IPA Newspack
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets

IPA /

IPA Special

IPA Special

China Is Interested In The Buddhist Monastery In Tawang For Its Internal Reason

By Anjan Roy

China appears to have made a planned and heavy intrusion in the areas close to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh last week, which were repulsed by the Indian army forthwith. The Chinese have repeatedly forayed into the area to make gains in Arunachal Pradesh near Tawang.

This is critical for China because Tawang is the seat of one of the most revered monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, Tawang monastery plays a critical role in Tibetan internal politics. Therefore, China’s efforts are to get control of the area and the Tawang monastery to control more effectively Tibet’s internal politics.

One has to remember that the Tibetan religious head, Dalai Lama, had come to Tawang and sought his first refuge in the monastery. Ever since, Dalai Lama is a continuing pain in China’s neck.

Now that Dalai Lama is getting old and a new spiritual head will have to be sworn in after the present Dalai Lama, China is seeking to ensure that its nominee becomes the new Dalai Lama. Getting control of the Tawang monastery before that could give some legitimacy for China’s selection of the next spiritual head for Tibetan Buddhists.

These issues apart, China has been nibbling at the line of actual control —the so-called LAC— off and on and has already claimed some victories. China has thus sliced away from India’s part of the border over the years through these small incursions.

It is only now that that the Indian aide has reacted vigorously to the Chinese tactics. The Galwan valley incident, in which 20 Indian soldiers had died and some unknown numbers of the Chinese, was the biggest incident recently.

But, last week’s Chinese attempt to capture some high grounds in the areas, only 25 kilometres from Tawang, is the most ambitious and determined  attempt.. This time, when the winter had set in, the sudden sweep was meant to take possession of grounds to set up an observation post, according to some reports.

In Galwan valley as well, China was seeking to acquire lands on Indian side to set up observation posts. Chinese have already setup some villages in the areas adjoining the border, which can quickly be turned into supply bases for the Chinese army.

In Yangtze area near Tawang, the Chinese were working with the same objective in mind. With the observation posts the Chinese could better monitor the Indian positions as well as movements. They are interested in tracking Indian preparations in the border areas.

The Chinese have so far downplayed the incident apart from a brief mention in the Chinese foreign ministry briefing. This they did only after the statement of the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, in parliament subsequent to the incident.

The Chinese foreign ministry is seeking to pass this off as incursions by the Indian army personnel across the LAC. This is understandable since the Chinese are seeking now to modify their image. Chinese threats to south east Asian countries and the entire South China Sea has sent alarm bells across the region.

Its earlier practice of “world warriors”, who were the hostile diplomats belching fire over alleged insults to China, had given a very unwelcome picture of the country. After election of Xi Jinping at the 2oth party Congress in November, it appears China is taking some care to project a more favourable picture of the country.

The release of the details of last week’s incidents by India,   has been to vindicate government’s claims of wrong handling of all border incursions. India seems to be taking the Chinese threats seriously and expects these to continue in future as well.

It appears the political circles deliberately highlighted the episode as the Indian army had acted swiftly and gained the upper hand over the Chinese. The Indian opposition parties had all along criticised the government for its lukewarm responses to Chinese incursions.

This time the political set up had some advantages in showing off the robust responses to the incursions. The Indian army was better prepared for the sudden eruption of violence.

Along with this incidence, some videos have gone viral in the social media, depicting some face-offs between Indian soldiers and the Chinese. The videos depict the two sides fighting with lathis and rods in the hills, surrounded by green forests around.

The videos show Indian soldiers beating the Chinese who then retreat followed by the Indian army personnel. Thereafter, the Indian roar in victory and some structures are demolished.

The videos have now gone viral in the international media and showing the apparent victory of the Indian side. The videos had made first appearance in Indian social media.

For whatever reasons and results, border clashes with China are expected to continue. The silver lining is that these have remained confined to local levels. Eruption of these on a larger scale could make things rather difficult to control, as has been seen in the disastrous Russian campaign in Ukraine. (IPA Service)

IPA Special

After Yatra’s Success, Rahul Gandhi’s Main Task Should Be To Energise The Congress

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

Hate Crimes Have No Place In Any Country, Secular Or Religious

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

India Needs Fundamental Changes In Agricultural Policies

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

Non-Implementation Of Pending Government Assurances In Parliament Is Now Normal

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

Strong Kerala Economic Recovery Despite Odds

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

Starting As An Ambitious Army Officer, Pervez Musharraf Died A Lonely Man

February 7, 2023
Politics

Govt approaches Opposition to end parliament logjam

February 7, 2023
Politics

ED questions Rahul’s aide in TMC money laundering case

February 7, 2023
Politics

Tripura heads for triangular contest in assembly polls

February 7, 2023
Politics

BJP protest to seek Kejriwal’s resignation over ED filing

February 7, 2023
Happening Now

Siddaramaiah Hindutva vs Hindu remark sparks row

February 7, 2023
IPA Special

West Unlikely To Stop Fuelling Russia-Ukraine War Soon

February 6, 2023
IPA Special

BJP’s Reverses In Legislative Council Elections In Nagpur Is A Bad Omen For Ruling Alliance

February 6, 2023
IPA Special

Shocks That The Indian Economy Faced Since 2014

February 6, 2023
IPA Special

Nitish Kumar Is A Victim Of Trust Deficit Amongst His Coalition Leaders

February 6, 2023
Happening Now

Parliament adjourned amid Opposition protest on Adani row

February 6, 2023
Politics

Delhi Assembly fails to elect mayor even on third attempt

February 6, 2023
Politics

Another jolt to Bengal BJP as MLA joins Trinamool

February 6, 2023
Politics

Mann govt faces heat over sacrilege case

February 6, 2023
Politics

AAP to contest all seats in MP assembly elections

February 5, 2023

An appeal

The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.
Click here to learn more

Share

Reply

  • 0
More on IPA

After Yatra’s Success, Rahul Gandhi’s Main Task Should Be To Energise The Congress

February 7, 2023 4:35 pm | IPA Staff

By Kalyani Shankar How does one assess the impact of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s just completed Bharat Jodo yatra? Has he achieved his goal vis-a-vis...

IPA Special

Hate Crimes Have No Place In Any Country, Secular Or Religious

February 7, 2023 4:34 pm | IPA Staff

By Sushil Kutty The courts of the land should watch their words. The Supreme Court, especially. The top court cannot utter words that put a...

IPA Special

India Needs Fundamental Changes In Agricultural Policies

February 7, 2023 4:34 pm | IPA Staff

By Dr. Gyan Pathak While policies and institutional arrangements aimed at intensification and growth of the Indian agriculture sector are inevitable for the livelihoods and...

IPA Special

Non-Implementation Of Pending Government Assurances In Parliament Is Now Normal

February 7, 2023 4:33 pm | IPA Staff

By Chinmay Bendre The Budget Session of Parliament began on January 31 and will continue till April 6. While taxation policies continue to be a...

IPA Special

After Yatra’s Success, Rahul Gandhi’s Main Task Should Be To Energise The Congress

in IPA Special
Feb 7, 2023   ·  

Hate Crimes Have No Place In Any Country, Secular Or Religious

in IPA Special
Feb 7, 2023   ·  

India Needs Fundamental Changes In Agricultural Policies

in IPA Special
Feb 7, 2023   ·  

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow us on
Up Next: Local Bodies Must Share Larger Responsibility In Preventing Sewerage Deaths
©2020 -2021 India Press Agency, All Rights Reserved
Newspack by India Press Agency
logo
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets