What is the Tibetan Question"? This controversy is raising the eyebrows of many people in the world. The Tibet Question is simply this: does Tibet have the right to be independent? The Chinese believe that they have the right to call Tibet part of China, but the Tibetan people desire independence and want to be considered their own country. The question of Tibet's country status is a conflict about nationalism and control of territory; about who rules it, who lives there, and who decides what goes on there. In order to understand the problem in Tibet, we would have to learn some things about it's history, especially with the Mongols. Also, we need to understand the consequences of the Chinese military invasion and occupation in Tibet. .
Tibet's desire for independence from China dates back to the thirteenth century during the Mongolian Empire. While people actively debate over this controversy, examination of the relationships between the Mongols, Tibet, and China makes it quite evident that Tibet is not part of China. Tibet is a rightfully independent nation that was never inherited by China from the Mongols. .
The relationship between the Mongols and Tibet was unlike that of subject and ruler. Tibet was not conquered by the Mongols as other nations were. Genghis Khan was conquering form country to country and the leading nobles and abbots of Tibet feared they would be next. They made an offer of submission and accepted Mongol over-lordship; however, Genghis didn't exercise his authority over the Tibetans. Since the Mongols were fascinated by the Sakya sect of Buddhism, they appointed Sakya Pandita, the most important Tibetan Lama of the Genghis era, to be in charge in Tibet (Richardson, 33). Tibet was not any ordinary Mongol territory, but was, instead, an ally nation to the Mongols. Meanwhile, the relationship shared by the Mongols and China were quite different from the one between the Mongols and Tibet China was clearly subordinate to the Mongols.
