The Chinese interest in the region of Kashmir bloated directly from her expansion and absorption of the Central Asian regions and Tibet. Unlike the small and warring regions of Central Asia, Tibet had been for at least two thousand years an independent State with a unique personality and well-defined international boundaries. But China's imperialistic desires coveted Tibet. In Mao's words, Tibet was the palm, of which Ladhak, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh were the five fingers.

Below is a chronological order of the events that ultimately led to China's usurpment of Tibet.

  In the 17th century the Manchu dynasty was established in China and an informal relationship with Tibet began

 To thwart suspicious Russian influence, the British forced their way into Tibet in l904 through a Military Mission led by Colonel Younghusband

  In 1904, the Lhasa Convention gave the British a special position in Tibet in respect to trade and other matters

  In the Revolution of 1911, the Manchu dynasty was overthrown, and a new government under the leadership of Dr. Sun Yat Sen began in China.

  The Simla Conference of 1913-14 saw the representatives of China, Tibet and British Government of India meet to settle Tibet-China border. The conference laid to rest the Chinese supremacy over Tibet, and recognized Tibet as an independent fully functional State

  In 1947, India gained independence and as a huge nation had special rights to protect Tibet from Chinese interests and in turn preserve her new frontiers.

  The first PM of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, tried to promote the cause of China at the UN, instead of obstructing Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950

  On October 7th 1950, China invaded Tibet on the pretext of 'liberating' it from 'imperialist forces'.

  In 1954, China and India signed the Panch Sheel Treaty , which indirectly showed India's lack of interest in aggressively checking Chinese advances in Tibet. With this, India willfully yielded her special rights of running Tibet's postal, telegraph and telephone services and the stationing troops at a number of places within Tibet.

  In 1959, the Dalai Lama , left Tibet for exile in India

  Between 1959 and 1961, the industrial and agricultural reforms of the Great Leap Forward resulted in Tibetšs first recorded famines, killing 340,000 peasants and nomads.

  In 1961 the UN passed a resolution supporting the Tibetan people right to self-determination.

  1965 - The TAR was formally established. The Panchen Lama was placed under house arrest for criticizing the Great Leap Forward.

  In 1966, Mao's Cultural Revolution formally began, encouraging the rejection of the four olds: "old thoughts, old culture, old customs and old traditions". In Tibet this led to the destruction of the remaining monasteries and the outlawing of Tibetan cultural customs and religion. Tens of thousands of Tibetans were sent to labor camps.

  In 1971, China was admitted to the United Nations. The CIA withdrew aid to Tibetan guerrillas

  In 1976, the Cultural Revolution ended as Mao died on 9 September.

  In 1979, Deng Xiaoping opened China to the outside world. He invited the Dalai Lama to return from exile on the condition that he remains in Beijing. The Dalai Lama was permitted to send a fact-finding mission to Tibet. The mission encountered demonstrations calling for independence and the Dalai Lamašs return. Many of the demonstrators were imprisoned. Deng told Gyalo Dhondup, the Dalai Lama's brother "Everything can be discussed except independence. "

  In 1986 the Great Prayer Festival (Monlam) was held for the first time in twelve years.

  In 1987 a pro-independence demonstration on 1 October led to police opening fire on a crowd of 3,000 demonstrators, killing at least nine. Tourists and journalists were expelled.

  On December 10th 1998 (Human Rights Day), police shot dead two monks carrying the Tibetan flag in Lhasa.

  In November 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

  In 1991, Tibet was declared open to foreign investment.

  On 26th May 1994, President Clinton de-linked human rights concessions from renewal of China's Most Favored Nation trading status. Economic protests in Tibet resulted in some political arrests.

  In 1996, a patriotic re-education campaign was launched, with work teams visiting monasteries to "correct" the historical, legal and religious opinions of monks and nuns.

  In 1997, TAR secretary Chen Kuiyuan claimed Buddhism was a "foreign import" and not part of Tibetan culture. It was announced that the patriotic re-education campaign was to be extended to schools, towns, offices and villages.

  In 1998, Zhu Rongji replaced Li Peng as Prime Minister of China. Tibetan Youth Congress organized an "unto death" hunger strike in India, which resulted in the self-immolation of Thupten Ngodup. In September two monks were arrested for preparing a letter for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

  In 1999, the sentence of Ngawang Sangdrol, the longest serving female political prisoner in Tibet was extended to a total of 21 years.

  In January 2000, one of Tibet's holiest figures, the 17th Karmapa , fled to India.

  On January 15, 2002, Tibetan demonstrators organize a rally in New Delhi, to protest against Chinese Primer Zhu Rongji's 6-day visit to India


For more information on the sources for the above text, click below:

Chinese Destruction of Tibet's Culture
Photograhs on Tibet's Leaders and Policies
Photographs on Tibetan Prisoners
Photographs on Tibet's Culture and Society
FAQ's on Tibet
For information on Human Rights violation in Tibet, visit the following links:

Tibetan Justice Organization