Indian Leaders on Tibet
“The invasion of Tibet which terminated in His Holiness Dalai
Lama taking refuge in Indian territory is brutal colonialism.”
“Freedom is the most sacred boon. It has to be
protected by all means- violent or non-violent. Therefore
Tibet has to be liberated from the iron grip of China
and handed over to the Tibetans.”
“...surely, according to the principles I uphold, the
last voice in regard to Tibet should be the voice of the
Tibetan people and of nobody else.”
“The tragedy of Tibet is that the Tibetans put faith in us;
they chose to be guided by us and we have been unable to
get them out of the meshes of Chinese diplomacy or
Chinese malevolence.”
“Tibet's ties are stronger with India than with China,
ties of language, trade and culture, not to speak of the
strategic affinities between India and Tibet.”
“Instead of according recognition to China in 1949,
had India accorded this recognition to Tibet, there would
have been no Sino-Indian border conflict.”
“Is Tibet lost for ever? No. A thousand times no.
Tibet will not die because there is no death for the human spirit.”
“...from the point of view of national interests, the fact that
Tibet is being annihilated cannot be for the good of
India in the long run.”
“If there were something civilised in man, every nation would have
stood against the invasion of Tibet by China. It is the invasion of
matter against consciousness. It is invasion of materialism against
spiritual heights.”
“America believes that Iraq can be occupied and colonised like
Tibet has been, like Afganistan has been, like Chechnia has
been, like East-Timor once was and Palestine still is.”
Read Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's letter to Jawaharlal Nehru on 7 November, 1950 not only deploring Indian Ambassador KM Panikkar's action but also warning about dangers from China. |