Needless provocation

New Delhi must not abandon caution on the Tibet issue

The Dalai Lama’s visits to the Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh routinely provoke protests from the Chinese and threats of dire consequences, only for Sino-Indian relations to lapse into their customary state of relative cordiality afterwards. This latest visit, after a gap of seven years, has provoked a sharper, almost threatening, reaction from China. Mature diplomacy demanded a restrained response from India. Instead, the Indian government has chosen to unnecessarily imbue a purely religious occasion with a provocative political hue.

To be sure, the government is well within its rights to permit the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh.