The recent landmark meeting of the US Secretary of the State, Antony Blinken, with the representative of the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, New Delhi, Ngodup Dongchung, and also with Geshe Dorji Damdul, the Director of the Tibet House, Delhi, has restrengthened Tibetans’ trust in the continued support from the United States. Geshe was reportedly also invited to a separate meeting chaired by Ambassador Atul Keshap, Charge d’ Affairs, US Embassy, New Delhi.
In the past, the first and open official international support for the Tibetan political cause came in 1987, when members of the US Congress attached a resolution to a State Department authorisation Bill condemning the deplorable human rights violations in Tibet. It was later adopted by the House of Representatives on June 18, 1987.
In 2020, the US Congress passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act, which has further strengthened the US commitment towards the cause of Tibet. The meetings also conveyed a strong message to China about the US’s commitment to democratic values and its call for the rights of Tibetans to choose the successor to the Dalai Lama. In the joint press conference by the US and India, the camaraderie between the two Ministers was conspicuous. Beyond the press conference, too, the relationship between India and the US is getting strengthened since the conclusion of Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) in 2005. For the past few years, the relationship between the US and India has been strengthening.