As prime minister, Indira Gandhi had to preserve that balance. The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community were allowed to remain rooted in India, with Dharamshala becoming the centre of Tibetan life in exile, but India also had to manage the larger consequences of its Tibet policy. That made her connection with him different from a purely personal association. It belonged to the complicated space where compassion, statecraft, refugee rehabilitation and regional diplomacy met.
