Tibetan protests against China put India in awkward spot
NEW DELHI - One nation feels caught in the middle by the heated street clashes and the battle for public opinion between the Chinese government and pro-Tibetan activists: India.
The crisis in Tibet has forced New Delhi into a difficult diplomatic balancing act that pits its slowly improving ties with Beijing against its longstanding relationship with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has made India his base of operations for more than a half-century.
His presence, and that of the Tibetan government-in-exile, in the Himalayan city of Dharamsala has long been a source of friction between Asia's two giants. New Delhi's cautious solution has been to provide sanctuary to what the Beijing regime insists on calling the "Dalai clique," but insisting that the Tibetans refrain from anti-China activities on Indian soil.
That fragile formula has come under increasing strain from the violent protests that have erupted in Tibet against Chinese rule and the bloody security crackdown unleashed in response.
India is now under competing pressure to speak out against the clampdown, on one hand, and, on the other, to restrain the rhetoric and activities of Tibetan exiles here.
So far, critics say, Indian official statements have been tepid.
The foreign ministry says it is "distressed" by the violence in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and has called for resolution of the crisis "through dialogue and non-violent means."
At the same time, it has reminded activists here that, "while they are in India, are expected to refrain from political activities and those activities that affect our relations with other friendly countries."
On Wednesday, the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, fresh from a meeting in Dharamsala, converged here in the Indian capital and mounted a one-day fast to focus attention on the plight of those back in their homeland.
One parliament member, Youdon Aukatsang, urged India, as the world's most populous democracy, to take a stronger stand.
"They should strongly condemn what's happening inside Tibet. They haven't done that. This is a gross human-rights violation," she said. "I don't expect them to take any covert action or anything like that, but at least [make] forceful statements. It's their moral duty."
More Tibetan refugees, at least 100,000, make their home in India than anywhere else in the world, with thousands more arriving every year.
Beyond sheer numbers, the Indian government also is struggling with the fact that many Tibetans here, especially the young, have grown increasingly militant in favor of independence for their homeland.
Their demand exceeds that of the Dalai Lama, who endorses greater autonomy for Tibet but under Chinese suzerainty.
In recent days, protesters have mounted raucous anti-China demonstrations in Dharamsala, at times burning the Chinese flag and cursing the Beijing regime on national television.
