The protests by Buddhist monks in Tibet and elsewhere in China end nearly two decades of relative quiet in the difficult Sino-Tibetan relationship. While the estimates on the size and intensity of these protests vary in the sketchy reports that are coming out of Lhasa and Beijing, no one, including the Chinese authorities, is denying them. While Beijing has dismissed these protests as minor, it has every reason to be rattled. For one, most major monasteries in Tibet are actively involved in the agitation. For another, they have not been limited to the truncated Tibet Autonomous Region, but have spread to neighbouring provinces that were once part of Greater Tibet. Above all, the courageous Tibetan protests will boost the global human rights campaign, in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, against China’s internal political repression.It is not easy for anyone, let alone Tibetans, to embark on a political protest in China. Tibetans, however, have given up all hope on reasonable outcomes from the on-again, off-again dialogue between Beijing and their exiled leadership in India. Over the last five years, the Dalai Lama, in charge of the exiled Tibetans, has offered a number of political concessions, including unambiguous statements that he is not seeking independence for Tibet and orders to his followers around the world not to protest against travelling Chinese leaders. Yet, Beijing has not met even the minimal demands of the Tibetan opposition. Having concluded that Beijing is acting in bad faith, the Tibetans have had no choice but to raise their voice in the all-too-brief political window before the big games that China so desperately wants to show off.If these protests continue, India will be dragged, willy-nilly, into the Sino-Tibetan conflict. Tibet is at the very heart of the deep distrust between India and China. The Sino-Indian dispute over the boundary, which in reality is the Indo-Tibetan frontier, is very much part of the Tibet question. The 1962 border war was the inevitable consequence of the failed Tibetan rebellion and the Dalai Lama’s escape to India in 1959. Given the ever-expanding stakes in a cooperative relationship with China, India cannot let Tibetan protests on its soil get out of hand. On the other hand, New Delhi would be unwise to ignore the huge emotional attachment within the country to the Tibetan people and their cause. India must show great sensitivity in dealing with the heart-rending Tibetan outrage and some diplomatic skill in limiting the likely damage to the Sino-Indian relationship.
