Tibet performs necessary function in complicated India-China ties: Ex-diplomat Nirupama Rao

By Express News Service

BENGALURU: India’s former overseas secretary Nirupama Rao in an interplay on her e-book ‘The Fractured Himalaya: India, Tibet, China, 1949-1962’ spoke in regards to the Indo-China relations then and now and the affect of the 13-year interval that preceded the Indo-China battle in 1962 on the relations between the 2 neighbours with Tibet on the centre.

“From the start, the India-China relationship was in fact a three-body problem, with Tibet at the geographical and diplomatic centre of the nascent relationship,” stated Rao. The occasion was organised by the Synergia Foundation – a city-based technique suppose tank.

She stated that following the tragic occasions within the Galwan Valley in 2020, the main target is again on Indo-China relations. “We need a wide-angled perspective to recall the early history of this relationship. Both India and China were very young and in the process of national consolidation and influencing our roles on the world stage. What happened in those years has quite an influence on Indo-China relations even today,” stated Rao.

She added, “An industry has grown abouat blaming Jawaharlal Nehru for everything that happened during that period. He had his flaws, but his follies cannot be textbook gospel. His decisions were made in real time. India was a young country and Nehru’s contribution in nation building cannot be ignored. He saw the reality of the coming of the Communists and was subconsciously worried about China’s expansionism. He was concerned about safeguarding our borders. Nehru was the first person to own his failure in the China policy, which had deep linkages with the Tibetan issue. He had granted His Holiness the Dalai Lama asylum in India and Tibetans recognised him as Dharmaraja, but he focused more on building relationships with China and felt that Tibet was a lost cause,” stated the previous diplomat. She added that there have been weaknesses, errors however we have to perceive the circumstances wherein choices have been made and the way they have been made in actual time.

Rao stated India’s ties with Tibet are very complicated and aren’t solely dictated by geography however by commerce, pilgrimage and cultural osmosis. The presence of the Dalai Lama and his complete succession query continues to be strongly opposed by China. She spoke at size in regards to the folks within the Himalayan area on both aspect of the border and in regards to the sturdy cultural and commerce linkages. 

She stated that she has been requested why a e-book like that is essential at this time limit as a result of this topic has been researched and written extensively for a few years. “We fought the 1962 war, the 60th anniversary of which is coming up. There’s no end to analysis of events and people involved in the era. My interpretation of that period is that of a diplomat practitioner. I studied the subject when I was in the Indian Foreign Service and I dealt with the bilateral relationships between India and China much before I was posted as Ambassador to Beijing,” she stated. “My aim was to provide a rational understanding of the complex relationships between India and China,” stated the previous diplomat.