New Delhi: The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has criticized the participation of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in the BRICS summit in New Delhi, accusing Beijing of pursuing policies that are weakening Tibet’s distinct cultural, religious and linguistic identity. The statement comes as India is hosting the summit on Friday and Saturday, during which Xi’s presence is also expected to give fresh momentum to high-level India-China engagement after a prolonged period of strained ties.
In a statement issued from Dharamsala, the TYC welcomed India’s hosting of the summit but objected to the Chinese leader’s participation, arguing that economic and geopolitical cooperation should not come at the expense of human rights concerns. It urged India and other BRICS members to raise the Tibet issue with the Chinese leadership, particularly at a time when Beijing is facing renewed criticism over its policies towards ethnic minorities.
The organisation’s intervention comes against the backdrop of China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which took effect on July 1. Beijing presents the legislation as a framework for strengthening ethnic equality, national unity and social development, but Tibetan representatives and exile institutions argue that it could further institutionalize assimilation policies and place additional pressure on Tibetan language, religion and cultural practices.
Chinese authorities, for their part, reject the characterization of the law as an instrument of cultural assimilation. Official Chinese accounts describe it as a comprehensive legal framework intended to promote ethnic solidarity and protect the lawful rights of different communities while reinforcing what Beijing calls a shared national identity.
The controversy has acquired an additional political dimension following the death of Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen after a protest outside the United Nations headquarters in New York in July, as RNA Media had reported then. Tibetan organizations have linked the protest to opposition to the new legislation, while the incident has since featured prominently in campaigning by Tibetan groups in India and abroad.
The TYC also raised the sensitive question of the succession of the Dalai Lama, arguing that the recognition of his reincarnation should remain a religious process rather than one controlled by a government. The issue has become increasingly important in India-China relations because Beijing has asserted that the selection of the next Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese law, while Tibetan institutions maintain that the process belongs to the Tibetan Buddhist religious tradition.
The organisation further called for the release of Tibetan political prisoners and religious figures, including Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, whom the Dalai Lama recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995. Beijing subsequently recognized another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the Panchen Lama, making the dispute one of the most enduring symbols of the competing claims over religious authority in Tibet.
The TYC has also sought to broaden the Tibet debate beyond questions of identity and human rights by highlighting the strategic importance of the Tibetan Plateau. It argues that mining, dam construction, river diversion and other large infrastructure projects could have consequences for the ecological security of a region from which several major Asian rivers originate.
For India, that argument has particular relevance because the Tibetan Plateau is the source of river systems that flow into India and other parts of South and Southeast Asia. Questions surrounding hydrological data, upstream infrastructure and the possible environmental impact of Chinese projects have long been part of the broader India-China relationship, giving the Tibet issue a direct strategic and environmental dimension beyond its political and cultural aspects.
The TYC’s statement also comes at a consequential moment in India-China diplomacy. Xi is scheduled to attend the New Delhi BRICS summit on September 12-13, and Chinese and Indian officials have confirmed that the two countries are arranging a bilateral meeting between Xi and the prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Xi’s visit is significant because it is his first trip to India since the 2020 Galwan valley clash, which severely damaged bilateral relations and led to a prolonged military confrontation along the line of actual control (LAC). Although the two sides have since taken steps to stabilize ties and resume some engagement, the border dispute remains unresolved and continues to shape the strategic relationship.
The Tibet question therefore presents New Delhi with a delicate diplomatic calculation. India has traditionally provided political and humanitarian space to the Tibetan community while maintaining a formal relationship with Beijing and avoiding positions that could unnecessarily complicate its broader strategic and economic interests.
The BRICS summit itself is focused primarily on wider questions of global governance, economic cooperation and the international strategic environment rather than the Tibet dispute. Yet the presence of Xi in New Delhi inevitably creates space for groups advocating the Tibetan cause to seek greater attention to an issue that Beijing regards as an internal matter, and India has generally handled with considerable diplomatic caution.
The TYC’s intervention is consequently unlikely to alter the formal agenda of the BRICS meeting, but it underscores a persistent complication in the India-China relationship. For New Delhi, Tibet intersects with border security, water resources, religious diplomacy and the treatment of the Tibetan community in India, ensuring that the issue remains relevant even when it is absent from the official summit agenda.