-By International Campaign for Tibet
China’s conquest of Tibet caused long-term difficulties for India, but the Indian government can still push for dialogue between Chinese and Tibetan leaders on Tibet’s future, a former high-ranking Indian diplomat says in a new video interview.
“I think that India can do a little more in being an advocate for negotiations and for discussions and for conversations between the Tibetan community in exile and the Chinese,” Nirupama Rao, India’s former ambassador to China (2006-09), foreign secretary (2009-11) and ambassador to the United States (2011-13), says on an episode of the International Campaign for Tibet’s Tibet Talks series that premiered May 26, 2022.
“I think India and the United States, it’s something that we perhaps should look at, not only exchanging ideas but also looking at policy options that we have to ensure the best outcomes for the Tibetan people in these circumstances,” Rao adds.
Rao appeared on Tibet Talks to discuss her book, “The Fractured Himalaya: India, Tibet, China 1949-62,” which untangles the complex early years of the India-China relationship, with the still-unresolved issue of Tibet closely woven in.
“I can say from experience that it is a richly detailed and extremely readable account of a seminal period in relations between China and India, and it also provides a look at the centrality of Tibet and China’s invasion of Tibet to relations between the two countries at the time and since,” International Campaign for Tibet Board Member and Asia expert Ellen Bork, who interviews Rao on the Tibet Talk, says of the book.
“In light of the continuing and escalating tensions along [India and China’s] 2,100-mile border, this book is especially relevant now as the 60th anniversary of the 1962 Sino-Indian War approaches this fall.” Click here to read more.