By Tenzin Tsundue*
TEHELKA April 9 2005
Tibet means Dalai Lama and that teenager who escaped from Tibet we saw on TV Karmapa? Tibet is Kailash Manasarover; hey, why can’t we go to our Kailash Parvath, our Shiv-ji’s abode? Who are these Chinky people? Nepalis? North-East? No, they’re ching-chong-ping-pong; Jackie Chan people.
India has no idea who we are are. Anyway, we all look the same to them! When Nehru was asked about a region of Ladakh needing security, he dismissively said: Not a blade of grass grows there. Today China has roads crossing that Indian territory forming a military corridor to Pakistan, while India remains clueless about the topography.
‘These pahadis’ is an all-inclusive term for Himalayan dwellers, from Ladakh through Lahaul-Spiti, Gharwal, Northern UP, your favourite hill stations, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and your new state Sikkim, the 1962 China-attacked Tawang to the tip of Arunachal, millions of people of different languages and cultures!
That’s why political issues like Bodoland, the North-East insurgency and the Pareechoo lake in Himachal remain mysteries beyond Indian understanding. Tibet is one such issue. Invaded by China in 1949, since then the People’s Republic of China has moved into the Himalayan region and has become India’s new neighbour. Since 1959, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees have been living in India.
Today there are more than 1,30,000 of us surviving here in 30 refugee camps. Tibetan youngsters study in about 100 Tibetan schools, and more than 400 monasteries and cultural centres have been built in India. There is even a contingent of about 5,000 Tibetan soldiers serving in the Indian army, manning the Siachin Glacier frontiers.
Recently Tibet resurfaced on the front page of national dailies; His Holiness the Dalai Lama announced that he is willing to make Tibet a part of China. This compromise, seen as a selling out came as a shock to the Indian public. Many Indians expressed disappointment with the Dalai Lama’s decision. We had to cancel a Tibet campaign programme to be held in Mumbai because Tibet Supporters said, What is the point in doing this when Tibet is going to be a part of China?
Last year, when a similar statement was made and broadcast on an Indian news channel I was in Pune for campaign work. The landlord of the house where I was to stay took the news too seriously. Labeling me a ‘Chinese, he threw me out of the house.
For the Tibetan community this compromise does not come as a shock. We have been seeing signs of real politik since the late1980s when the Dalai Lama began giving up on Independence. And even though there are people who think differently, no Tibetan would protest against the Dalai Lama. Rather, his people stop thinking and fall at his feet in faith.
The Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way Policy’ seeking ‘Genuine Autonomy’ is an effort to find a compromise between two extremes: China’s claim that Tibet is and always has been a part of China, and Tibet’s demand for Independence. The Dalai Lama now asks for the traditional three provinces of Tibet to be one political entity wherein Tibetans can have self-rule without having to separate from China, while China retains foreign policy on the lines of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ granted to Hong Kong.
The objective is to find a quick solution and stop further deterioration of the situation inside Tibet particularly the huge influx of Chinese; we are already a minority in our own country. But the criticism of the policy is that it’s too idealistic while Beijing still demands from the Dalai Lama an unequivocal acceptance that Tibet has been a part of China. This no one can agree to no, not even the Fourteenth Dalai Lama even if China is promising autonomy for Tibet in exchange.
On his search for ‘Genuine Autonomy’, the Dalai Lama doesn’t go unopposed in the Tibetan community. There are many Tibetans especially among the youth who stand strongly for Independence. The Tibetan Youth Congress, the biggest NGO with 20,000 members in 77 chapters all over world, makes its goal of Independence clear to His Holiness. There is, however, pressure from elders to conform to the line of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
The younger generation of Tibetans is the promise of a New Tibet. The youngsters educated in India and abroad are emerging with new skills and professionalism. Beyond their trendy looks in jeans and sneakers, this new tribe still respects the Dalai Lama, but their faith is not blind to political reality.
Beyond the mountains Beijing created the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 and therein the real Tibet is preserved. ‘Overseas Tibetans’, including the Dalai Lama, are welcome to return to The Motherland. Inside Tibet the majority six millions are the final voice of our nation. They have resisted the occupation for 50 years. Today they still risk their lives for Independence.
Can we in exile make such historic decisions compromising on Independence on their behalf? Can we take their faith in His Holiness granted?
I am a second generation Tibetan born and brought up in India as any Indian student. We grew up with stories of freedom struggle and the wonderful dream of a free Tibet. Today when we are grown up, educated and willing to work the goal posts are being shifted. I can never think of being party to the corrupt Communist China. I studied the Bhagavad Geeta, my karma yoga is to fight for an independent, free, liberated, Tibet while my guru His Holiness the Dalai Lama preaches a compromise with China.
I am excited that in few days China’s Prime Minister is to visit India with a huge business team. For me he is the head of Communist China, which invaded my country and continues to rule it with tyranny. Why else do more than 3,000 Tibetans escape to India every year, running from Chinese persecution?
Now is the time to protest China’s occupation of Tibet directly to Wen Jiabao. Lathi-charges, jail, long drawn-out court cases, I am ready to face everything, but I will not keep silent.
This may throw up problems between China and India in their newfound Hindi-Chini-Bhai-Bhai. Business ties are one thing, but we cannot pretend that Tibet is not there. Unless the Tibet Issue is not resolved no long-lasting relationship is possible between the two nations. In the name of newfound friendship over business and trade ties, why are China and India are trying to bury the Issue of Tibet?
If India doesn’t protect her territorial interests, Tibet may soon become a bone of contention between India and China as Nepal is today. Tibet depends on India and with India’s blessings the dream of a Free Tibet is still alive.
But Beijing is enticing and tempting the Dalai Lama with an autonomy package. Its implementation would make the 4,200- km long Himalayan border cancerous for India with China as her permanent neighbour beyond the Himalayas.
*Tenzin Tsundue is a poet and activist for Free Tibet. He won the first Outlook-Picador prize for non-fiction writing. He can be contacted at tentsudue@hotmail.com
