The second volume of the India Tibet Relations (1947-1962) begins soon after signature of 17-Point Agreement in May 1951. During the years under study (1951-54), the position of India on the Roof of the World changed drastically. This volume shall go in depth into the slow deterioration of the age-old Indo-Tibet relations, gradually being replaced by a cruder relation with the new occupiers of Tibet. The Indian officials posted in Lhasa, Gyantse, Yatung or Gartok were the first to realize the true face of the Chinese 'liberators'. During this period, very few Tibetans had the courage to fight the ineluctable; most Tibetans, whether from the aristocracy or the clergy, collaborated with the occupying forces. "Will Tibet find her soul again?" wrote the Indian Trade Agent in Gyantse in one of his reports. The question is still hanging.
Will Tibet Ever Find her Soul Again?: Part 2, Claude Arpi, Vij Books India, Hardcover, 569 pp, $45.00
Abrahm Lustgarten is a reporter for ProPublica, the not-for-profit newsroom launched in 2008, and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant for international reporting. A former contributing writer for Fortune magazine, his articles have also appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, Outside, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic Adventure, Salon, and many other publications. He lives in New York City.
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