One nation feels caught in the middle by the heated street clashes and the battle for public opinion between the Chinese government and pro-Tibetan activists: India.
The crisis in Tibet has forced New Delhi into a difficult diplomatic balancing act that pits its slowly improving ties with Beijing against its long-standing relationship with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has made India his base of operations for more than a half-century.
His presence, and that of the Tibetan government-in-exile, in the Himalayan city of Dharamsala has long been a source of friction between Asia’s two giants. New Delhi’s cautious solution has been to provide sanctuary to what the Beijing regime insists on calling the “Dalai clique,” but insisting that the Tibetans refrain from anti-China activities on Indian soil.
That fragile formula has come under increasing strain from the violent protests that have erupted in Tibet against Chinese rule and the bloody security crackdown unleashed in response. India is now under competing pressure to speak out against the clampdown, on one hand, and, on the other, to restrain the rhetoric and activities of Tibetan exiles here.
So far, critics say, Indian official statements have been tepid.
The Foreign Ministry says it is “distressed” by the violence in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and has called for resolution of the crisis “through dialogue and nonviolent means.”
At the same time, it has reminded activists here that, “while they are in India, are expected to refrain from political activities and those activities that affect our relations with other friendly countries.”
On Wednesday, the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, fresh from a meeting in Dharamsala, converged here in the Indian capital and mounted a one-day fast to focus attention on the plight of those back in their homeland.
One Parliament member, Youdon Aukatsang, urged India, as the world’s most populous democracy, to take a stronger stand.
More Tibetan refugees, at least 100,000, make their home in India than anywhere else in the world, with thousands more arriving every year.
Beyond sheer numbers, the Indian government also is struggling with the fact that many Tibetans here, especially the young, have grown increasingly militant in favor of independence for their homeland. Their demand exceeds that of the Dalai Lama, who endorses greater autonomy for Tibet but under Chinese suzerainty.
In recent days, protesters have mounted raucous anti-China demonstrations in Dharamsala, at times burning the Chinese flag and cursing the Beijing regime on national television.
Aukatsang acknowledged the increasing polarization of opinion within the Tibetan diaspora, which the Dalai Lama has struggled to hold together with his message of nonviolent dissent. The government-in-exile announced Wednesday that it was creating an umbrella “Tibet Crisis Committee” to centralize control over pro-Tibetan movements worldwide.
“We are concerned about the growing frustrations among younger Tibetans especially, but the government (in exile) will never endorse violence,” Aukatsang said. “Nonviolence is our philosophy.”
The Indian government is eager not to upset the small gains it has made in recent years in improving ties with China. Hostility stemming from a border war in 1962 and ongoing territorial disputes has gradually eased as trade grows between the two booming economies.
In 2003, the Indian government effectively recognized Tibet as part of China in exchange for Chinese recognition of the contested state of Sikkim, adjacent to Tibet, as part of India. Two years ago, the historic road linking the two sides, high on a mountain pass, was reopened as a trading route.
“Relations with China are improving. We’re making some cautious moves in settling our issues,” said Mohan Guruswamy, director of the Center for Policy Alternatives here.
The Indian government has “a carefully calibrated policy” on Tibet, he said. “We don’t want something small to snowball into something big.” Last week, Indian authorities arrested a group of Tibetan activists who had vowed to march all the way to their homeland to protest the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing in August. Aukatsang said that Indian police have also detained demonstrators who have protested outside the Chinese Embassy here.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, while acknowledging Tibet as a sensitive bilateral issue, publicly thanked New Delhi for the “steps taken by the Indian government in handling Tibetan independence activities masterminded by the Dalai clique.”
