Olympic torch in India and Tibet protests

India does have a delicate balancing act in the whole Tibetan - China issue that is right now taking the world's center stage. While justice demands that we strongly oppose the cultural annihilation of Tibet being conducted by China, real politic demands that the government conducts itself with India's best interest in mind and not being guided by emotions.
That said as a genuine democracy India must not repress any peaceful protest against China or the Olympic torch. Democracy as the most participative of the current political systems needs to emerge a winner here. So all the security and all being planned for the torch relay into India is fine, let no harm come to the torch that is a symbol of human athletic achievements.
At the same time nothing should stop us from letting peaceful protests happen in background. What is the harm is allowing black armbands? Or people staging plays depicting the concern in the backdrop of a torch and our TV covering it? Will China like it? Of course not. But so long as the torch is not harmed we must be firm. No one respects a lap dog, a lesson many of our senior politicians and powers to be will do well to realize. Yes China will fret and fume and that is their right. And it is our right to show how a competent democracy works and how people are free to do their will in India so long as they do it peacefully,.
China will respect a confident India and not a groveling India.