According to Gen. Naravane, there are 60 lakh Tibetans in Tibet while 1,40,000 are in exile, of which 1,00,000 are in India. “This is an exceptional pool of latent power which needs to be harnessed,” he said.
He added: “It is indeed a historical fact that Tibet has been and is, the rightful neighbour of India and that the common border was open and peaceful, allowing not only free movement of trade and people, but also the flow of the finest thoughts of human civilisation.”
The former Army chief said that the principled Panchsheel Agreement — a treaty of five principles of coexistence signed by India and China in 1954 — especially the mutual non-interference clause, has resulted in an ambivalent policy over the Chinese occupation of Tibet. “Over the decades, China has fully occupied Tibet and made territorial and administrative changes that would transform the identity and culture of the Tibetans.”
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