- Tibetans lack political backing and China is unbending – March 7, 2010 (The Organiser)
The Tibetans, unlike the Arab-backed Palestinians, could not mobilise international support or conduct protracted guerrilla or terrorist warfare, even had they wanted to.
It is pertinent to ask therefore, what purpose is served by these ‘negotiations that never were’ and still are not? Initially and understandably the exile Tibetans hoped that with signs of change inside China or with the recent Tibetan protests, some accommodation might be possible. The lure of visiting their homeland would have been irresistible, as any displaced refugee knows. But to the outside world, and to some of their youth, continuation in the face of recurrent snubs is senseless – even spineless…
- Beijing’s obstinate stand on Tibet – February 28, 2010 (The Organiser)
Surprisingly, when it might appear that all was over, in January 2010 Hu Jintao convened a politburo meeting to discuss Tibet where he said that ‘Tibet was faced with a ‘special contradiction’ between their ethnic groups and separatist forces led by the ‘Dalai clique’. The Fifth Tibet Work Forum convened shortly after stressed ‘leapfrog development’ for ‘various ethnic groups’ in Tibet, and the need to raise rural incomes
THE intimate and complex relationship between India, China and Tibet has become international with globalisation. In the wake of the pre-Olympic and 60th anniversary of the takeover of Tibet unrest, talks between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Beijing’s United Front Work Department euphemistically referred to as ‘negotiations’, have assumed a heightened importance for many.
Claude Arpi’s book (Dharamsala and Beijing – The Negotiations that never were, Lancer’s New Delhi 2009) is meant to disabuse wishful thinkers of their unrealistic beliefs that ‘something useful is going on’ and raises questions as to why the world and the dramatis personae themselves continue with this somewhat farcical and unsubstantial exercise.
- The Blind Talking to the Deaf – December 5, 2009 by Rajinder Puri (The Statesman)
The annexation of an independent Tibet is irrefutably outlined in Claude Arpi’s book, Tibet: The Lost Frontier, which was published last year. Arpi, a Frenchman based in Auroville, is arguably India ’s most effective communicator of the Tibetan cause. He displays the research of a scholar and the insight of a strategist. This year he has written a follow-up book, Dharamsala and Beijing : The Negotiations that Never Were, published by Lancer Publishers. The book is an eye opener. It meticulously describes the entire farcical engagement since inception between Beijing and the Dalai Lama’s aides. It also exposes the pathetic conduct of America and India that witnessed this dialogue.
- Graveyard of Indian idealism – Asia Times (October 25, 2008)
Although the absorption of Tibet into China since 1950 has been copiously discussed from different angles, there is a dearth of understanding about the regional politics surrounding the “roof of the world”. Since time immemorial, Tibet’s fate has been intertwined with that of its two giant neighbors, China and India. French scholar Claude Arpi’s new book teases out the complex workings of this triangle and throws light on how Indian idealism came a cropper against Chinese realpolitik.
- The sad story of how Tibet came to lose its independence – September 29, 2008 (The Statesman)
Any person with a little sense can tell that Tibet is not China and that the Tibetans are not Chinese, even in the federal sense of the term. The Tibetans have their own culture, language, way of live and ethnicity and, yet, due to a series of international diplomatic faux pas, it is a country that faces demographic liquidation through Han Chinese migration.
Claude Arpi tells the sad story of how Tibet came to lose its independence.
- Road to nowhere – September 8, 2008 (The Tribune)
Claude Arpi’s well researched and illuminating account of the failure of India’s diplomacy in its very backyard is a tribute to not only the author’s painstaking efforts at getting to the truth (which few Indian writers can be credited with as regards to writing on Tibet), but also marks a plus for the publishers who thought of bringing out this very instructive account. This study vividly points out that the peace-loving people like the Tibetans can no longer hope to remain in a Shangri-la of their own cut off from the prying eyes and their adventurous designs, and that to exist as an independent nation one must fine-tune not only its diplomacy but also be militarily strong enough to send out the right message.
- Smitten by Tibet – August 10, 2008 (The Deccan Herald)
Well, this mystic landmass (and its exiled people) is a still-bleeding wound on mother earth, but its charm is such that it inspires not just Tibetians but people across the globe to clamour for its return to independence. At a time like this, it is quite interesting to learn about the discovery of this ancient land; of the first people from the known world who set foot here and discovered this magical and snowy piece of land and the mystic culture of its people. Claude Arpi, French-born author and journalist who lives in Auroville, was in Chennai, promoting his latest book ‘Tibet: The Lost Frontier’. Arpi shed light on various scarcely-known, fascinating aspects of Tibet at the University of Madras, where the event was hosted. It was an occasion graced by young Tibetian students splashed with ‘Free Tibet’ badges, and Indians who have a soft corner for this snowy, magical land.
- India sentimental, China pragmatic – August 3, 2008 (The Pioneer)
Claude Arpi is an Auroville-based French scholar with an abiding interest in Tibetan history and culture. His knowledge of source materials combined with his extensive contacts with high Tibetan officials including the Dalai Lama allow him to write on Tibet and the India-China relations from a perspective that is not available in other works. Tibet: The Lost Frontier is an invaluable work on Tibet and its role in India-China relations. It supplements and extends his earlier work The Fate of Tibet published in 1999.
- Intrepid French woman unveiled Tibet for the world – July 5, 2008 (IANS)
Many foreign explorers, “missionaries, army officers, diplomats, spies” wanted to have a look at Tibet at the time, explained Claude Arpi, French journalist and historian, speaking on the life Alexandra David-Néel whose numerous writings contributed to make Tibet and Buddhism known the world over…
- How Stalin helped Mao in Tibet – July 7, 2008 (Hindustan Times)
These are excerpts from a new book by Claude Arpi, Tibet: the Lost Frontier. The book, just released by Lancer Publishers, goes into the details of what Arpi, a scholar on Tibet, calls the ‘fateful year, 1950, bringing out unknown facts on what went wrong with Tibet, and how the world remained a silent spectator to Tibet’s capture by China.
- The Central Tibetan Administration’s Response to Chinese Government Allegations – July 2008
Tibet’s participation at the Asian Relations Conference is discussed at length in a new book, Tibet: The Lost Frontier, by Claude Arpi. The Indian invitation to Tibet for the conference was received. “Sometime in early March 1947, the delegation departed from Lhasa,” writes Claude Arpi. “They journeyed first to Dromo in the Chumbi Valley, where they were joined by a messenger of the Kashag bringing a Tibetan flag, which they were requested to hoist during the Conference.”
- Sify.com on Tibet the Lost Frontier – July 2008
Special feature with book review, excerpts, slide-show and interview.
- Tibet: The Lost Frontier and Missed Opportunity – June 21, 2008 (Tibet.net)
Tibet: The Lost Frontier contains in-depth account of Indo-China relations, exclusively obtained from the Indian government’s archives. Such diligent effort from the author’s side makes this book very interesting and different from others. More so, Arpi touches hard on Indo-China border issue, which people tend to avoid because of its sensitivity. Arpi suggested that the Indian government should take appropriate steps in building constructive infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh to prevent any further claims by China. Most importantly, I absolutely agree with Arpi that history and current situation of the Roof of the World, India, and China would be very different if the three nations had tried to settle the territorial disputes in 1950 with good intentions. I truly believe he had made this reasonable recommendation based on knowledge that he gained throughout his career. Thus, I, without doubt, recommend everyone to read this book, which unfolds the events that make up the current political and territorial status of Asia’s three richest civilizations.
- An outsider in India – September 11, 2005
Book Review of India and her neighbourhood by Gautam Siddharth in The Pioneer
- Why remember Pancheel – 2005
Book Review of Born in Sin: the Pancheel Agreement by Madhuri Santanam Sondhi in The Asian Age
- The Silence of the Lamb – November 2004
Book Review of Born in Sin: The Pancheel Agreement by Dhundup Gyalpo in The Tibetan Bulletin.
- Cosying up to China – July 2, 2004
Panchsheel was independent India’s greatest moment of humiliation by Swapan Dasgupta in The Statesman.
- Idealism bordering blunder – March 21, 2000
Book Review of The Fate of Tibet by N.S. Rajaram in The Hindu
- The Fate of Tibet – 1999
Book Review of The Fate of Tibet by Thubten Samphel in The Tibetan Bulletin
