The United States encourages open exchange between China and the Dalai Lama on the issue of Tibet, an Obama Administration official said today.
One hopes the new Lok Sabha will mark a break from a dismal tradition -- lack of interest in defence and security policies, argues Colonel Anil A Athale.
Continuing its crackdown against people allegedly involved in inciting self immolation protests in Tibet, Chinese police today arrested five Tibetans, including a 21-year-old Buddhist monk, for trying to motivate three people to set themselves on fire.
The restive Tibet region, which was closed following violent anti-China protests in March, would be reopened to foreign tourists 'soon', the regional government has said. Temples in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa would also soon resume religious activities, according to officials in the remote Himalayan region. The state media had earlier said that Tibet would be reopened to tourists from May 1, but there were also reports that the regional government had abandoned its plan.
69-year-old Samdhong Rinpoche, who heads the administration of the Tibetan Diaspora, speaks out on the uprising in Lhasa, Chinese rule and India's role.
India should have learnt lessons from the 1962 war but no headway was made in the development of border infrastructure till 2014, he claimed, adding that the Modi government increased the budget for the same from Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 14,500 crore.
Self-immolation by six Tibetans, including three teenage monks, protesting Chinese rule in Tibet continued to haunt China as Communist Party leaders on Thursday began a key meeting where Panchen Lama, projected by Beijing as the rival to the Dalai Lama, was given prominence.
It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
It is yet another move by the governments of the two neighbouring nations to enhance mutual trust and understanding.
'We are developing infrastructure on the mountains and deploying the troops on hill borders in such a way that it is ensuring the safety of the people there.'
Rebuffing the Dalai Lama's remarks that there were "encouraging signs" about China changing its attitude towards Tibet, a top Chinese official has said there would be no breakthrough in talks until the Tibetan spiritual leader changed his stand on "some fundamental issues".
Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes, who has been invited for the Olympic torch relay, said he has not yet made up his mind in this regard but feels boycotting the event for political reasons is not right.
'Information about the Dalai Lama's heath is normally not shared with the public. Its release on this occasion implicitly underscores the message that the window of opportunity for Beijing to recommence the dialogue with the Dalai Lama -- an advocate of non-violence -- to resolve the contentious Tibetan issue is limited.' says Jayadeva Ranade.
Gyatso had been unrecoverably ill since his release in October 2016 after serving five years in prison on a conviction for "inciting separatism."
Denouncing the Dalai Lama as a "splittist," China has accused him of collaborating with the CIA and Indian military to establish the "Indian Tibetan special border troops" to reclaim authority in his Himalayan homeland from Beijing.
"We accept India as a land of Buddha," he said, adding that he had no regret for not getting an opportunity to return to Tibet.
Accusing China of creating "hell on earth" in Tibet by launching a "brutal crackdown," Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama on Tuesday demanded "legitimate and meaningful" autonomy for the Himalayan plateau.
Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has described Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama as the "most peace loving person on the earth," who is not a "separatist," and asked China to grant Tibet autonomy.
India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.
amed Hollywood actor Richard Gere, Iyengar yoga exponent Deidra Demens, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and prominent American singer Mary Millben were among the eminent personalities who joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a unique yoga session at the UN Headquarters.
He claimed China has a policy of keeping "hot spots like Taiwan, South China Sea and Tawang burning" in order to divert attention to its own failings.
French hospitality at its best at a state dinner in honour of China's President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Elysee Palace, Paris.
India and the United States on Monday urged China and the Dalai Lama to hold peaceful negotiations between them to resolve the pro-independence unrest in Tibet with Washington insisting that dialogue was the "only" policy that is sustainable in the Himalayan region.
Pelosi had angered Beijing when she met the Dalai Lama in India recently and gave her solid backing to the Tibetan movement. Her initiative in proposing a US House resolution on Tibet, urging Beijing to end its crackdown, has further infuriated China which has slammed it as rude inteference in its internal affairs. The commentary, which accused Pelosi of having stubborn anti-China sentiments,said that she had never hesitated to flagrantly interfere in China's internal affairs
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing that "the Indian side should fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama."
"Now, I did not thrash China when we were in India," Pelosi said, adding, "I spoke truths about what China is doing in Tibet and that China has not lived up to its statements made to the Olympic Committee about more openness and respect for human rights in order to attract the Olympics."
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has said that the recent turmoil in Tibet made him "cry" once but the practice of Buddhism helped him deal with the situation. Speaking to Newsweek magazine, the Dalai Lama said looking at the disturbing and graphic images of casualties "he once cried".
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday expressed concern over China's proposed mega hydropower project on the upstream of Siang River in Tibet, stating it will have a cascading effect on India and Bangladesh in the near future.
Taking serious note of protests by Tibetans in India during the visit of President Hu Jintao, China on Thursday said Tibet was an "integral part" of its territory and the region's affairs were an "internal matter".
China on Thursday sharply criticised US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya's meeting with the Dalai Lama and her visit to Dharamshala, saying it violated Washington's commitment that Tibet is part of China and it does not support Tibetan separatists.
How does blatantly claiming Indian territory help to maintain 'peace in border regions', is a mystery that only China can explain, notes Claude Arpi.
'The Battle of Jamalpur was a turning point in the 1971 War because a small battalion of 700 men broke the back of the Pakistanis.'
The Dalai Lama's proximity to the Chinese border will anger the Communist dictators in Beijing, who despise the Tibetan spiritual leader who retains his influence in his homeland 64 years after he fled Tibet.
'Is China's intention not clear?' 'Do we still think that if we are nice to China, it will be good to us?'
The operational alert allows troops to get acclimatised to high altitudes, renovate the bunkers and trenches from which they would fight, break out ammunition, and carry out the coordination needed to fight an integrated defensive battle.
China plans to build a new highway along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as part of Beijing's efforts to strengthen its strategic position and project its power, a media report said on Wednesday.
'It is flabbergasting to think that this heavenly region has, for decades, been coveted by India's aggressive neighbours,' says Claude Arpi after a recent visit to Ladakh. 'Wanting to use the newly created infrastructure to defend the borders after the clash of 2020 with China and the resulting standoffs, the home ministry is keen to boost border tourism to show that these areas are controlled by India.'
After a 59-year wait, an ancient trade route across a 150-year-old bridge is open near the India-China border in Uttarakhand.
Although the special relationship might compel Bhutan to be considerate of Indian interests, new challenges will likely arise. An emerging new phase of relations will also call for fresh redlines between India and Bhutan, observe Harsh V Pant and Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy.
