With India's recognition of the Tibet Autonomous Region as a part of China -- a corollary result of the recent talks in Beijing between Chinese and Indian leaders -- the region has ceased to be viewed as a historical buffer state between two Asian giants.
While Vajpayee's Lahore visit was followed by Pakistani aggression, his latest China tour, like in 1979, came gift-wrapped with a Chinese military surprise.
Indians are basically good people. That is the main problem! Recently, during Prime Minister Vajpayee's trip to China, I happened to be in France. Far away from India, I tried to analyze the reasons why India is not doing better in international circles.
Some events are really hard to forget throughout life. Imagine a place where you are being surrounded by tall and big mountains with dense forests. Seeing from your room the whole panorama of the beauty that nature has been kind enough to create with utmost care and caution
Tibet's decades-long struggle for liberty is famous around the world. Less well-known is the tale of how the Tibetan government in exile and large numbers of Tibetans abroad have worked to foster not only the freedom of the homeland from which they have been driven
An Indian weekly recently ran an interesting cover story on corruption. The editor began by quoting his encounter with a former prime minister who was asked 'Why couldn't you do anything to curb corruption in the bureaucracy?'
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit to China has, once again, proved that irrespective of China's claims over Tibet, the communist rulers of this Asian colony have yet to come out of their guilty conscience.
Among the most important ingredients seasoning Sikkim are the cultural traditions of neighbouring Tibet. Thick fog flies in fast from the East, dulling the rich colours of Tsuk La-Khang, the Royal Chapel.
Often when old rivals seek to heal rifts, the venture is bittersweet. Giving up grudges requires giving up old ground and old assumptions. Forging new friendships entails accepting the world as it is, not as some have longed for it to be.
