For the past few weeks, there was a flood of columns and opinions on the existence as well as the non-existence of the Tibet card on the diplomatic table of India. From all the arguments, one thing that becomes quite clear is about the relevance of the Tibet issue in India-China relations.
During the era of the Great Game, the use of Tibet as a card by British India during the Shimla Conference in 1914 strengthened the position of Tibet as a buffer state between British India, Czarist Russia and China. Hence, till the departure of British colonial government from India, there was hardly any event leading the two nations to face each other. This event led to the birth of the Tibet card and also ensured British India’s security from the Russian empire and China. After the British colonial exit, India naturally became successor of the Simla Agreement. Militarily, the independent India was no match for China and hence, in order to maintain friendly relations with new China, India decided to relinquish her extra-territorial rights in Tibet, leading to the disappearance of Tibet as a buffer state.[Source]