The spiritual leader of the Tibetans Dalai Lama has for the very first time stated recently that Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by China to be its own, is a part of India. Dalai Lama acknowledged the legitimacy of the MacMohan Line as per the 1914 Simla Agreement in an interview to a prominent Indian daily and said that the state of Arunachal Pradesh (AP) is a part of India under the agreement between Tibetan and British representatives.

 

The Tibetan spiritual leader has visited the Tawang region of AP state in India in 2003 and when asked to comment on this issue, had refrained from providing a direct unambiguous answer. He had actually responded that Tawang is a part of Tibet. China does not acknowledge the MacMohan Line and claims that Tawang and Arunachal Pradesh are part of its territory. The region therefore has long been a bone of contention between the two countries.

 

This statement has come at a time when the External Affairs Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee is on a four day visit to China and this recent statement from Dalai Lama is sure to impact the India-China dialogue. Beijing has always maintained that if Tawang region is handed over to it then it will drop its demand for the rest of Arunachal Pradesh. This proposal of China is not acceptable to India as Tawang is near not only from the northeastern states but also Bhutan. Tawang is also significant historically as the sixth Dalai Lama was born there.