Outlook
Snigdhendu Bhattacharya
Updated: 21 Jul 2023
From vote banks to pawns in international relations, India uses refugees based on changing interests
Raising Voice: Muslims protest against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi in 2020 Photo: Suresh K. Pandey
In the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills of West Bengal, stickers and posters demanding the release of the 11th Panchen Lama from alleged forced confinement by the Chinese authorities can be spotted in many of the shops owned by the Tibetan refugee population. The Panchen Lama is considered the second-highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, after the Dalai Lama, and has been one of the contentious issues of China and the Dalai Lama’s battle over Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.