Nathu La: 'Prime Minister Nehru is a Boddhisattva'
When the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama came to India on the occasion of the 2500th birth anniversary of the Buddha in December 1956, they travelled with their large entourage via the Chumbi Valley.
The Dalai Lama (in image) remembers that a few kilometres before the pass, Chinese General Tin Ming-yi, who had accompanied him from Lhasa, bade farewell: 'He seemed genuinely sorry to see me go. I think that he was convinced that my life was in danger from foreign imperialists, spies, revanchists and all the other demons in the Communist pantheon, adding that I must explain to any foreign reactionaries I met all about Tibet's great progress since 'Liberation'. With that I turned to mount my pony and began the long trek up into the mists.'
The Tibetan leader still recalls when he crossed the path: 'At the top of the Nathu pass there stood a large cairn set about with colourful prayer flags. As is the custom, we each added a stone to the cairn and shouted out, "Lha Gyal Lo!" (Victory to the gods!), at the top of our voices before beginning the descent into the Kingdom of Sikkim.'
From the border, he was escorted down to a small settlement on the edge of Lake Tsongo, where the party spent the night: 'It was by now very dark and cold and snow lay deep on the ground.'
The next day, he was in Gangtok; his first Indian tour had begun.
In September 1958, Nehru had to pay a State visit to Bhutan. The day before he departed, he wrote to the chief ministers: 'Tomorrow I proceed on my way to Bhutan, crossing the Nathu La, the pass which leads to the Tibetan plateau. It is over 14,000 feet above sea level and from it one descends to Tibet. There are various routes to Tibet from India, but, till now, the easiest route to Paro, the summer capital of Bhutan, goes from the Nathu La and crosses a small corner of Tibet. Thus, I shall have a brief glimpse of Tibet.'
Apa Pant accompanied him: 'The route crosses the same pass and the Tibetan salient where the Rimpoche has his monastery. We arranged to halt there and I sent word for the weather. It rained in Sikkim before we left, and during the journey up to the Nathu La, but we crossed into bright sunshine in Tibet.'
When the prime minister's party reached the monastery, Pant began to thank the Rinpoche for the good weather. The lama answered: 'This time, I did not have to pray or go through the rituals. Prime Minister Nehru is a Boddhisattva. He brings his own good weather with him.'
Six months later, following the uprising of the Tibetan people in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama fled his homeland and sought refuge in India.
Nathu La was too well-guarded, so His Holiness entered India through Tawang district of the then North East Frontier Agency, now known as Arunachal Pradesh.
It was the beginning of a new life for the Tibetan spiritual leader who celebrates his 71th birthday (including 47 years in exile), today, July 6.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Also see: China & India: Future friends?