Although his trip to Arunachal Pradesh was expected to last for two weeks, the Dalai Lama chose to return to his headquarters in Dharamsala after eight days.
Official sources said he was tired and did not want to risk more road trips. “So he took a chopper back to Guwahati from Tawang,” said Tsering Tashi, Tawang MLA and parliamentary secretary of the Arunachal government.
While in Tawang, the Dalai Lama touched upon controversial issues like his return to Tibet and the selection of his successor. He said China was planning to finish Tibetans-in exile by anointing its own Dalai Lama after his death.
By allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh and to speak his mind on sensitive issues, India seems to be communicating its displeasure to the Chinese leadership over the way it acted against Indian interests in the recent past. India is particularly upset that China thwarted its efforts to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as well as get Jaish-e-Mohamed chief Masood Azhar blacklisted by the United Nations. India also managed to bring the Tibetan issue back into international spotlight.
Yet, by doing so, India violated the solemn commitments it had made to China on the Tibetan issue, according to Liu Jinsong, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Liu, who is the designated spokesperson of China on the issue of Tibet, said India should choose between its ties with China and “its continuous patting of the Dalai Lama”.Excerpts from the interview:
Your views about the Dalai Lama’s visit?
We are strongly opposed to the visit of the Dalai Lama to southern Tibet. It will seriously damage bilateral relationship and our efforts to settle border issues.
But he is a religious leader.
He wears a lot of hats. His current visit proved that he is a political figure. India needs to realise that the Dalai Lama is a sting to bilateral relations. If we do not work together to pull him out, it will cause serious damage to our relationship.
This story is from the April 23, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 23, 2017 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Divides And Dividends
Contrasting narratives on the scrapping of Article 370 define the elections in Jammu and Kashmir
Playing it cool
Everybody knows what 420 means in the Indian context. But in American parlance it is something very different: four-twenty or 4/20 or April 20 denotes cannabis celebration; its cultural references are rooted in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
The heroine's new clothes
Who else but Sanjay Leela Bhansali could bring on a wardrobe reset like the one in his just-dropped period piece—an eight-part Netflix series called Heeramandi?
AI & I
Through her book Code Dependent—shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—Madhumita Murgia gives voice to the voiceless multitudes impacted by artificial intelligence
Untold tales from war
Camouflaged is a collection of 10 deeply researched stories, ranging from the world wars to the 26/11 terror attacks
Hair force
Sheetal Mallar, in her photobook Braided, uses hair as a metaphor to tell a story that is personal yet universal
THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES
The first time Adarsh Gourav made an impression was in Ramin Bahrani's 2021 film The White Tiger, a gripping adaptation of Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning novel.
The art of political protest
The past doesn’t always remain in the past. Sometimes, it emerges in the present, reminding us about the universality and repetitiveness of the human experience. Berlin’s George Grosz Museum, a tiny gem, is a startling reminder that modern political and social ills are not modern. Grosz lived through World Wars I and II, shining a torch into the heart of darkness in high-ranking men and women—who were complicit in the collapse of the world as they knew it.
REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES
A Chennai company is making waves in the world of space tech startups
DIVERSITY IN UNITY
THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY IN THE US HAS SEVERAL THINGS IN COMMON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THERE ARE WIDELY DIFFERING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS
