What is India's stance on Tibet ?

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In 1959, as Chinese troops consolidated power over Lhasa, the Dalai Lama, only 23 at the time, disguised himself as a soldier and fled to India. Eighty thousand Tibetans followed. India allowed him to set up an exile government in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala.

Heart-rending stories of Tibetans walking through icy mountain passes to reach India — their land seized, their monasteries razed, their prayers silenced — buttressed U.S. efforts to isolate China during the Cold War and have continued to rake up support on college campuses and outside Chinese embassies worldwide. “Free Tibet” long ago became a familiar cry. So, what is the Indian stance on Tibet?

Strategic importance of Tibet:

 A sizable proportion of Chinese water reserves are on the Tibetan plateau and the region includes a long land border with India. Any concessions to Tibetans could draw the ire of hard-liners within China’s ruling party, PLC and rouse nationalist fervor in Inner Mongolia and other regions which PLC has suppressed for so long. 

India's stance:

India likes to keep a moderate approach for every problem- ‘Non-Alignment Policy’. But that does not mean that India is weak. Unlike China and some other nations who keep meddling in other’s problems, India likes to keep a neutral stance. Despite Chinese threats, India was the country that provided sanctuary for the Tibetans. This shows that India is not weak.

Now, coming back to the main question, current situation does not allow a full-fledged war between any two nukes. So, a military approach to free Tibet is not possible.

Other than that there are political issues. Every nation wants its own benefit first. The first duty of any nation is to work for the benefit of its citizens. India and China already have tensed relations due to Chinese claim on north eastern part of India. So, accepting Chinese claim on Tibet may lead the Chinese to accept Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India (although I believe Chinese government is not trustworthy enough as they keep on claiming more and more territories everyday. God knows when they are going to find solace !!). However freeing Tibet would also mean getting rid of an irritating neighbor because India would no longer share such a long border with China.

Now if Tibet really wants to free itself, Tibetans have to fight for themselves. When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right. They need to revolt against their Chinese dictator. Every civilization has from time to time became a thin crust over a volcano of revolution. India like US can only help Tibetans to achieve independence. Remember, India helped Bangladesh because they themselves fought for independence.

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