India and the Tibetan Issue

A Human Rights Perspective

Abstract

In the post cold war period human rights issues assumes great significance in the national, regional and international politics. At the national level all democratic countries has placed human rights as an important component in their domestic as well as external policy decisions. The regional groupings for better economic interactions among nations, to maintain and foster their common interests, also have upheld the human rights principles and practices in their interactions. Again the UN enacted legislative measures towards the protection and promotion of human rights at the global level has gained more importance in international relations and wider acceptance among member countries. The end of ideological clashes in global politics has facilitated such a change in the international system.

Today, nations pay more attention to economic security rather than pure military security, one of the foremost concerns during the cold war. The globalization process as well as the existence of international problems such as international terrorism and environmental degradations has united the nations than ever before. The horizontal nuclear weapon proliferation has altered the international power structure. No nation whatsoever powerful can single-handedly maintain its security. International terrorism poses a grave threat to the security of nations than the threat from nation states. The nuclear weapon proliferation especially in the context of international terrorism further pose challenges to the traditional concept of security. The blurred boundary between national security and international security on the one hand, and the human security and national security on the other, demands a new approach towards security. It is in this context one has to view various international issues.

This paper is attempted to examine India’s response towards the Tibetan issue from a human rights perspective. The Tibetan issue is related to one of the most significant human rights of the people, the right to self-determination. The disintegration of Soviet Union and its impact on the Eastern Europe has brought the right to self-determination of people once again into prominence. New nations were come into existence in Eastern Europe by applying this international principle. The forceful subjugation of a people through coercive means has been considered as violation of international human rights. The right of nation to territorial integrity on the one hand, and the right of people to self-determination on the other, was called into question. The Tibetan issue is also the test of relative significance of right to territorial integrity of state and right to self-determination of the people.