India currently is treading nervous territory with the Indian government trying to avoid taking a stance against the Chinese crackdown of the Tibetan protests. This can be attributed to two main causes. The huge economic trade worth $60 billion, which is now happening between India and China is one major reason. Another reason is the Indo-US nuclear deal, for which India needs China’s support during the crucial NSG meet of which China is a part. And this is why New Delhi’s response was muted when it issued this statement,

“We are distressed by reports of the unsettled situation and violence in Lhasa and by the deaths of innocent people. We would hope that all those involved will work to improve the situation and remove the causes of such trouble in Tibet, which is an autonomous region of China, through dialogue and non-violent means.”

Furthermore, India even arrested the Tibetan protestors and later let them off. And the reason the toothless Indian government gives is,

“Like our other guests, Tibetan refugees, while they are in India, are expected to refrain from political activities and those activities that affect our relations with other friendly countries.”

All this is making China more confident that it will not face any hurdle from India regarding the Tibet issue in the future. But what India really needs to do is protest vociferously against the Chinese occupation of Tibet to make sure that China doesn’t take advantage of India’s muted response and continue the violence in Tibet. By being so meek, India may have emboldened China to usurp India’s eastern most state, Arunachal Pradesh, which China has been eyeing for quite a long time now.

Image: latimes

Source: tribuneindia