The Snow Lion and the British Lion continues....

The Tibetans never accepted the 1861 arrangement between Sikkim and the British, whereby Sikkim became a British ‘Protectorate’, and continued to believe that Sikkim was their vassal, rather than that of the British. In fact, China’s refusal to formally accept Sikkim as a part of India even today stems from this very point.

There is certainly another perceptual problem also involved, which will be brought up in the chapter that examines the boundary problem with China. The Tibetans sent a force in the autumn of 1886 which built fortifications in Lungthu, on the southern side of the Jele
La (pass), which as per the Tibetan Government was part of Tibet, since they did not recognize the 1861 British India-Sikkim agreement. An ultimatum was sent by the British to the Tibetan commanders to vacate their fortifications and withdraw by March 15, 1888. A formal complaint was also sent through the Choegyal of Sikkim to both the Manchu court and to the Dalai Lama. The Manchu Government reply received after almost a year stated that there was no marked separation between Tibet and Sikkim, and that the Tibetans regarded the kingdom of Sikkim as an extension of Tibet. The Tibetan government separately reminded the Choegyal of Sikkim that Lungthu was part of Tibet, and thus Tibet was defending its own border.

In end-1887, the Sikkim Field Force of the British-Indian Bengal Army, over 2,000 strong, attacked and drove the Tibetans back over the Jelep La, pursued by the British force up to Yatung. Twice more, in May and September 1888, Tibetan troops returned across the Jelep La, being beaten back both times.

To be continued....