H. Dayal, India’s political officer in Sikkim, advised the government in New Delhi that once the Communist armies had occupied Tibet, it would encourage them to press their country’s long-standing claims to portions of Assam and revive pretentions to suzerainty over the Himalayan states. Dayal went on to add that it might also be too late then to negotiate with the Chinese on Indian interests there, and that even the continuance of the Indian Mission in Lhasa would come into question. 10 However, in New Delhi, a different set of considerations dictated India’s policy.
