Table of Contents
Current Status of Tibet
- Tibet, on the lofty Tibetan Plateau on the northern side of the Himalayas, is an autonomous region of China.
- Emerging with control over most of mainland China after the Chinese Civil War, the People’s Republic of China incorporated Tibet in 1950 and negotiated the Seventeen Point Agreement with the newly enthroned 14th Dalai Lama’s government, affirming the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty but granting the area autonomy.
- Subsequently, on his journey into exile, the 14th Dalai Lama completely repudiated the agreement, which he has repeated on many occasions.
Dalai Lama
- Dalai Lama is a title given by the Tibetan people for the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or “Yellow Hat” school of Tibetan Buddhism.
- The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives as a refugee in India.
- On May 14, 1995, the exiled Dalai Lama, a Nobel laureate with a wide global following, recognized six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama
- Panchen Lama is the second most senior figure in Tibetan Buddhism’s largest school.
- The boy was taken into custody three days later and has not been seen since, human rights groups calling him the world’s youngest political prisoner.
- In November 1995, the Chinese government selected a different boy, Gyaincain Norbu, using the Golden Urn as the 11th Panchen Lama. But the decision was denounced by Dalai Lama
Introduction
- The United States on 15th May 2020 renewed calls on China to free the Tibetan identified 25 years earlier as the Panchen Lama
- US also warned Beijing not to see the episode as a model for handling the Dalai Lama’s succession.
- Amid tensions, US House Representative Scott Perry from Pennsylvania introduced a bill (H.R. 6948) that would “authorize the President to recognize the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China as a separate, independent country, and for other purposes”.
Not a first legislation on Tibet
- Before this, USA has made the various legislations including the— Tibet Policy Act of 2002 and the 2018 Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act
- Recently in January 2020, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (HR 4331), the most comprehensive policy bill on Tibet since the Tibet Policy Act- 2002.
Reincarnation of Dalai Lama
- It has been noted that the China directly or indirectly interfered in the selection of Dalai Lama, including in 1995 by arbitrarily detaining Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a 6-year old boy who was identified as the 11th Panchen Lama, and purporting to install its own candidate as the Panchen Lama.
- The Bill said that the wishes of the 14th Dalai Lama, including any written instructions, should play a determinative role in the selection, education, and veneration of a future Dalai Lama;
Preservation of Tibetan Plateau: Environment and Water resources
- The bill states that Global warming threatens the glaciers in Tibet that feed the major rivers of South and East Asia, which supply freshwater to an estimated 1.8 billion people.
- The legislation, therefore, calls the Secretary of State, in coordination with relevant agencies of the United States Government, to— pursue collaborative efforts with Chinese and international scientific institutions, as appropriate, to monitor the environment on the Tibetan Plateau.
Diplomatic Channels
- To promote access to Tibet, the bill mandates for the establishment of US Consulate in Lhasa, Tibet.
- To promote substantive dialogue without preconditions between the Government of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives or democratically-elected leaders of the Tibetan community leading to a negotiated agreement on Tibet and coordinate with other governments in multilateral efforts toward this goal;
India and Tibet
- Tibet acts as buffer between India and remaining China.
- Sino-India border dispute is basically between Tibet and India.
- Tibet helps in better monsoon conditions and Tibet acts as a major source of many rivers in the Asia and India(Brahmaputra).
- In 1959, Then PM Jawaharlal Nehru give asylum to Buddhist Monk including Dalai lama
- India and Tibet are tied in a cultural knot(Buddhism)
India-China on Tibet
- India and China are facing problems. China is deploying Unmanned helicopter, organising army in Tibet region near border region.
- India always advocated the peace in the neighbourhood region.
China’s Stand
- China has not given any statement on the current bill However on the previous bills Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement Such bill “grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs and sent a wrong message to ‘Tibet independence’ forces,”
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