Visiting Indian MP Urges “Course Correction” in India’s China-Tibet Policy

By Contact Staff / September 17, 2012;

Mr. Yashwant Sinha speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of his Dharamsala visit - Photo from Phayul.com

A senior Indian Member of Parliament visited Dharamsala on September 17th, expressing his hope that the Indian government will make a ‘course correction’ with regards to its Tibet policy and ‘stand more firmly in support of the Tibetan cause.’

Mr. Yashwant Sinha, a senior BJP leader and chairman of the All Party Indian Parliamentarian Forum for Tibet, spoke at a press conference on the concluding day of this three-day visit to Dharamsala.

“I hope in future there will be course correction and India will stand more firmly in support of the Tibetan cause and tell China in very clear terms that the genocide, the ethnic cleansing, the complete destruction of the Tibetan civilization is not acceptable to India,” Mr. Sinha said.

The former Finance Minister also expressed regret over India’s inaction over the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, referring to the close cultural relationship between India and Tibet.

“Many people in India including me believe that by not supporting the cause of Tibet in 1950 when the Chinese aggression took place, we made a huge strategic mistake.

“Apart from the fact that India and Tibet always had a very deep civilizational relationship, Tibet also acted as a buffer zone between China and India, and by letting that buffer collapse we invited China to our borders and we experienced the result of that in 1962 with the Chinese aggression,” he said.

Mr. Sinha noted that the main purpose of his “long overdue” visit was to join himself with the aspirations of the Tibetan people and to demonstrate the full support of several Indian MPs for the Tibetan cause. He assured Tibetans of his commitment to generate international support for Tibet and to pressure China to end the oppression inside Tibet. He also promised to raise the issue of Tibet in the next session of the Indian Parliament.

Speaking about the ongoing critical situation in Tibet, Mr. Sinha censured China of “crossing all limits” of oppression in Tibet. “Killing someone is perhaps easier than burning oneself. The wave of self-immolations in Tibet goes to show that all limits of oppression have been crossed in Tibet.”

Mr. Sinha speaking at a press conference with Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay and Speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile Mr. Penpa Tsering

During the three-day visit, Mr. Sinha also visited the Tibetan Parliament to observe the Fourth Session of the 15^th Tibetan parliament-in-exile. He met Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay and his cabinet colleagues, and interacted with Tibetan MPs and senior leaders in the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), as well as with representatives of Tibetan NGOs.

He also spoke separately to the entire staff of the CTA and reiterated the Indian parliamentarians’ and people’s “feeling of brotherhood” for the Tibetan people.

“The manner in which the Tibetan people in and outside Tibet have continued their struggle for so many decades is a tribute to that indomitable spirit of courage, faith and determination, which cannot be put out by any power on earth. There is no power on earth to put out that flame which is burning in all your hearts,” he said.