TIBET was an independent country in fact and law for more
than two thousand years prior to the Chinese invasion in 1949.
For centuries, Tibet served as an effective buffer state between
the world’s two most-populous nations, India and China, ensuring
peace and tranquility in the region.
Throughout its history, Tibet had maintained very close and
friendly relations with India. The border between Tibet and India
had remained free passage for the pilgrims and traders of both
the countries until Tibet was forcibly occupied by China. This
has resulted in His Holiness the Dalai Lama taking refuge in
India along with some 80,000 Tibetans.
We, the Tibetans, have been fortunate to have had steadfast
support from our Indian friends during the past 39 years of our
exile in India. Prominent Indian leaders like Shri Rajagopalachari,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Rammanohar Lohia, Dr. Bhimrao
Ambedkar, Shri Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Kripalani
have championed the just cause of the Tibetan people in the
early years of our exile. Since then, there have been many other
leaders who have raised the Tibetan issue from time to time. In
fact, these Indian national leaders while supporting the cause of
Tibet voiced the deep feelings of the people of India.
As early as in 1949, when the Chinese invasion of Tibet had
just started, it was Dr. Rammanohar Lohia who first warned
the Indian government of the implications of Chinese occupation
of Tibet. He was also the first Indian crusader for the rights of
the Tibetan people who, at a press conference in London in
1949, termed the Chinese invasion of Tibet as a ‘baby murder’.
The first All India Convention on Tibet was held at Calcutta
on 30-31 May, 1959, under the presidentship of Shri Jayaprakash
Narayan. A year later, in 1960, the Afro-Asian Convention on
Tibet and Against Colonialism in Asia and Africa was convened
in New Delhi by Shri Jayaprakash Narayan to consolidate and
articulate the international support for the cause of the Tibetan
people. This Convention brought together in India outstanding
political personalities and human rights activists from nineteen
countries.
Since then, international support for the Tibetan cause has
been increasing, and we do need it. But, the most important
factor is the Indian political support which we believe is key to
regaining our freedom.
The pages that follow provide illuminating insights into the
issue of Tibet: especially as viewed from the Indian standpoint.
The views, herein, expressed by the eminent Indian leaders in
the past, especially at the time of the Chinese invasion of Tibet,
have a great significance in understanding the implications of
the Chinese occupation of Tibet on India, particularly on India’s
national security, and therefore, must be brought to the knowledge
of the present Indian leaders, policy makers and the general
public.
Tempa Tsering
SECRETARY, DIIR.
Dated: 10 February 1998