On March 10th, the 66th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against China, there was a scuffle with the police in New Delhi, India. Tibetans who live in exile in India played the national anthems of Tibet and India, chanted anti-China slogans such as “Remember, Resist, Return,” and attempted to enter the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. The police blocked them from entering the embassy and detained some people, as they have done in past years. Tibetans also marched in Dharamshala, the North Indian city that serves as the seat of the exiled Dalai Lama. The people want to return to an autonomous region and say that China is committing human rights violations against Tibetans.
According to AP News, the president of the Tibetan government in exile, Penpa Tsering, has condemned the so-called “deliberate and dangerous strategy to eliminate the very identity of the Tibetan people… As we commemorate the Tibetan National Uprising Day, we honor our brave martyrs and express solidarity with our brothers and sisters inside Tibet who continue to languish under the oppressive Chinese government.” According to the Council on Foreign Relations, some people, such as Indiana University professor Sumit Ganguly, believe third parties like India should intervene in the tensions. He says, “[i]f India is indeed a liberal democracy, it must be willing to speak out about gross Chinese human rights violations.”
China and Tibet have had a complicated relationship over the past century. After the Qing dynasty collapsed in 1913, Tibet became independent until the Chinese invasion in 1950. A few years later, in 1959, a failed uprising led to the Dalai Lama and 80,000 others fleeing to India. This upheaval was followed by a period of many atrocities during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping attempted to reconcile with the Dalai Lama, but Tibetan nationalism led to martial law in the region for two years until 1989. After that, China adopted rigorous economic development policies and encouraged Han Chinese migration to Tibet in hopes of making the next generation of Tibetans less nationalistic. In 2008, the Dalai Lama and five hundred others met in Dharamshala, where he advocated for the “middle-way” of peaceful strides for autonomy.
China claims Tibet has been part of the empire since the 13th century. Tibet claims it was an independent protectorate of the Mongols and Qings during this period, having some protection from the empire and its own government. There is also a dispute over the region’s geography, with China claiming only the West and Central parts are included in Tibet, not the entire plateau. China is worried that if Tibet gets independence, Uighurs and Taiwan will want the same, seeing these regions as part of their nationalistic identity.
The best solution would be for China to grant Tibet the autonomy it seeks to prevent further cultural and political repression. The Dalai Lama and other exiles should be allowed to return to their home safely if they wish. There could be an intermediary phase, where Tibet returns to being a protectorate with its own government and decides if it wants to regain complete independence. India and other third-party states should act as mediators or forums for peace talks. Tibet and China can maintain economic ties if they mutually agree. Granting this autonomy to Tibet seems like the only way for China to take a step toward overcoming the suppression of minorities in the country.
Despite a long and complicated history, peace is still possible if China grants the people what they have been striving for. Tibetan independence would help the region avoid further conflict and human rights abuses.