In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
For India, Tibet is just one of the topics they may or may not raise during the ongoing visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. But for the fraction of Tibetans in exile settled in India, the talk regarding the status of Tibet is of paramount importance.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, will resume on June 30 after a five-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The yatra will be conducted in five groups of 50 people each, with the first group entering China via Lipulekh Pass on July 10 and the last group departing on August 22. The pilgrimage, which holds great religious significance for Hindus, involves circumambulating Mount Kailash and taking a bath in Lake Manasarovar, believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.
The Dalai Lama, in a message, said that since India was Tibet's southern neighbour and since a relationship between the countries had existed for centuries, he held concern from this nation for the Tibet issue was of utmost importance.
China has defended its plan to build the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, assuring that the project will not affect riparian states and safety issues have been addressed through decades of studies. The dam, estimated to cost USD 137 billion, has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh, but Chinese authorities maintain that the project has been thoroughly studied and safeguards are in place. The dam is part of China's efforts to develop clean energy and respond to climate change.
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
China is acutely conscious of the need for the next Dalai Lama to be under its control. It was for this reason that China recently stressed their claim on Arunachal Pradesh. There were rumours that the next Dalai Lama may be found in Tawang. If that happens, India-China relations will become tense and there may be demands for the child to be handed over to the Chinese, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The seventh Tibet Work Forum was held in Beijing on August 28 and 29. Delhi should be deeply concerned, at a time India faces a precarious situation in Ladakh, because the TWF also defines China's western border policies, observes Claude Arpi.
The bodies of the last four of the trapped labourers were pulled out from the site of the avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Chamoli on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight as authorities ended the nearly 60-hour rescue operation.
Wang Yang and Xi Jinping's visits signal the beginning of a major Chinese push to bring about a transformation of Tibet, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying the workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.
About 30 airports have been either built or under construction in Tibet and Xinjiang provinces which will boost China's civil and military infrastructure in the remote regions bordering India, the country's official media reported.
India was fooled into believing that Communist China wanted a 'negotiated' settlement with the Tibetans; it was never the case, says Claude Arpi.
Forty-one Border Road Organisation labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday.
US Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Nepal this week to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals with the two nations, the state department has announced.
Doval is in Beijing for the 23rd round of the Special Representatives' talks being held after a gap of five years.
Wang Junzheng, Tibet's new Communist party boss, is on a number of sanctions lists by the US, Britain, the EU and Canada, for his tough role in Xinjiang, aimed at China's Uyghur ethnic minority, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Samdong Rimpoche's visit to China materialised against the backdrop of strained India-China relations consequent to the face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam, says former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
Xi commended the battalion members for their remarkable efforts in guarding China's border region, noting that they have dedicated their youth to securing the country's territorial integrity and have accomplished their missions well, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Was Wang Yi'S visit intended to remind India of 1962, asks Claude Arpi?
The Tibetan government-in-exile and China are continuing to hold back-channel talks and the last round took place this month, just days before US President Joe Biden signed a legislation that seeks to press Beijing for a negotiated settlement to Tibet's demands for greater autonomy.
'Rafales can play an important role in doing DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defence) on the Surface-to-Air Missiles that the Chinese have put on Tibet'
A visit to Tibet appears to have become the new touchstone for expressing fealty to Xi Jinping, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Advocating resolution to all disputes through dialogue, he asserted that all human beings are equal and they need to rise above the narrow-minded approach of "my nation, my ideology" which is the main trigger for fights among people.
National security, consolidation of border defences and border security highlights China's Tibet policy, points out Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Peolsi, who is part of a US bipartisan delegation which met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, launched a broadside against Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever, Xi will be gone in a few years.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
China on Friday operationalised its first fully electrified bullet train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, connecting the provincial capital Lhasa and Nyingchi, a strategically located Tibetan border town close to Arunachal Pradesh.
India on Tuesday outrightly rejected as 'senseless' China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, and asserted that assigning 'invented' names does not alter the reality that the state 'is, has been, and will always be' an integral part of India.
'India should today tell China to provide proper facilities in Minsar for Indian yatris visiting Mt Kailash,' says Claude Arpi.
China on Thursday appreciated the stand of the Indian government, recognising the Tibet autonomous region as an integral part of China, and New Delhi's assurance that it will not allow 'Tibetan separatist' activities in the country."The Indian government has said that the Tibet Autonomous Region is an integral part of Chinese territory and that they do not allow Tibetan separatist activities in India. We express our appreciation to the Indian side," said a Chinese spokesperso
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was taking action against an unspecified number of Chinese officials, including from the ruling Communist Party, under a US law that calls on China to let Americans visit Tibet.
Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo spoke to India's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan over phone and briefed him on the 'violent crimes' in Lhasa and 'expounded' China's stance on and concerns over the Tibet issue. Narayanan stated that Tibet was part of the Chinese territory and that India does not allow Tibetans to conduct 'anti-China political activities' in the country, official Xinhua news agency said.
China is worried about the situation post the Dalai Lama and that his reincarnation could surface in Arunchal Pradesh, a region it claims as its own, but which is part of the Indian Republic, says former RA&W Additional Secretary Jayadeva Ranade.
Statements emanating from the recent Chinese Communist party congress suggest potentially increasing pressure on India with regard to the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, notes former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
"Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects," he said.
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