In the past week the Dalai Lama’s visit to the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh has increased tensions between India and China. The exiled Tibetan leader’s visit drew the ire of China who disagrees with the Dalai Lama’s separatist views regarding Tibet. China controls Tibet but the Dalai Lama and his followers want the Chinese out so Tibet can be free.
The Dalai Lama was in the Himalayan town of Tawang holding prayer meetings and teaching sessions with followers in the town along the frontier border with Chinese-controlled Tibet. The Dalai Lama’s visit has angered China and increased tensions between India and China, as the weeklong visit is in a region that India and China both claim as their own.
In 1962 China and India fought a border war over two disputed regions that both sides claim ownership over. Arunachal Pradesh is one of the two regions that China and India have disputed for decades. Since 1962 tensions between China and India have ebbed and flowed, but the Dalai Lama’s recent visit is the latest in a string of incidents that has raised tensions in the region.
In response to China’s condemnations of the visit, India has stated that the Dalai Lama is an honored guest and free to visit any part of the country. The Dalai Lama has resided in India since 1959 when he was exiled from Tibet during the Chinese takeover.