SUSPICIOUS CHINESE WHISPERS IN THE BORDERLAND

By Kajol Singh / Delhi

Used in the political sense, the term ‘Buddhist problem’ conjures up images of Sri Lanka. But India could well be sitting on an evolving problem on the other end of the map. A spurt in activities in Buddhist monasteries and caves strung along India’s border with Nepal and Bhutan has of late aroused suspicion and unease.


According to border experts, a potential new powder keg of espionage activity could be simmering in the corridor; such has been the buzz around these monasteries in recent times. Their extent and growth and the myriad happenings there of late have prompted a greater vigil on them.

They probably won’t be mentioned when the new Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, visits India in May on his first overseas tour. But suspected Chinese activities in these borderlands—camouflaged in the harmless garb of monastic spirituality, Mandarin studies, free FM radios and food-for-work aid—are not inspiring confidence in New Delhi.

So, just as Chinese officials here are working to ensure Li’s visit takes Sino-Indian ties to the next level, India’s internal security bosses have ordered an audit of sorts on the monasteries along India’s borders with Bhutan and Nepal. Through the audit—going on right now—the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is keen to detect/monitor who’s coming, who’s going and who’s funding all the toing and froing.

The MHA border security management wing has shot off “confidential” notes to its counterpart departments in West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh to keep them in the loop as intelligence officials unobtrusively gather information from the ground, with the assistance of the Sashastra Seema Bal and Border Security Force. The state governments too have been asked to give reports.

In the last three years, there has been a spurt in monastic activities around the borders and numerous Buddhist cave monasteries have sprung up. The fear is of espionage infiltration via such innocuous cover. Especially at a time when Chinese spy agencies seem to have revived this sector to full life after a period of lull.

Worryingly, Nepal has refused to curb or monitor activities found to be suspicious by India, sources said. A team of officials from West Bengal was sent to Kathmandu in January to solicit help for restraining food-for-work aid flowing into sensitive border areas from China. Not only did it yield no result, an official in the team claimed they were actually “snubbed.”

The MHA had set up the meeting in the fond hope that local-level interaction would help Nepal to quietly act on the inputs given by India. Often, high-level intervention from New Delhi has been found to be politically counter-productive for the unstable political dispensation in Kathmandu. But the strategy failed to take off as Nepal grew cold feet.

One spur for the audit, say sources, was an intelligence input on the sudden influx of Tibetan refugees from the Nepal side—around 400-500 in the last two quarters. It’s seen as curious because it occurred despite a crackdown on Buddhist refugees fleeing Tibet and entering Nepal through the remote Mustang sector, north-west of Kathmandu.

In cooperation with Chinese security forces, the Nepalese authorities have virtually made it impossible for Tibetans to cross over and find shelter, employment and asylum in Nepal as before. But India’s worries are different. Since the monasteries on the border work as stopover points for all Tibetan refugees coming into India, the detection of dubious elements among them is near-impossible. Intelligence reports hint at low-ranking Chinese army personnel and pro-China Buddhist monks being mingled with the Tibetan refugees.

Added to this is a larger ‘cultural’ phenomenon—the sudden rise of Mandarin speakers among the local population, thanks to Chinese-funded schools that have sprung up in Nepal and India’s own border districts. Though earlier seen as part of a normal globalising trend, views were slowly revised due to their scale of operations. Around 2002, senior lamas had made a representation to New Delhi seeking support to introduce Mandarin in monastery-run schools, so as to help Tibetans in their interactions with China. India, hoping for a beneficial spinoff, was well disposed towards it. Tibetan immigrants were hired as teachers after being duly security-screened.

Sources say at least 17 monasteries on the Indo-Bhutan border offer Mandarin as a course. “There are credible inputs that money for salary, books and infrastructure comes from China,” said MHA sources. A security audit is done on them periodically, yet there is unease. “It is not alarming yet, but we are worried about growing Chinese influence in some areas,” they added.

A recent intelligence report, part of which has been shared with the relevant states, suggests these easily available camouflages are being used by both Chinese and Pakistani espionage networks to set up shops in this sensitive region, which hosts the 33 Corps HQ at Sukna, north Bengal. The whole zone is also rich in potential for supply routes to the Indian Maoists.