It’s China’s fault that Tibet is back in global discussion
The issue of Tibet is back onto the international centre-stage with the visit of a seven-member US Congressional delegation to Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, this month to meet the Dalai Lama and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile. During the visit, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that the Dalai Lama’s contribution will live on in perpetuity while Xi Jinping will fade into obscurity.
\ Pelosi had earlier made a trip to Taiwan, which China claims is a breakaway province, following which Beijing launched military drills around the island. The American activism on Tibet comes close on the heels of the US clearing new legislation that pushes Beijing to re-engage with the Dalai Lama and elected representatives to resolve the standoff over Tibet’s future.
The new law directs the US government to coordinate multilateral initiatives to bring about a negotiated settlement on Tibet. Importantly, it also stipulates funding by the US for the purpose of countering disinformation spread by the Communist Party of China on Tibetan history and traditional institutions like the Dalai Lama.
India has also begun to recalibrate its policy on Tibet, albeit slowly, over the past decade. For his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the political head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, along with heads of state from neighbouring countries in South Asia.
The June 2020 clashes in Galwan were an important inflection point in relations between India and China, following which a tense standoff continues between the two armies along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to this date. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sent a senior
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