Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, July 10: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has reaffirmed the state’s historical and cultural ties with Tibet, stating unequivocally that the north-eastern Indian state shares its border with Tibet, not with China. In an interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI), Khandu strongly refuted Beijing’s territorial claims and emphasized that Arunachal’s relationship lies with Tibet, a nation that was forcibly occupied by China in the 1950s.
The Chief Minister asserted that Arunachal Pradesh shares roughly 1,200 km of its border with Tibet, about 100 km with Bhutan, and 550 km with Myanmar. “Our border is with Tibet, not China,” Khandu emphasized. “Before the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1950s, the people of Arunachal Pradesh had spiritual, cultural, and trade relations with the Tibetan people. Our ties are ancient.”
Khandu, who represents the Tawang constituency—home to key Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and close to the Indo-Tibetan border underlined the need for historically accurate language when referring to the region’s geopolitical reality. “China, in its current form, only emerged after the communist revolution. There was no historical or cultural connection between Arunachal Pradesh and China.”
His remarks come amid heightened tensions and renewed Chinese attempts to assert territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, including designating it as “Zangnan” or “South Tibet.” Beijing has also intensified efforts to rename various towns, rivers, and geographical features in Arunachal in Mandarin, a move widely condemned by India as a violation of sovereignty and a tactic of cartographic aggression.
“Changing names does not alter facts,” Khandu responded. “Renaming our places in their language will not rewrite history or change ground realities.”
The Chief Minister also voiced serious concern over China’s mega dam project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which becomes the Brahmaputra upon entering India. The hydropower project, located near the Great Bend in Tibet’s Medog County, close to the Arunachal border, has been criticized for its lack of transparency and potential environmental fallout.
Calling it a “ticking water bomb,” Khandu warned, “If the dam collapses due to a natural disaster or if water is released without prior intimation, it could have devastating consequences for Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. We are dealing with a serious risk to the lives and livelihoods of people downstream.”
On the sensitive issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, Khandu rejected China’s self-assumed authority in spiritual matters, affirming that Beijing has no role to play in determining the next Dalai Lama. “The next Dalai Lama will be born in a free world,” he said. “This is a spiritual decision rooted in Tibetan Buddhist traditions, not a matter for a political regime to dictate.”
In a show of solidarity with the Tibetan spiritual community, Khandu also urged the Indian government to confer the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour on His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. “The Dalai Lama is a global symbol of peace and compassion. He has contributed immensely not just to the Tibetan cause but also to India and humanity. He truly deserves the Bharat Ratna,” Khandu said.
2 Responses
Tibetans are lucky to have such good friends like Honourable Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He is a devout Buddhist and therefore identify with the Tibetan independence struggle. Thank you Honourable Pema Khandu ji! All the Indians who are in their 70s and above know that Tibet was an independent country. They also know communist China’s invasion and occupation of Tibet. As one who grew up in India and involved in the Tibetan independence Movement since my school days, I know the Indian public are very sympathetic to the Tibetan cause. From North India to the South, Indians overwhelmingly sympathise with the Tibetans. When we go on protest march, they would come with water. In New Delhi during the 1987 Tibetan Uprising in Lhasa, I went from South India to New Delhi to protest! We were put up at the Majnukatilla Tibetan settlement. We conducted demonstrations for a few days in and around Delhi including a huge march at the India Gate! Once, we were on a big ground doing a protest and a lady was holding a thermos to help the Tibetans to get something to drink in the heat! We did most of our protest at Mahatma Gandhi Park in New Delhi since this place attracts the greatest number of tourists from around the world! One day a Chinese group of officials had presumably come to look at the Tibetan protestors under the guise of going to the park. We were told that the white minibus which was parked at the entrance of garden had Chinese people in them. We went there to check but they had left for the garden and the car was empty. We decided to overturn the car and set it alight! As we heaved our strength to roll it over, others tried to open the petrol tank. Some body dobbed us and we were prevented from turning the vehicle upside down! Seeing we couldn’t do anything else, we spat mucus over the car! Soon, the police came and we were all kicked out of the garden entrance. We were not allowed to protest there any more! Whether it’s Bangalore, New Delhi, Ooty or Dehradun, I have experienced overwhelming support from the Indian public! However, the Indian Government is much more circumspect and remains shy of doing anything that would offend the Chinese communist regime. It virtually lives under the shadow of communist China! Until 1949/50, there was no other border than the Indo-Tibet border. Pema Khandu Ji is absolutely correct. However, Indian journalists and the news portals have ignored this at their own peril and use the Chinese version of “China-India” border! It’s a gift to the Chinese! I was saddened that in recent times, some Indian journalists who were invited by the CCP regime to Mount Kailash and Lake Mans-rover have started to use the Chinese nomenclature for Tibet in their reporting in the Indian media! This is very disconcerting. It’s true that the CCP invites only selected press people who are compliant to their demands. As far as I know, the Hindu from Madras is a one of the good friends of communist China. Its ex-editor N Ram is an orphaned communist who has never failed to serve the interest of his communist comrades in Beijing. He has consistently supported Chinese illegal occupation of Tibet and continued his negative tirades about Tibet and HH The Dalai Lama! TIBETANS MUST FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO RETAIN OUR HISTORICAL NAME TIBET AND EDUCATE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. Often Tibetans use the Chinese nick name just to quote from Chinese sources. I believe we shouldn’t use that name at all and even when you are quoting from your source who has used the Chinese name, we should correct it and make it TIBET! Our forefathers have laid down their lives for our country. If we don’t fight tooth and nail for the independence of our country, we will be a people like the Rohingyas of Burma! These people are pushed from one corner of the world to another because they don’t have a claim to any land of their own. As a result, nobody is showing any concern for their plight and they live like lepers without any empathy from any country! The Palestinian people have suffered relentless bombing campaign for 600 days by Israel for their audacity to fight and die for their tiny land of Gaza that they call their country. 55,000 Palestinians among which 15,000 children have been murdered and their enemy is calling for surrender but they are standing firm to hold onto their land despite the inhumanity and unimaginable violence against them for all these months! WE TIBETANS MUST HAVE SUCH STEELY DETERMINATION TO RESIST THE ENMIES WANTON DESTRUCTION OF OUR COUNTRY, OUR HAPPINESS, OUR DIGNITY, OUR IDENTITY, OUR RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE EVEN AT THE COST OF OUR LIVES!
HH Dalai Lama rightfully deserves the Bharat Ratna. He has immense contribution in the spiritual and economic growth of India. We are quite optimistic for the day when HH will be conferred Bharat Ratna Award by the Government of India and will also address the Indian Parliament.