India, Jan. 6 -- Tibet is one of the clearest cases of how China's frontier regions lost the autonomy they were once expected to have. For decades before 1950, Tibet functioned largely outside direct Chinese control. Its political authority, religious life, and social systems were shaped locally, not from Beijing. What followed the entry of Chinese troops changed this situation completely.

After the Qing dynasty collapsed in 1911, China struggled to rebuild itself as a republic. Power in Beijing was weak, and control over distant regions was uneven. During this period, Tibet managed its own affairs.It ran its own administration, collected taxes, maintained order, and handled religious and political matters internally.

Chinese officials ...