Why does India long for Tibet? (2) Shenqi Ali

In the Ngari region of Tibet, my country, there is a mountain with an extremely high status in the world's religious beliefs---Kang Rinpoche. It belongs to the Gangdise Mountains, is covered with snow all year round, and has a unique mountain shape. This "holy mountain" and the accompanying "Holy Lake" of Manasarovar are recognized as the "center of the world" by Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Bonism and Jainism.

Someone in India once proposed using Tawang, the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, in exchange for the "Sacred Mountain and Holy Lake" of Kailash. Although such absurd ideas have never been on the agenda of Sino-Indian border negotiations, the importance of this religious holy site to Indians is evident.

The sacredness and greatness of Kailash comes from the fact that all the gods live here.

The ashram of Shiva, the most important main god in Hinduism, is in Kailash, which is the residence of Shiva, the place where he practices yoga, and the place where Shiva will stay forever from the top of the sacred mountain. Where the river leads into India. Tibetan Buddhism not only believes that Kailash is Mount Sumeru in the Buddhist classics, the holy land of Shengle Buddha; it also interprets the grooves on the mountain as the word "Swastika". Jainism originated in Kailash, because the founder of the religion, Mahavira, attained enlightenment here. His eldest son once led 19 brothers to become a monk and practice in Kailash; the 20th leader even led tens of thousands of believers in Here we practice hard and attain enlightenment. Mount Gangdise is also the origin of Bon religion and the legendary residence of 360 gods of Bon religion.

Believers believe that a pilgrimage to Kailash is a necessary wisdom for a successful life, just like Muslims' lifelong yearning for the holy city of Mecca.

Since 1982, my country has reopened the pilgrimage route for Indian official pilgrims to the Ali region of Tibet. By 2018, the number of pilgrims received in the Ali region has increased from the initial few hundred to more than 20,000.

It should be noted that the average altitude of the Holy Mountain and Holy Lake area is more than 4,500 meters, with significant temperature differences between morning and evening, strong winds and sand, and the extreme natural environment leads to slow vegetation growth and a very fragile ecological environment. At the same time, this area is also the "source of all water". The sources of all large water systems in the Indian subcontinent are in the huge area around Kailash: Maquan River is the source of the Brahmaputra River, Kongque River is the source of the Ganges, Xiangquan River, Shiquan River is the source of the Indus River. Therefore, our government and non-governmental organizations attach great importance to the environmental protection work in this area. In addition to prohibiting climbing and fixed entry restrictions, they also actively promote the improvement of relevant laws to further improve the protection conditions of Kailash and surrounding areas. .

The Sino-Indian border issue is complicated, and relations between the two countries have once again hit a freezing point this year. Chinese scholar Professor Qiu Yonghui proposed to study boundary issues from the perspective of religious culture based on the advantages of the "Sacred Mountains and Lakes" in the Ngari region, and actively play the coordinating role of religious culture and political culture. The author believes that although cultural exchanges and infiltration are difficult to achieve the immediate results of economic and trade, the influence of religious culture will be more profound and lasting.

We fully understand the desire of the Indian people for the sacred mountains and holy lakes, and we have tried our best to provide pilgrims with pilgrim conveniences. At the same time, we also hope that the Indian government can focus on the well-being of the people, actively coordinate border issues as soon as possible, and look forward to the pilgrimage to Kailash. It can further promote mutual understanding between the people of the two countries and maintain peace and development on the border!

References:

Qiu Yonghui. (2019). Sino-Indian border issues from a cultural perspective. South and Southeast Asia Studies, 000 (004), 1-19.

< p> Qin Yinghui. (2010). SWOT analysis of tourism development in the Ali Sacred Mountain and Holy Lake Tourist Area in Tibet. Contemporary Tourism: Academic Edition (1), 3-4.