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The administration cancelled the first two expedition of the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra on Tuesday after China refused to accept pilgrims until June 21.The shortened yatra this time will have only one batch of pilgrims who will go away Delhi on June 13.While China cited “domestic reasons” for the delay, the real reason is the fact that it wants to keep the Tibet region free of foreigners until the Olympic torch has passed through the area — it’s scheduled to be in Tibet between June 19 and June 21.China is paranoid about letting nation into Tibet before the torch goes through, for fear of unrest or any incident. Both Mount Kailash and Mansarovar are positioned in the Tibet Autonomous Region, hence the Chinese reaction, said superior government sources.

In a statement, the MEA said, “The government of the People’s Republic of China conveyed to the ministry of external affairs that on explanation of domestic reasons they would not be in a position to receiv pilgrims before June 21, 2008.”The Chinese decision was made suddenly, because until May 7, India and China were get ready for the yatra starting on June 1. This was clarify by the MEA spokesperson on that day as well.But soon after, China started to say no visas to pilgrims which sparked speculation. This crystallised over the weekend, when India had to cancel the yatra.

The Chinese have been hit very poorly with Tibetan unrest during the Olympic torch relay and have taken the path of “abundant caution” in their dealings on Tibet.They have even told Nepal to stop treks to Mount Everest from their realm, which is also on a temporary stop. A Nepalese pass through which pilgrims can go to Tibet is also out of bounds this year, said government officials.While these actions actually rebound on China in terms of popular perception, but China believes — and it’s been stated by none less than Hu Jintao — that the Tibet unrest has become a sovereignty issue. Between bad PR and maintaining manage of Tibet, it’s a no-brainer about what is more important to the Chinese state.

The MEA spokesperson said India was trying to accommodate pilgrims in the earlier batches, but sources said this may not really be possible, given the huge demand for this trip.This year, 960 pilgrims were scheduled to go in 16 batches on the highly prized 26-day Kailash-Mansarovar yatra — the last batch is expected to go back on September 24. China has also told India to cut these batches down to eight from 16.The yearly yatra, which is arduous in nature, has been organised by MEA since 1981 under a bilateral arrangement between India and China. While the pilgrims are India’s responsibility, China has been facilitate them over the years, with message cover, etc.