Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the cat among the pigeons when he did something that in the usual circumstances might be considered rather mundane – wishing Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama publicly on his 86th birthday. In his twitter message Modi wrote: “Spoke on phone to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday. We wish him a long and healthy life.” But as this was the first time since 2015 that the Prime Minister was publicly greeting the Dalai Lama on his birthday, it has naturally raised a whole set of questions about India’s China policy at large.
Modi had begun by inviting the former Tibetan prime minister-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, to his oath-taking ceremony in 2014 and had invited the Dalai Lama to Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2017 but as the ‘Wuhan spirit’ emerged post Doklam crisis, New Delhi had considered it prudent to dial back its Tibetan outreach. On the eve of the Wuhan summit between the Indian Prime Minister and the Chinese President in 2018, India pointedly issued a “classified circular advisory advising all Ministries/Departments of Government of India as well as state governments not to accept any invitation or to participate in any commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's arrival in India.”
But much water has flown down the Ganges since then and now there are reports that the Dalai Lama is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Covid-19 situation stablises. These wishes of the Prime Minister to the Dalai Lama should be juxtaposed with India deciding not to extend formal wishes to the Chinese Communist Party on the celebration of its centenary. It is unlikely that Chinese leadership will ignore these developments, especially as Chinese President has marked the CCP’s 100 years by warning that foreign powers will “get their heads bashed” if they attempt to bully or influence the country. Underling that China maintains an “unshakeable commitment” to unification with Taiwan, Xi had thundered that “no one should underestimate the resolve, the will and ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of Steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.”
This is a regime that is far less secure than it seems on the surface and so overt aggression is its preferred mode of operation. And as it comes under greater global scrutiny for its conduct in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, it will become even more defensive on Tibet and Taiwan. Tibet is at the very heart of the Sino-Indian geopolitical fault-line. With border tensions between China and India escalating, there is a renewed focus on Tibet. Beijing is keen to take control of the post-Dalai Lama era by repeatedly rejecting demands for Tibetan autonomy and making it clear in its official white paper on Tibet in May 2021 that any successor of the Dalai Lama has to be approved by Beijing. While the rest of the world views the present Dalai Lama as a symbol of the struggle of the Tibetan people for freedom, for China he a “wolf in sheep's clothing.” Perturbed by the efficiency of India’s Special Frontier Force (SFF), primarily drawn from Tibetan refugees in India, the PLA is also trying its best to recruit more Tibetans in its ranks.
This is a regime that is far less secure than it seems on the surface and so overt aggression is its preferred mode of operation. And as it comes under greater global scrutiny for its conduct in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, it will become even more defensive on Tibet and Taiwan
For India, therefore, it is imperative to get its Tibet policy right. There are growing demands in India to have a re-look at its ‘One China’ policy. Since 2010, India has not been using One China policy in its official statements and documents but as China is refusing to abide by the agreements of the past, New Delhi too should start thinking afresh its commitment to the recognition of Tibet as an Autonomous Region of China. If Beijing is not sensitive to India’s core interests, New Delhi too should signal its resolve to move away from old arrangements. In any case, India’s recognition of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet was contingent upon China’s acceptance of Tibetan autonomy on which Beijing has reneged completely. Modi has done well to signal that a re-think may be in the offing but something substantive is needed now.
India’s Tibet policy has put New Delhi in a peculiar position where only China seems satisfied with it. The younger generation of Tibetans are dissatisfied with India’s incoherent approach while many in India question the utility of a policy that doesn’t seem reciprocal at all. If in the past India’s position was tied to the hope that such a policy would result in a broader normalization of Sino-Indian ties and an eventual resolution of the border dispute, those hopes have been belied repeatedly by Chinese malevolent behavior. Deference to China has turned out to be a useless proposition. It is time that New Delhi follows up Modi’s opening with a policy response that challenges China on its own turf, galvanizes the Tibetan spiritual leadership on the question of succession and mobilises global opinion on this issue.
India’s Tibet policy has put New Delhi in a peculiar position where only China seems satisfied with it. The younger generation of Tibetans are dissatisfied with India’s incoherent approach while many in India question the utility of a policy that doesn’t seem reciprocal at all
As India recalibrates its China policy post-Galwan, Tibet and Taiwan are two issues that need a serious re-look. It is time to acknowledge that the old framework has collapsed along with the breakdown at the border.
This commentary originally appeared in Livemint
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