Dalai Lama Came to India On A Path Many Had Treaded Before

Confronted by the magnitude of political disturbances in Tibet, the Indian government had to reconsider its open policy for Tibetans. Despite the change in regulation, entry permits were relatively easy to acquire at the time and the government did not take any particular steps to discourage the increasing numbers of Tibetans coming to India in the wake of political changes in Tibet. Asked if and how many had been refused entry into India, the Home Minister C Rajagopalachari referred to the customary nature of Tibetan travel to India: “They are ordinary trading people and no question of refusal arises.” He also countered allegations of “Communist infiltration” along the Tibetan border with Uttar Pradesh by pointing out that the supposed “infiltration” was by Tibetans who routinely came to collect wood from the jungles of Garhwal for making utensils. A day before the Dalai Lama reached India on 31 March 1959, Nehru pointed out that it was customary for Buddhist monks from Ladakh to travel to Lhasa for religious instruction. Archival records of Tibetans coming into India after 1959 reveal the Indian State’s growing anxiety about the rise of Communism in the region, as well as its concern about protecting the long eastern border with China.