Dalai Lama to visit Tawang: China likely to harden its stance on Arunachal

NEW DELHI: As the Dalai Lama heads to Tawang on Monday, China is expected to strongly protest India's decision to allow the Tibetan spiritual head to visit Arunachal Pradesh. This is in keeping with its focus on the three Ts - Tibet, Taiwan and Turkestan - that have been the cornerstone of its policy.

The Chinese Communist Party is expected to further harden its stand on the three Ts ahead of the party congress in October that hopes to endorse another four-year term for President Xi Jinping.

Why is China so sensitive about Tawang and Tibetan cause? China's argument is that since the sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso was born in Tawang, it is close to the hearts and religious sentiments of the Tibetan people, and India should make this concession on Tawang. The current Dalai Lama fled to India via Tawang in the late 1950s.

According to Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama may be born anywhere but his seat is at the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. The Tawang monastery, known as the Galden Namgey Lhatse Monastery in Tibet, was founded by Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680-81 according to the wishes of the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. It is also the seat of the Karma-Kargyu sect. The Chinese Communist party has been of opinion that without controlling Tawang it cannot have legitimacy over Tibet.

India, however, has not given the Dalai Lama any privilege which was not accorded to him earlier. The only difference is that India used to sometimes quietly oblige when China raised red flags over Dalai Lama's presence in certain parts of India and certain meetings. However, India has made a beginning in a more assertive policy on Tibet and is not being apologetic about its hosting the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.
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