(TibetanReview.net, Jul18’24) – As focus grows on it to take a political stand on the issue of Tibet in consonance with Sino-Tibetan ties before the 1950’s, India’s former national security adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon has claimed that the primary driver for the recent US adoption of ‘Resolve Tibet Act’ was its “rivalry with China”, not any concern for Tibet, reported the economictimes.com Jul 17.
On the other hand, US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, who played a leading role in the Act’s passage, said in a statement Jul 17 that the legislation was meant to help the Tibetan people against China’s undermining and erasing of their culture and the stripping of their right to self-determination. The Act also dismisses as false China’s claim that Tibet has been part of it since ancient times.
Speaking at the launch of former diplomat Dilip Sinha’s book ‘Imperial Games in Tibet: The Struggle for Statehood and Sovereignty’ on Jul 16, Menon has argued that there were “clear limits” to America’s commitment to Tibet and they were waving the flag of Tibet today in its own interest.
Justifying the lack of any move in India’s policy on the political issue of Tibet, Menon has said: “I would be very careful to say ‘Oh! the world is changed, they (the US) have passed an act’. I think you need to look at the basic correlation of forces and the balance of forces, and the actual strength of the people and what is the interest of the great powers and how they see it at this time.”
Menon, who has served as India’s foreign secretary from 2006-09, has also noted: “Today, the Americans see it as in their interest to at least wave the flag of Tibet but this doesn’t extend to recognising Tibet… It is driven not by the concern for Tibet, the primary driver here is the rivalry with China.”
Though clear that Tibet cannot rely on great power rivalry to solve their problems, Menon, 75, has lauded India’s effort in ensuring that the Tibetan culture, civilization and identity “stays strong”. He has said Tibetans, too, like Armenians, could have been another “lost people” otherwise.
“They are not lost. Part of it because of His Holiness, his personality and what he has done. But also because I think of what India provided, and that we shouldn’t forget and should never give up on,” he has added.
Menon has praised Sinha’s book as an “honest account” of what happened – be it the great power rivalry, how it affected Tibet or how it affected India.
The book claims to offer a thorough exploration of Tibet’s historical and contemporary geopolitical significance. It critically examines the ongoing impact of Chinese suzerainty over Tibet – whatever that may mean – amidst persistent citizen protests and global calls for freedom.
The discussion at the launch event has covered various topics from the book, including a brief history of Tibet, its complex geopolitical entanglements, the rise of Tibetan Buddhism, and its annexation by China in 1950. Apart from Menon and Sinha, well-known Tibet-China expert Claude Arpi has also taken part.
Significantly, at the book’s launch event, Sinha, a former Indian ambassador, said China has not been able to assimilate or absorb Tibet and it has not been able to win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people, noted the ANI news service Jul 17.