Was Tibet invaded or reclaimed by China? To put it other way, was Tibet ever a part of China? This is one of the most problematic questions of the world history that twenty first century has inherited from the previous century. Even today, there are different point of views, but no concrete answer. If you want to go by the "winner writes the history" theory, Tibet belongs to China. If you want to go by the western world sympathy, China has shown communist imperialism by capturing Tibet. But, going by historical logic, I am afraid, there is no single verdict from the historians.
While the root of the problem is centuries old, the conflict starts most prominently from the beginning of twentieth century. In 1912, Chinese forces were forced out of Tibet by a rebellion led by the thirteenth Dalai Lama. In 1914, the historical Simla Convention happened between China, Tibet and India. It was coordinated by British. The three party agreement ended in a big confusion when China walked out of it with disagreement. It left a legacy of more confusions for future, when, under British supervision, India and Tibet went on to sign the treaty.
Time passed. Both China and Britain became busy with their own problems. World War I broke. Both these powerful countries took the same side and fought the three axis powers Italy, Japan and Germany. Tibet was least of China's worries in those days. Thirteenth Dalai Lama leaved and ruled on Tibet without any trouble till his death in 1932. In 1937, a two year old kid was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1940 he was enthroned in Lhasa. The young fourteenth Dalai Lama was getting ready to take on the world and China.
Meanwhile, China was passing through turbulent years. In 1937 Japan invaded China and ruled ruthlessly till their defeat in World War II. Once free from Japan, China faced the new menace of civil war between the Nationalist and Communist parties. In 1949, after bloody wars, the People's Communist Party of China took power, under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Once in power, the China government started looking for its lost territories and its eyes fell on Tibet.
In 1950, China recaptured Tibet without much resistance from the weak defense of Tibettian army. The secular People's Communist Party of China denied the acceptance of any religion and destroyed a number of monasteries in Tibet. People of Tibet saw them as anti Buddhism rulers. But at that time the Chinese government was doing this every where in China for every religion, so the view of the Tibetians was probably a local perception. A section of the Tibettians started forming a rebellion against the Chinese. Since they were too weak and untrained for the highly skilled and strong Chinese army, they started looking for external support. With the help of one of the brothers of Dalai Lama, who was leaving in exile in India, the rebellions contacted USA.
While the root of the problem is centuries old, the conflict starts most prominently from the beginning of twentieth century. In 1912, Chinese forces were forced out of Tibet by a rebellion led by the thirteenth Dalai Lama. In 1914, the historical Simla Convention happened between China, Tibet and India. It was coordinated by British. The three party agreement ended in a big confusion when China walked out of it with disagreement. It left a legacy of more confusions for future, when, under British supervision, India and Tibet went on to sign the treaty.
Time passed. Both China and Britain became busy with their own problems. World War I broke. Both these powerful countries took the same side and fought the three axis powers Italy, Japan and Germany. Tibet was least of China's worries in those days. Thirteenth Dalai Lama leaved and ruled on Tibet without any trouble till his death in 1932. In 1937, a two year old kid was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. In 1940 he was enthroned in Lhasa. The young fourteenth Dalai Lama was getting ready to take on the world and China.
Meanwhile, China was passing through turbulent years. In 1937 Japan invaded China and ruled ruthlessly till their defeat in World War II. Once free from Japan, China faced the new menace of civil war between the Nationalist and Communist parties. In 1949, after bloody wars, the People's Communist Party of China took power, under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Once in power, the China government started looking for its lost territories and its eyes fell on Tibet.
In 1950, China recaptured Tibet without much resistance from the weak defense of Tibettian army. The secular People's Communist Party of China denied the acceptance of any religion and destroyed a number of monasteries in Tibet. People of Tibet saw them as anti Buddhism rulers. But at that time the Chinese government was doing this every where in China for every religion, so the view of the Tibetians was probably a local perception. A section of the Tibettians started forming a rebellion against the Chinese. Since they were too weak and untrained for the highly skilled and strong Chinese army, they started looking for external support. With the help of one of the brothers of Dalai Lama, who was leaving in exile in India, the rebellions contacted USA.
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http://reddiarypk.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/tibet-is-china/
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