MADRAS, India -- The issue of Tibet has plagued relations between India and China for well over four decades. When China annexed the small Himalayan nation in the 1950s, New Delhi found itself in a difficult position, given its special ties with the Tibetan people: India had an open border with Tibet, and Tibetans were virtually considered citizens of the big neighboring state, even enjoying a special place in the Indian military. It therefore seemed natural for the Indian government to offer political asylum to the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet along with his followers and set up a government in exile at Dharamshala in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
This displeased China, as it saw India's action as an infringement of sorts in its internal affairs. The 1962 Chinese invasion of India led to a break in ties between the two countries, a development that is often cited as having contributed to then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's health problems, which not long after proved fatal. Nehru was shattered by China's breach of trust, which he had helped nurture over a long period of time.
Tibet has recently come back into the spotlight, thanks to China's diplomatic offensive there and its attempts to renew political contacts with the exiled Tibetan leadership. Admittedly, both China and India have made efforts to sort out the Tibetan question since the mid 1980s, when they began normalizing their own bilateral ties. But New Delhi's war with Islamabad, and China's special feelings for Pakistan, kept Tibet off India's immediate agenda.