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, creating the Tibetan diaspora.
[2] Scholars like Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu-ston) have suggested that Tibetans are descendants of Rupati, a Kaurava military general from the historical Kurukshetra War.
[3] 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.
[5] Today, Tibetan pilgrims visit Gaya, Sarnath and Sanchi, places that are connected to the life of Buddha.
[8] Treaties regarding Tibet were concluded between Britain and China in the 1880s and 1890s but the Tibetan government refused to recognize their legitimacy.
[9] 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.
[10] 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.
[11] The Qing sent a military expedition to Tibet in 1910, Lhasa was occupied,[12] and the Dalai Lama had to flee to British India, where he stayed for around three years.
[1] In August 1950 a Tibetan delegation and representatives of the People's Republic of China sat for negotiations in New Delhi.
[22] India's diplomatic mission in Lhasa in 1952 was downgraded into a consulate general, and, after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, closed.
[27] 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.
[28]In 1988, following Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's visit, the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to China since 1954, a joint press communique read, "the Indian side reiterated the long-standing and consistent policy of the Government of India that Tibet is an autonomous region of China [...]".
[31][32] In Chinese view, this meant that India had, for "the first time", officially recognised Tibet as "part of China".
[31][35] In return China, over a period of time, incrementally took steps to acknowledge India's sovereignty over Sikkim.
[35][36] Brahma Chellaney has written that India's recognition of Chinese sovereignty over Tibet constituted its "single biggest security blunder".
[43] In 2018, due to Chinese presence, India had shifted its stance with respect to Tibet, resulting in the Dalai Lama calling on Tibetans to stay united.
[48] The Special Frontier Force (SFF), an elite commando unit formed in 1962 to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines, consists of Tibetan refugees in India.
On 8 September, images and videos appeared in the media of his public funeral and cremation with full state honors.
