Take a look at this report.
Basic story is that China has started issuing visas for Indians from Kashmir that are different to the visas issued for all other Indians.
Apparently this began in May, but the link above is dated only October 1st.
This seems to run against the grain of Chinese policy. Is Kashmir any less of an internal issue than Darfur?
Doubtless the Pakistanis will view this as very friendly. I would guess that China, seeing India as a rival, wishes to assert itself.
There is also the suggestion that the regular skirmishing on the China/India border is of a much greater intensity lately.
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Dafydd – author of 23 posts on Registan.net.
I am a UK citizen & resident with a long standing interest in Central Asia. This probably has something to do with student days, a late night TV show called 'The Silk Road' and a TV with no remote control. I currently work in software and live with my wife & three children.
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{ 8 comments }
Dafydd, the Chinese government has “NEVER” seen Kashmir as a domestic issue. Much of Kashmir, Nepal, Bhutan, and North East India are parts of Greater Tibet; in fact it is possible that more Tibetan Buddhists lived South of Tibet in South Asia than inside Tibet in 1948, as they had for millenia. To this day, in spite of the violence in Kashmir starting in 1947, many Tibetan Buddhists still live in Kashmir. Tibet is famous in Indian legend and history. Hence India’s affection for the Dalai Lama.
Many Chinese viewed much of India as part of Tibet and therefore China. This is why China invaded India in 1962. China occupied and annexed about a fifth of Kashmir in 1962, and still occupies many other parts of India. {India currently administers about 47% of Tibet.} China is also suspicious about the Indian influenced ‘Tibetan’ Buddhist provinces of Nepal and Bhutan.
To summarize Dafydd, this is no surprise. Recently there has been a lot of concern within India that Obama is siding with China against the Dalai Lama, as well as supporting China in its border dispute with India, including in Arunachal Pradesh (which like Kashmir borders Tibet.) I hope Indians don’t get the impression that President Obama subtly condones this latest Chinese action with respect to Kashmir.
{Indians liked Bill Clinton, Hillary, George Bush and McCain, and some are still suspicious of Obama.}
you clearly are not upto speed on history of China’s, India haterade. They have a bunch of nukes pointed at all of its cities for a long time.
Whatever the justification when adopted in May, now I’m sure Chinese domestic politics will drive the maintenance of stricter visa policies for south and central asians. Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir border Tibet and Aksai Chin borders Xinjiang. Both regions have seen violent riots in the last year and a half (aimed at majority Han Chinese and the government) and both are blamed on separatists based overseas, despite the lack of evidence. The Chinese government cannot be feeling confident about security in their western regions these days, and I imagine we’ll hear of stricter policies for those entering Xinjiang once communication with the outside world is reestablished.
This move is truly baffling. Yes, the border region has always been tense; but how can China actually benefit from this? I understand that large trading partners don’t necessarily make good neighbors but what tangible gain China can achieve from this petty sort of antagonism eludes me.
Kahraman’s explanation in China’s internal politics seems to make the most sense, for lack of another explanation. Tibetans have typically been quite pro-Indian. I remember reading a National Geographic article where Tibetan protesters waved signs welcoming the Indian army.
Maybe there is even a RAW connection to the unrest in Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet, but now I’m just groundlessly speculating.
Thanks for you comments. I can see that China views Kashmir as within its sphere of influence, and that nationalistic domestic politics will set this policy in stone.
What I am less clear about is why China should have chosen to open this can of worms. China has as much to lose as anyone else from Islamic separatism in this part of the world.
Are they expecting a quid pro quo from someone connected to the ISI? China does have some industrial investment in Afghanistan, but that level of entanglement does not seem wise to me.
Do they think they can offer a ‘third way’ (neither Pakistani nor Indian dominance) to Kashmir? I just don’t see that happening, and I don’t think the Chinese could take that suggestion seriously.
Do they just want to bolster the Pakistanis at the expense of the Indians? For nothing?
Regarding Tibet, India has provided a pretty reliable refuge for Tibetans, no surprise about a bit of affection there. But Obama refusing to meet the Dalai Lama? That was something of s surprise to me. I would have thought Obama’s domestic support base would have made him more inclined to offer at least verbal sympathy.
@prithviThere may very well be a raw connection to unrest in western China. The lack of news and access to these regions means there is a fine line between groundless and informed speculation : )
@dafydd Pakistan is considered a strong ally of China, usually explained as a counterweight to India. The Pakistani leadership has strongly supported the Chinese government response to both riots in tibet and xinjiang, while india remains home to the dalai lama showed no discernible reaction to the xinjiang violence
The Chinese leaders and its general population are just being more and more ungrateful to India. They don’t realize that its India who has sacrificed a lot for what is China’s position today in world. India’s contribution begins with teaching of Lord Buddha and martial arts (KungFu) teachings of Indian monk Bodhisatva, who made China his home in 5th AD. When China came under communist rule in 1949, it was India’s first prime minister Mr Nehru, who campaigned very hard for inclusion of China in united nations. He gave away permanent security council seat to China which was initially offered to India. And what he got in return? A stab in back, in the form of 1962 war, where in surprise attack China defeated India. He died a broken man after 18 months in 1964 and his dream of asian unity got shattered. This is one of the reasons that I don’t like Jawaharlal Nehru till today. His stupid policies in initial years of Indian democracy just costing India too much till date.
The real reason why China is on an anti India tirade is because Dalai Lama is getting old and the young Tibetans are ready to take up an armed struggle to end China’s hegemony in Tibet. They achieved some success in making their plight known to world in 2008 olympic games which were held in Bejing. Since than China is very apprehensive of Tibbeten people and want to erase every memory of Tibet’s existence as an independent state till some 60 years ago. In 1914 British India and Tibet signed treaty for defining border between India and Tibet. The Mcmohan line which divides Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet is living proof that Tibet was once an independent country so this is very inconvenient trust for China to digest. Their economic power is increasing day by day and they know that history generally belong to the victor. So with their new found might they just want to bully India into submission. That’s why they provide all help to Pakistan from nuclear bombs to missiles to fighter jets to all arms and ammunition so that it can bleed India internally.
But China would be making the biggest mistake of its birth under communist rule if it decides to attack India again like 1962. India and its military are no more in shambles as they were in 1962. If at all war happens we in India this time are ready to teach a lesson to the dragon for its lifetime. I don’t support the war but if it becomes the last option than India should not be afraid of inflated military might of China, which could be bogus as its corrupt data and low quality toys that it provides to the whole world.
http://www.himalayan-swastika.blogspot.com
Just as Tibet was a separate entity until China annexed it, so was Assam and North East till the British took over from 1826 onwards and the Indians annexed Assam, Arunachal Pradesh & entire North East (NE) when the Brits left in 1947.
Now look at what the Chinese have done in Tibet in terms of development and what the Indians have done to Assam and NE.
While Lhasa has a railway link, the Indians have not yet been able to connect all the state capitals of NE with even meter gauge rail link. The NE does not have even a single kilo meter of electric track, the Indians say that the soil is no good. And, the Chinese had no problem building the Tibet railway?
The Indians were just after the natural resources of Assam & NE like coal, gas, oil, tea etc and never cared about its people. The Indian Government allowed hoards of Muslims from Bangladesh to migrate to Assam & NE so as to make the local population a minority and destroying them economically. There has been migrations to Tibet to, but not of foreigners but Chinese. But the Indians allowed foreigners to outnumber the local population of Assam & NE thereby crippling socio-economic feature and destroying its good future.
So now when people of the region look back to the Chinese aggression of 1962, they wish that China had taken over the land than only, cause overall the Chinese are better rulers than the Indians. They took over Tibet but worked for its development as well, but the Indians destroyed Assam and North East by allowing Muslim Bangladeshis from across the border to settle in the region.
I believe that Assam and North East would have been a better place today both socially and economically had it been under China than India.
It might be too much to wish for it now. But hope that the Chinese attack India during Dalai Lamas visit to Arunachal Pradesh and annex the former Tibetan region.
Only then we the people of Assam and North East can think of some development in the region. Otherwise Assam and NE will be Bangladesh in ground but with and Indian flag, thanks to Government of India.