Kailash is the abode of Shiva and the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage is dream come true for most Hindus. Unfortunately it lies in Tibet, which is now a part of China.
Mixing politics with religion is undesirable but it inevitably happens. Religion affects an overwhelmingly large number of people and politicians cannot resist the temptation to manipulate the masses or to score brownie points using religion. The latest case is China’s refusal to issue visas to Hindus who wanted to visit Kailash Mansarovar this summer.
Mount Kailash is where Shiva resides. This mountain lies on the shore of the equally holy Mansarovar Lake. Since these sites lie high in the Himalayas they can be visited only in summer. Every year 12,000 Hindus make this pilgrimage in batches. Kailash and Mansarovar lie in Tibet, which was annexed by China in the 1960s and subsequently has been recognized by the international community as a part of China. Therefore China has to issue visas to the Hindu pilgrims, which it has been doing in the first week of April for many years. This year. However, it has refused to issue visas.
The official reason is that the Chinese office that processes the visas is situated in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Due to the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in April the office had to be closed and then came the scheduled holiday time. So visas could not be processed. But the real reason is that China feels that India is sympathetic to the Tibetan cause and is retaliating in a show of strength. China has always had an axe to grind because India offered sanctuary to the Dalai Lama, the head of the Tibetan Buddhists. Now it is accusing India of severely curtailing the Olympic torch relay and not giving it the media publicity that China desired. It is also accusing India of not being severe enough with the Tibetans who organized peaceful protests against the Chinese government.
