1.5 kg gold: Dalai Lama’s donation and the India-China War of 1962

The Dalai Lama remained a sensitive and persistent issue between India and China following the Tibetan rebellion of 1959. The unrest, along with the growing border dispute, eventually culminated in the Indo-China War of 1962 — a journey that unfolds through documents made public by Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.

On March 15, 1959, as Chinese forces crushed the Tibetan uprising, the Ministry of External Affairs informed the Political Officer in Gangtok and the Consul General of India in Lhasa: “Prime Minister (Jawaharlal Nehru) is quite clear in his mind that, if the Dalai Lama seeks protection in Indian territory, we should give him asylum.”

Just fifteen days later, Nehru wrote to President Rajendra Prasad, firmly ruling out military intervention in Tibet. He reflected on India’s moral dilemma, writing, “There should be no question of our suppressing our conscience or doing anything patently wrong for fear of consequences. But it is not at all clear first what the full facts are, and secondly what we can do about them. A step that we may take might actually injure the interests of the Tibetans.”

On the evening of March 31, 1959, the Dalai Lama, after a perilous escape from Tibet, crossed into Indian territory. A few days later, on April 3, Nehru sent a reassuring telegram: “We shall be happy to afford the necessary facilities for you, your family, and entourage to reside in India.”

Soon after his arrival, the Dalai Lama wrote to Nehru about selling the gold and silver bullion he had deposited in Gangtok. Nehru, cautious about potential implications, instructed Foreign Secretary Subimal Dutt that they must know “exactly what these things are and consider whether the Government should buy some of them before we allow private traders to purchase them”.

By September 1959, a new concern had emerged — the Dalai Lama’s intent to take the Tibetan issue to the United Nations. Nehru publicly discouraged the move. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, he candidly said: “…Very probably these Tibetan developments have angered and soured the mind of the Government of China, very likely... And perhaps they have reacted strongly to what we have done. I mean, to the asylum we have given to the Dalai Lama and to certain other factors. We have tried to steer a middle way. We respect the Dalai Lama. Large numbers of people respect him. That does not mean we agree with him in everything. In some ways he is acting wrongly today. In so far as our advice was taken we have strongly told him that he is acting wrongly and no good can come if he goes to the United Nations on Tibet. I have told him personally, I have said so in public, and I hold to that opinion. It will do no good to him or Tibet. There it is.”

During Nehru’s talks with Chinese Premier Chou En-lai in April 1960, the Indian leader tried to strike a conciliatory note. He recounted how, three and a half years earlier, when the Dalai Lama visited India, some of his followers had advised him not to return to Tibet. Nehru said he had encouraged the Tibetan leader to go back, and he did. “And then we had no contact with him till he came 2 or 3 years later. Our interest in Tibet has nothing to do with politics or territory but is tied up culturally for ages in the past,” Nehru assured Premier Chou-En-Lai.

But even within India, Nehru was occasionally troubled by Tibetan affairs. In a letter, dated August 7, 1960, he expressed concern to the Dalai Lama about his brother Gyalo Thondup’s lifestyle abroad. “Our information further is that while he was abroad, he spent rather lavishly and lived in expensive hotels. I do not think that in the circumstances this was fitting or desirable.” The Dalai Lama replied firmly on August 25, denying any wrongdoing: “As regards the serious allegation made against my brother that he has been collecting money for the relief and rehabilitation of Tibetan refugees and that he may not have given a full account to me, with due deference, I would like to state clearly that this is completely untrue… The only contribution that was directly received by my brother was the sum of forty-one dollars... All these facts can easily be verified.”

As tensions between India and China worsened, conflict became inevitable. Amid the war, the Dalai Lama donated 150 tolas of gold to India’s National Defence Fund on October 31, 1962. Nehru thanked him for the gesture.

Days later, while addressing a public gathering on November 11, 1962, Nehru openly acknowledged the impact of the asylum decision. “As you know, there was a great revolt in Tibet and the Dalai Lama, along with 35,000 of his followers, sought asylum in India. We are doing everything we can to help him and are educating the Tibetan children. All this angered the Chinese. But we were not daunted. We had to do what was right.” The same sentiment reflected in his letter to the Chief Minister and Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on December 22, 1962 — a quiet reaffirmation of India's moral stand in a time of conflict.