The countries of India and Nepal maintained a rare diplomatic and trade presence inside of Tibet during a critical turning point in Tibetan political history. As a result, Indian and Nepali diplomatic reporting, written from Tibet in the lead up to and following the invasion by the People's Liberation Army and the negotiation of the Seventeen Point Agreement (1951), became highly sought after by American and British officials, who lacked direct access to Tibet.
This Wilson Center Digital Archive resource consists of some of the monthly reports from the Indian Mission in Lhasa. These reports were apparently shared with the British Government, and then surreptitiously obtained by American diplomats in Calcutta and London, and are accessible (but often difficult to find) in scattered collections at the National Archives of the United Kingdom and the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland.
A smaller number of the reports, found in the National Archives of India, are also included here. The original Indian copies of these reports show that the versions received by the British and American governments were not always complete; occasionally, sections dealing with India's relations with Tibet were excised. Other reports written by Nepali representatives in Tibet, obtained by US diplomats, are also included.
