Tawang MLA slams ban on anti-China protests in Arunachal

“This is not only going to send wrong signals to the other side of the international boundary, but also send a negative message to people in the rest of India. People elsewhere in India will think something is seriously wrong in Arunachal Pradesh,” Rimpoche, who is also considered a spiritual leader of the Buddhists in the state and in Tibet, told The Indian Express on Friday.

He said people of the state, and more particularly those who belonged to the same religious faith (Buddhism), had every right to protest the atrocities meted out by China on the Tibetans. “India being the largest and most vibrant democracy should not try to gag its citizens’ voice,” Rimpoche said.

Three days ago, Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had stated that his Government had refused to permit people in the state to stage demonstrations against China. “Buddhist monks, lamas as well people belonging to that faith wanted to stage demonstrations in Tawang, but we have refused permission because the issue is very sensitive,” Khandu had said, while pointing out at the same time that the Dalai Lama was his spiritual leader too.

The MLA also called for a change in India’s policy on China and Tibet. “I think we are still following the policy adopted in 1962 or 1963. Things have changed. The scenario has changed. We have become stronger. And China has to be told about this very specifically,” he said.

“We must also send this message that India was as strong as China and that we can match any threat from the other side. Otherwise they (China) will continue to lay claim on the state. The people of Arunachal can not live under a constant threat from China,” Rimpoche said.