Joshua Yang: Does return of pilgrims to Tibet signal a thaw in China-India relations?

World’s two most popular countries have a fraught relationship

An Indian soldier sits atop an army vehicle during border tensions between China and India in 2020. Photo: AP

Joshua Yang
©Washington Post

A religious pilgrimage from India into China facilitated by both governments has resumed for the first time in five years – the latest sign of a cautious thaw in the contentious relationship between the world’s two most populous nations.

The first batch of Indian pilgrims taking part in the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra – named for the two Tibetan sacred sites the route ­traverses – left New Delhi on Sunday, June 15, and crossed the mountainous border into China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday.