The Indian ambassador in Tibet: Why Lhasa matters for India
During the first weeks of October 1950, as Tibet was invaded by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Communist China repeatedly claimed that it was merely “liberating” Tibet. More than seven decades later, Tibetans, particularly those who were first “liberated” in Eastern Tibet, continue to strongly reject this imperial interpretation.
It is true that Tibet, a peaceful Buddhist nation, was neither militarily nor strategically capable of resisting Mao’s seasoned troops and some of China’s most brilliant commanders. From the outset, Tibet stood little chance of winning a military confrontation.
At that time, many Tibetans still believed that increasing the number of japa (recitations) or parikramas (circumambulations) around monasteries and stupas would be sufficient to ensure that truth prevailed.
Robert Ford, the British radio operator stationed in Chamdo, the capital of Kham Province, remarked: “‘The gods are on our side’ was the mantra most often repeated in the town, but it seemed to me that something more Churchillian was needed.”
Turning Point for the Himalaya
The event marked a turning point in the modern history of Asia and heralded two great tragedies. First, the Dalai Lama, the uncontested leader of the Tibetan people, soon lost his temporal authority and was ultimately compelled to seek refuge in India in March 1959. During the following months, nearly 100,000 of his fellow countrymen followed him into exile.
It was also a tragedy for recently independent India, which lost a friendly Buddhist neighbour and a peaceful frontier that was not even guarded, not even by police.
The Indian Ambassador in Tibet
These thoughts came to mind when I came across an article in The South China Morning Post (SCMP): “Why India’s new envoy to China is visiting Tibet soon after taking up the job.”
It is important to note that, after assuming his new assignment, this was his first visit outside Beijing. China watchers viewed it as a sign of thawing relations between the two Asian neighbours. However, whether the two sides can sustain the current positive momentum in their engagement remains to be seen.
The Kailash Yatras
The purpose of Doraiswami’s visit to Tibet was to monitor and review the arrangements for the first pilgrims to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, who were scheduled to leave India later in June.
However, yatris can either travel under the Ministry of External Affairs’ scheme (in 20 batches of 50 pilgrims each through Lipulekh in Pithoragarh district or Nathu La in Sikkim) or through private travel agents operating from western Nepal. The latter, unfortunately, are facing serious difficulties with the Chinese authorities.
Nepali travel agents say that Beijing has fixed a quota of 24,000 Indian pilgrims who may travel to the sacred site via Nepal this season, although applications have already exceeded 40,000—forty times the capacity of the MEA’s yatra programme.
Unfortunately, the yatris remain at the mercy of the Chinese authorities, who issue the permits. One can only hope that Doraiswami raised this issue during his visit.
Visit to Lhasa
The Indian ambassador was received in Lhasa by officials from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Foreign Affairs Office, the agency responsible for overseeing foreign visits to the region. They briefed him on the preparations currently underway for the Indian pilgrims, after which he hosted a dinner for the visiting Indian delegation.
Of course, one may regret that the ambassador did not meet Karma Tseten, the Tibetan official who heads the TAR government. It could have been an interesting encounter; perhaps there will be another opportunity.
The SCMP reported that “while Indian ambassadors have previously visited Tibet, such trips were rarely seen in the decade up to 2025 because of border frictions and the Covid-19 pandemic.” The previous Indian ambassador, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, spent a week in Tibet last year, but no publicity was given to his visit. This time as well, the Chinese media did not report on the event.
Two Interesting Details
Ambassador Doraiswami has a Chinese name, Wei Jiameng (Wei phonetically matches the “Vi” in Vikram; Jia means “auspicious” or “praiseworthy,” and Meng means an “alliance” or a “pact”). The name could be interpreted as “auspicious” or “praiseworthy ally,” a message that both sides would like to project. Perhaps Delhi should consider asking the Chinese ambassador in India to adopt an Indian name while serving there. The idea is worth contemplating.
The second detail concerns the gift presented by TAR officials to their guest: a Tibetan thangka depicting the “Four Harmonious Friends,” inspired by the well-known Tibetan Buddhist fable of an elephant, monkey, rabbit, and bird helping one another through their respective strengths. The image symbolises cooperation, respect for seniority, and interdependence by showing the animals standing on one another to reach fruit from a tree. Let us hope that the story translates into concrete action.
Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination
The ambassador’s visit followed the 35th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, held in Beijing on 27 May. According to an Indian communiqué, the Indian delegation, led by Sujit Ghosh, Joint Secretary (East Asia), held a constructive and forward-looking discussion: “The two sides… expressed satisfaction with the progress made in maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas, which has enabled progress towards gradual normalisation of bilateral relations.”
More importantly, India raised the issue of the mega hydropower projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo. The two sides “stressed on (the) early meeting of the next Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers.” This remains perhaps the most serious source of contention between the two countries today.
Kailash Free for All Indians
This brought to mind the days when any Indian could visit the holy sites around Mount Kailash without requiring permission or even identification papers. Swami Pranavananda (1896–1989) symbolises that era. A yogi and Himalayan explorer, he was renowned for both his spiritual attainments and his geographical knowledge of the Mount Kailash–Lake Manasarovar region. He is said to have completed 23 parikramas (circumambulations) of Mount Kailash and 25 of Lake Manasarovar. Seven of these journeys took place during winter, when Lake Manasarovar was completely frozen.
The Swami mapped the geographic sources of four major Himalayan rivers—the Brahmaputra, the Indus, the Sutlej, and the Karnali—and authored the seminal guide Kailas-Manasarovar, which remains the most comprehensive spiritual and scientific account of the region’s rituals, flora, fauna, and monasteries. He accomplished all this without needing to “register” with the Tibetan authorities.
At that time, China probably knew little about Kailash, or even that there existed an Indian principality associated with the state of Jammu and Kashmir, known as Minsar, in the vicinity of the sacred mountain.
One can only hope that Ambassador Doraiswami’s efforts will contribute to the gradual reopening of these sacred places to all Indians.
This article is a modified version of the article originally published as Claude Arpi. 2026. ‘The Indian ambassador in Tibet: Why Lhasa matters for India’. Firstpost. 16 June.