OPINION | India Needs To Talk Tibet With China |
“If you don't want war, then you had better be an advocate for diplomacy with muscle,” Richard Grenell, an American diplomat, had stated in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. This can also be applied in the case of India and China, which are not in a state of war, but have been engaged in a bitter border dispute for over seven decades now. While the roots of the dispute date back to the colonial era, tensions significantly intensified after India gained independence in 1947 and the People's Republic of China was established in 1949.
The primary cause is the lack of a mutually agreed-upon Line of Actual Control (LAC) across three major sectors. And at the centre of this dispute lies Tibet. While India’s stated policy of ‘One-China’ remains firm, New Delhi cannot keep brushing under the carpet the fact that the issues of the Dalai Lama, who continues to remain in India, need redressal. India's approach to the ‘One-China’ policy concerning Tibet is rooted in a series of formal agreements that acknowledge Tibet as part of China.
However, over the past decade, this policy has evolved to become more conditional and strategic in its application. Officially, India recognises the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as part of Chinese territory, but there has been a noticeable shift; India no longer emphasises this recognition in its joint statements with........