By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Aug 20: The All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) will urge the Indian government to confer the prestigious Bharat Ratna award for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with a Parliament session to be addressed by him. Sikkim Democratic Front’s Rajya Sabha MP Hishey Lachungpa proposed a petition by the MPs seeking the Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama. The forum has decided to also urge all the MPs to address and resolve the ongoing issues faced by Tibetans living in India.
The forum met earlier this month where convener Sujeet Kumar expressed his objection to “the intervention of the Chinese Communist regime in the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,” highlighting that only the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people have the right to choose in the matter. According to the minutes of the meeting acquired by the Indian Express, senior BJP leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi proposed a bill on the lines of the ‘Tibetan Policy Support Act’ that was passed in the US.
Most importantly, MP Kumar has prepared a Private Member’s Bill seeking a Tibet Policy Act, which requests the government to appoint a special coordinator within the Ministry of External Affairs for Tibet-related issues, in order to promote “substantive dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and his representatives or democratically-elected leaders of the Tibetan community, among other things”, according to the Indian Express report.
The bill opposes any move made by the Chinese government to interfere in succession of any Buddhist leaders; the Tibetans are entitled to “select, educate, and venerate Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders in a manner inconsistent with Tibetan Buddhism in which the succession or identification of Tibetan Buddhist lamas, including the Dalai Lama.” The bill also seeks government funding, not less than 3 million, in the Union Budget to assist Tibetans with the democratic governance undertaking in India.
APIPFT was revived last year and attended a dinner hosted by the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in December, which the Chinese embassy denounced as colluding with “Tibetan independent forces”. At the Time, BJP MP Kumar responded by citing democratic values, “Let them react… The Chinese Embassy has no locus standi to oppose, because we are MPs in a democratic country. We have every right to pass resolutions and the Chinese Embassy does not have to tell us what to do.” The members of the forum also have plans to participate in the Tibetan Democracy Day celebrations next month.
Tibet will be forever grateful to Indian people, whether the Government will offer Bharat Ratna to His Holiness the 14 Dalai Lama or not. His Holiness has been been the voice of India to the world. Buddhism is now worldwide religion and has benefitted countless beings in this challenging period. For Tibetans, awarding Bharat Rathna to His Holiness, it will seal the love of Indian brothers and sisters to Tibetans and Tibet.
There is overwhelming support among the Indian public to award the Dalai Lama with the Bharat Ratna but the Indian Government has no spine to do so. It is beholden to the CCP since the Chinese occupied Tibet and India and China shared Tibet’s border. All through out the seven odd decades, India has firmly stood by the aggressor, communist China and never with the victim Tibet. Today, it is standing with the aggressor Russia and not with Ukraine, the victim. History is repeating itself! India is complicit in the occupation of Tibet by recognising fictional Chinese claims over Tibet. While Tibetans are grateful for giving asylum to the Dalai Lama and eighty thousand Tibetan refugees in the aftermath of the brutal occupation of Tibet by communist China, I for one feel bitter about India’s unpardonable cowardice in accepting Chinese devious claims over Tibet.
It beggars belief that the Indian leaders were so myopic and out of touch with reality that they could not see the severe security threat communist China would pose if Tibet was allowed to be gobbled by China!!! The British with all their devious ways never accepted Chinese sovereignty over Tibet! They always kept Czarist Russia and China out of Tibet in order to ensure the security of India. They had a keen sense of geopolitical ramifications. Alas! The Indian leaders at the time were totally delusional and totally ignorant of the strategic importance of Tibet to India! Nehru was consistent in projecting the view that he attached great importance to India and China friendship which he thought was important not only for Asia but to the world. Nehru’s attitude towards China was naive at best and down right foolish in reality! He had said, “whatever may be the ultimate for Tibet in relation to China, I think there is practically no chance of any military danger to India arising from any possible change in Tibet”!!! This was in direct contrast to Sardar Patel’s letter to Nehru stating, “China’s occupation of Tibet posed direct threat to India”! Besides another Indian diplomat Harishwar Dayal pointed out that the “occupation or domination of Tibet by a potentially hostile and possibly aggressive communist power would be threat to the security of India”. Nehru ignored all these warnings to India’s peril!
According to declassified documents, the Americans were willing to help India if it would agree to take action to maintain Tibet’s status as a fully independent nation. At a private dinner conversation, American Ambassador to India Dean Atkinson said the US was willing to assist in any way possible referring to the development in Tibet. Nehru rejected the offer saying that the “US could be most helpful by doing nothing and saying little just now”!!! Nehru allowed his distrust of America and his misapplication of so called non-alignment to blind his judgement.
This is how India let Tibet down and today it is experiencing the result of its unforgivable sin it committed in relation to Tibet. It is reaping the consequences of its foolhardy Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai romance!
The Dalai Lama is a shinning example of non-violence (ahimsa) and a apostle of world peace and religious harmony among the many faiths of the world. There are very few people if any who is more deserving of such an accolade as Bharat Ratna than the Dalai Lama. But has the Indian Government got the guts to award him this prestigious prize? If the actions of the Indian Government to date are anything to go by, unfortunately, it is unlikely! If PM Modi is too frightened to meet the Dalai Lama in person as the Leader of the Republic of India, despite boasting of an independent foreign policy; awarding the Dalai Lama with Bharat Ratna is beyond the pale of human endeavour in the present highly charged geopolitical tussle between the two gladiators and only a Devine intervention has the chance to make it happen!
I agree whole heartedly with your well worded and educated observation of the China India relation vis-a vis Tibet. Nehru’s short sightedness back then is what India is paying Billions each week around the northern border where there never existed any military personal prior to China’s occupation of Tibet.