Complicating the Complicated: Sino-Indian Ties Vs. China’s Tibet Obsession

Indo–China relationship touched a new low when the latter unilaterally cancelled the 15th round of Special Representative-level talks between Indian and Chinese diplomats which was scheduled to be held on 5th December at New Delhi. The reason as cited by China is a scheduled speech in New Delhi by the Dalai Lama. Perhaps gone are the days of Chinese socialism because this is the expression of Bejing’s feudal mindset and its narrow-minded approach to bilateral issues. Border issues have always remained sensitive to both India and China which has been the subject of 14 rounds of talks since 1962, not to forget a brief but brutal war over the issue. Thus, the talk was strategically important for both the countries.

The Indo-China border dispute is a contentious issue, but religion has no boundaries. Buddhism went to Tibet from India and with it went the best impulses of India’s traditions, philosophy and folklore. Even the Tibetan script is derived from ancient Pali, which was the dominant language of upper India during the period of Gautama Buddha and the great Mauryan and Magadh kingdoms. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He later founded the government in exile in the northern Indian town Dharamshala after being offered refuge. Being a religious head he has travelled to all parts of India, including the Buddhist monasteries such the one in Tawang. The Delhi conference is nothing new in it.

China should not give a political colour to the religious event. Beijing has already hosted the first World Buddhist Forum in 2006 in Zhejian province and the second in March 2009 in Wuxi which was attained by 1,700 delegates from 50 countries. In both meetings, Giancin Norbu was paraded as the senior most representative of Buddhism in the world. This aggressive marketing by China as the real Buddhist powerhouse of the world has not gone down well with India, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. New Delhi too has launched its own Buddhist conferences in Singapore, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. There will be similar shows in Nepal and Vietnam. China has no point left to oppose the Buddhist Religious conference.
The Tibetan issue is not an Indian creation and must not be made to look as such.

Tibet is India’s biggest geographical neighbour, whether under Chinese control or otherwise. The Indo-Tibetan border begins in the eastern most tip of India in Arunachal Pradesh and ends in the icy heights of the Karakoram Range. Tibet’s influence is seen all over India’s Himalayan region where the Tibetan strain of Mahayana Buddhism predominates. There are over 120 Buddhist monasteries in India’s Himalayan region where the Dalai Lama is venerated as the head of the faith. China needs to address the Tibet issue sincerely through talks with the Tibetans in exile and their leader the Dalai Lama – overcoming the dominant view that this problem can be overcome simply by waiting out. It is quite possible that complexities could increase as human rights and other cultural autonomy issues gain more salience in international diplomacy and Chinese domestic affairs.

Several issues have plagued India-China relations through the past years. The Chinese decision to provide stapled visas for Indians from the State of Jammu and Kashmir that indicated it considers it 'disputed’ – in line with Pakistan’s position – has become a major diplomatic problem. This problem was compounded in August 2010 when China denied visa to Lt. Gen Jas Pal, Commander, Northern Army Command, since he is based in Jammu and Kashmir. China’s active involvement in PoK in carrying out various projects despite the fact that the legal sovereignty over the area belongs to India. China’s attempt to make the visits of the Prime Minister to Arunachal and the Dalai Lama to Tawang highly sensitive public issues has had a very negative impact on public opinion in India which sees China’s claims as well as attendant diplomatic demands as provocative and hostile in nature. Arunachal has always been part of India and many Prime Ministers have visited the state.

China’s Pakistan fixation has been further reflected in its failure to condemn the perpetrators of the dastardly Mumbai terrorist attacks, its opposition in the UN to sanction the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad, and its calculated silence on mentioning Pakistan, even indirectly, as a state that needs to be responsible and control international terrorist attacks from its territory, and punish the guilty. China has constructed a hydro-power plant on the River Brahmaputra and is also planning other projects –that could affect the quantum of water flow into lower riparian India and Bangladesh during the lean period in spite of the fact that no river water agreement exists between India and China.

It is high time that both China and India should search for a reasonable settlement on some of the pending issues. Both need a stable, sensitive, and a productive and working relationship as their status and power in the world changes. The rest of Asia too wants to see peace and stability maintained in this major relationship of the 21st century. South Asia is strategically important both to India and China and both need a peaceful environment for their development. While they continue to court and help these countries, they can and should ensure that they cooperate whenever possible, compete where necessary and unavoidable, but do their best to avoid any conflict – engaging in awareness of and respect for each other’s national interests, mutual accommodation and meaningful discussions.