India–Tibet relations

Tibet–India relations are said to have begun during the spread of Buddhism to Tibet from India during the 6th century AD. During the Tibetan Empire, Tibet controlled the Silk road routes around and through the Tibetan plateau, and from Tang China to India's kingdoms. Their relations continued through the centuries and in c.1908 and 1912, India gave shelter to the 13th Dalai Lama during Qing China's failed invasion of Tibet, before the Qing collapsed and surrendered. India continued to support Tibet during the ROC China's Simla Accord. In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa to India after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when Tibet rescinded its Seventeen Point Agreement with PRC China. The Tibetan diaspora followed the Dalai Lama into India.

Since then, Tibetans-in-exile have been given asylum in India, with the Indian government accommodating them into 45 residential settlements across 10 states in the country, homes of the Tibetan diaspora. From around 150,000 Tibetan refugees in 2011, the number fell to 85,000 in 2018, according to government data. Many Tibetans are now leaving India to go back to Tibet and other countries such as United States or Germany. The Government of India, soon after India's independence in 1947, treated Tibet as a independent country. However, more recently India's policy on Tibet has been mindful of China, and has recognized Tibet as a part of China.