Editing McMahon Line (section)

== British ambiguity (1915–1947) ==
[[File:BritishIndianEmpireandEnvirons2.jpg|thumb|right|Map of "The Indian Empire and surrounding countries", from ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', shows the "Outer line" as the boundary between the British India and the [[Qing Dynasty|Chinese Empire]].]]

Simla was initially rejected by the Government of India as incompatible with the 1907 [[Anglo-Russian Convention]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} C. U. Aitchison's ''A Collection of Treaties'', was published with a note stating that no binding agreement had been reached at Simla.<ref name="Lin">{{harvp|Lin, Boundary, sovereignty and imagination|2004}}</ref> The Anglo-Russian Convention was jointly renounced by Russia and Britain in 1921,<ref name="UK1921">"[http://www.freetibet.org/about/uk-relations-tibet UK relations with Tibet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505083246/http://freetibet.org/about/uk-relations-tibet |date=5 May 2012 }}"</ref>{{primary-source-inline|date=August 2020}} but the McMahon Line was forgotten until 1935, when interest was revived by civil service officer [[Olaf Caroe]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} The [[Survey of India]] published a map showing the McMahon Line as the official boundary in 1937.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} In 1938, the British published the Simla Accord in Aitchison's ''Treaties''.<ref name="Lin"/> A volume published earlier was recalled from libraries and replaced with a volume that includes the Simla Accord together with an editor's note stating that Tibet and Britain, but not China, accepted the agreement as binding.<ref>[http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Tibet/Schedule1914.htm Schedule of the Simla Convention, 1914] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912194623/http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Tibet/Schedule1914.htm |date=12 September 2006 }}</ref>{{primary-source-inline|date=August 2020}} The replacement volume has a false 1929 publication date.<ref name="Lin"/>

In April 1938, a small British force led by Captain G. S. Lightfoot arrived in Tawang and informed the monastery that the district was now Indian territory.{{sfnp|Goldstein|1991|p=307}} The Tibetan government protested and its authority was restored after Lightfoot's brief stay. The district remained in Tibetan hands until 1951. However, Lhasa raised no objection to British activity in other sectors of the McMahon Line. In 1944, the [[North-East Frontier Agency]] (NEFT) established direct administrative control for the entire area it was assigned, although Tibet soon regained authority in Tawang.<ref name="Maxwell"/>