Tibet and the British Raj, 1904-47 : the influence of the Indian political department officers
Following Colonel Younghusband's Mission to Lhasa in 1903-04, officers selected by the Indian Political Department were stationed in Tibet under the command of the Political Officer Sikkim. This study examines aspects of the character, role and influence of these officers, whom I collectively term the 'Tibet cadre', and demonstrates that the cadre maintained a distinct collective identity and ethos, which was reflected in their approach to Anglo-Tibetan policies, and in the image of Tibet which resulted from the Anglo-Tibetan encounter. British India's northern frontier was the location for powerful imperial mythologies, such as the ~Great Game~, which were a part of cadre identity. Conditions on the frontier were believed to suit a particular type of individual, and officers of that type, capable of upholding British prestige while gaining an empathy with Tibet and Tibetans, were favoured for cadre service. A similar type of character was sought among the local intermediaries, the most successful of whom were given cadre postings. As frontiersmen following the traditions of Younghusband, their 'founding father', the cadre promoted 'forward' policies, designed to counter the perceived Russian threat to British
McKay, Alexander
History
Tibet and the British Raj, 1904-47 : the influence of the Indian political department officers. Following Colonel Younghusband's Mission to Lhasa in 1903-04, officers selected by the Indian Political Department were stationed in Tibet under the command of the Political Officer Sikkim. This study examines aspects of the character, role and influence of these officers, whom I collectively term the 'Tibet cadre', and demonstrates that the cadre maintained a distinct collective identity and ethos, which was reflected in their approach to Anglo-Tibetan policies, and in the image of Tibet which resulted from the Anglo-Tibetan encounter. British India's northern frontier was the location for powerful imperial mythologies, such as the ~Great Game~, which were a part of cadre identity. Conditions on the frontier were believed to suit a particular type of individual, and officers of that type, capable of upholding British prestige while gaining an empathy with Tibet and Tibetans, were favoured for cadre service. A similar type of character was sought among the local intermediaries, the most successful of whom were given cadre postings. As frontiersmen following the traditions of Younghusband, their 'founding father', the cadre promoted 'forward' policies, designed to counter the perceived Russian threat to British
tibet british raj influence indian political department officer following colonel mission officer select indian political department station tibet command political officer study_examines aspect character role influence officer collectively term tibet demonstrate maintain distinct collective_identity ethos reflect anglo tibetan policy image tibet result anglo tibetan encounter british_india northern_frontier location powerful imperial mythology great game part identity conditions frontier believe suit particular_type individual officer type capable uphold british prestige gain empathy tibet favour service similar type character seek among local intermediary successful give follow tradition founding father promote forward policy design counter perceive russian threat british