of their GREAT GAME had deliberately left the International Boundary between India and Tibet as vague and the International Boundary between Tibet and China in the limbo.
So over the years, China not only forcibly occupied Tibet but even surreptitiously occupied a big chunk of Indian territory in Ladakh. Then in 1962 there was a border skirmish which resulted in sort of a political and military humiliation for India. Though less than 10% of the Indian Army had actually been involved in the war on the Tibetan border with China. The Indian Air Force was not even involved in the fight except providing logistics support. However the War totally complicated relations between China and India.
Next in 1967, India did teach a lesson or two to the PLA but the Indian Government failed to exploit the situation militarily or politically on the International stage, especially in relation with the Tibetan problem. Minor incident kept happening at intervals but some how India seemed to be at the receiving end.
Then came Dokalam incident and the Maldives Crisis in 2018 wherein India stood like a rock. This rattled the Chinese quite a lot and they plotted and made their move resulting in Galwan incident. This not only ignited whole of Ladakh but also redefined the entire relationship between India and China for a long time to come. The rest of the World also came to know that unlike other countries, only India is in a position to truly counter the Chinese, move by move.
In all this, now has come the American Department of State’s move to deploy one of its officials to deal with Tibet. This does not impress India in anyway. Nowadays when India makes any move to safeguard its interest, it does so based on its own ability and capabilities.. So it will be highly erroneous on part of the USA to think that such moves of theirs will be treated as a kind of signal by the India, that India can rely on US support in It’s strategic moves to counter China.
Such US signals will be duly noted but just ignored by India from its Strategic Calculations. In the past decades, there were numerous examples of Washington signaling to countries that it would not let them down but in fact it did. However India, specially under the present dispensation is not a Camp follower.
As far as His Holiness Dalai Lama is concerned,for India he is the Spiritual head of the Tibetan people, whereas the Chinese who are ready to honour the Taliban and terrorist Hafeez and his cohorts, have officially designated him as the embodiment of separatist forces whose efforts are aimed at separating Tibet from China. So China has no grounds to even open their mouth on the issue with India. This is why there will be no talks between India and China on this issue, till the Chinese announce the abandoning of their pathetic line.
When time comes, India must go ahead and help elect the new Dalai Lama. This will be done by the Tibetan Government in Exile and no one else to be permitted to do this. India must take this on,no matter what. For any rapprochement and reconciliation, Chinese have to first demarcate the two borders : between Tibet and India and between Tibet and China. Freedom to Tibet peacefully may be negotiated later. There are other ways too.
