India–Tibet relations

Since then, Tibetans-in-exile have been given asylum in India, with the Indian government accommodating them into 45 residential settlements across 10 states in the country, homes of the Tibetan diaspora. From around 150,000 Tibetan refugees in 2011, the number fell to 85,000 in 2018, according to government data. Many Tibetans are now leaving India to go back to Tibet and other countries such as United States or Germany. The Government of India, soon after India's independence in 1947, treated Tibet as an independent country. However, more recently India's policy on Tibet has been mindful of China, and has recognized Tibet as a part of China.

History

Scholars like Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu-ston) have suggested that Tibetans are descendants of Rupati, a Kaurava military general from the historical Kurukshetra War. Other scholars point to the spread of Buddhism to Tibet from India through the efforts of Tibetan kings, Songtsen Gampo and Trisong-Detsen as the first significant contact. The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, had visited the Indian subcontinent in 1910. Today, Tibetan pilgrims visit Gaya, Sarnath and Sanchi, places that are connected to the life of Buddha.

Tibet and China invaded northern India in the 7th century to punish a hostile king. Later on, Tibet adopted Indianized Buddhism after Indian Buddhists won against Chinese Buddhists in a debate organized by the Tibetan emperor. Indians regularly visited Tibet during the Era of Fragmentation, seeking Tibet's abundance in gold under the guise of religious pilgrimages. In the 13th century, the Delhi Sultanate of Hindustan launched a disastrous invasion of Tibet. The Mughal Empire of Hindustan later relinquished influence over Ladakh to Tibet.

British Raj (1767–1947)

In 1779, the third Panchen Lama, was well disposed to East India Company agents from British India. Treaties regarding Tibet were concluded between Britain and China in the 1880s and 1890s but the Tibetan government refused to recognize their legitimacy.

A British expedition to Tibet, effectively an invasion, under the command of Brigadier-General James Macdonald and Col. Francis Younghusband began in December 1903 and lasted for around ten months. Following this the Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet was signed in 1904; essentially the treaty imposed upon the Tibetans numerous points such as payment of a large indemnity to the British. This treaty was followed by a Sino-British treaty in 1906 in which the British agreed not to annex Tibet and China agreed "not to permit any other foreign state to interfere with the territory or internal administration of Tibet".

The Qing sent a military expedition to Tibet in 1910, Lhasa was occupied, and the Dalai Lama had to flee to British India, where he stayed for around three years. During 1904–1947, over 100 British-Indian officials lived and worked in Tibet.

Independent India (1947–1962)

In August 1947, the Government of India inherited the treaties of the British Raj with regard to Tibet. The British Mission in Lhasa became India's diplomatic mission. The Government of India made it evident in its correspondence that it regarded Tibet as a de facto country. This was not unique to India, as Nepal and Mongolia also had treaties with Tibet. A few months before India's independence, an Asian Conference was held in New Delhi, to which Tibet was invited. Along with the flags of other countries participating, Tibet's flag was flown.

In August 1950 a Tibetan delegation and representatives of the People's Republic of China sat for negotiations in New Delhi. Following the Chinese annexation of Tibet in October of that year, India sent a note of protest. India's Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wrote, "The tragedy of it is that the Tibetans put faith in us; they chose to be guided by us; and we have been unable to get them out of the meshes of Chinese diplomacy or Chinese malevolence."

In 1954, China and India signed a trade agreement that would regulate the trade between the two countries with respect to Tibet. This trade agreement ended India's centuries-old free trade with Tibet.

Acharya Kriplani said of Tibet in the Lok Sabha in 1959, "It was a nation which wanted to live its own life and it sought to have been allowed to live its own life. A good government is no substitute for self-government." Jaya Prakash Narayan had said "Tyrannies have come and gone and Caesars and Czars and dictators. But the spirit of man goes on forever. Tibet will be resurrected." However, the Indian press commented on the silence of the government during the time and noted that the government could do little to help Tibet, even after a United Nations General Assembly resolution in 1961 that mentioned Tibet's right to self-determination.

India's diplomatic mission in Lhasa in 1952 was downgraded into a consulate general, and, after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, closed. At the time, there were three countries that had missions in Lhasa: Bhutan, Nepal and India; only Nepal's mission remains. India has requested China over the years to allow the re-opening of a consulate in Lhasa; however, China has not accepted.

2000 onwards

More recently, India's policy on Tibet has been based on trying not to offend China. Although Lobsang Sangay was invited to Prime Minister Modi's swearing-in ceremony in 2014 and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu declared that his state had a border with Tibet and not with China in 2017. A major shift in policy came in April 2018 after the Modi-Xi Jinping summit in Wuhan with the foreign ministry issuing a circular to dissuade government officials from going to Tibetan functions where the Dalai Lama or Tibetan government in exile were present. All events marking 60 years of the Tibetan government in exile were moved from New Delhi to Dharamshala. During the 2020 border skirmishes and standoff between China and India, Shyam Sharan called "the tactical use of the Tibetan issue and of the Dalai Lama is both cynical and counter-productive"; he was referring to the use of the Special Frontier Force and the subsequent media coverage. New Delhi was accused of using the Tibetans as a bargaining card only when tensions with China are high.