India’s Tibet Policy Changed After 2014, But Nehru Did What He Felt Was Better For India: Tibet Prez

The president of Tibetan government-in-exile Penpa Tsering on Thursday said that former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru recognised China’s claim over Tibet believing that it was the best decision for India at that time.

Tsering told reporters in Washington that India, however, has changed its stance over the Tibet issues since 2014 – when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. The president-in-exile said that Tibet has never been part of China.

Tsering indicated that the current government by not adhering to ‘One China’ may have upped the pressure on Beijing at the world stage. “I think India has changed his (Nehru’s) policy by not repeating that Tibet is part of PRC (People’s Republic of China) because India’s position is that if India has to abide by the ‘One China’ policy, then China also has to abide by the ‘One India’ policy regarding Kashmir and Ladakh,” Tsering was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

When questioned if Jawaharlal Nehru put too much faith in China, Tsering said he does not blame India’s first prime minister for his move. “We understand that the national interest comes first for every nation and he did what he thought was best for India at that time,” he said. He also claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru’s ill-health and death was caused partly due to Chinese betrayal when Beijing invaded India in 1962.

“With the benefit of hindsight now many think that Pandit Nehru made a blunder. In fact, he trusted China so much that when China invaded India in 1962, some believe that he was so hurt that it’s one of the reasons for his death,” he said.

He referred to the meeting between Chinese president Mao Zedong and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950 where the latter coined the catchphrase “Hindi-Chini bhai bhai” (Indians-Chinese are brothers). He also pointed out that not only India but several other nations  conceded China’s claim over the nation of Tibet.

He said that Wang Yi’s, Chinese foreign minister, recent visit to New Delhi was a mere transit visit since nothing came out of it.

After meeting Biden administration officials, Uzra Zeya, under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights; and Kurt Campbell, US president Biden’s top adviser on Indo-Pacific, Tsering said that he found the current US government is putting fresh impetus on Tibet. Tsering also met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and will also meet other top officials of the Biden Administration and members of the US Congress.

“The Biden Administration has not forgotten Tibet… despite Ukraine being the hotspot,” Tsering told reporters.

(with inputs from PTI)

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