The Week India – July 14, 2019

28 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019

COVER STORY

THE DALAI LAMA

28 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019

and instal the Tibetan fl ag, then we

have stopped being Tibetan.”

Tsundue reminded us that Tibetans

were “warriors” who killed people,

occupied countries and extended

their empire right into the heart of

China. “China’s old capital Changán,

which is now called Xián, used to

be an occupied country under the

Tibetan emperor. At the height of the

Tibetan empire building, they gave

freedom to China and the Chinese

said they were happy in China and

the Tibetans were happy in Tibet.

By then Buddhism had come to

Tibet. We started understanding that

victory could only happen if you gain

victory over your anger, hatred and

greed. Th at made us Tibetan. Th e

danger posed by China is because

it is bringing double the population

of Tibet, twelve million Chinese, in

the place where there are only six

million Tibetans. So there is a danger

of physically decimating us just as

Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma

Gandhi. Th e spirit of Gandhi lives

even today, but the person died and

could not continue the work. So we

can always praise the spirit of the

Tibetan people, but what if you are

physically killed? Th at is the danger

we are fi ghting.”

And that is why Karma Gelek

Yuthok, the minister of the depart-

ment of religion and culture under

the CTA, is a worried man. “Although

Tibet is now with China, they fail

to think that Tibet is theirs,” he told

THE WEEK. “Since 2008, the Chinese

government has stopped the infl ow

of people from Tibet to China. What

is happening now in Tibetan monas-

tic centres is impossible to believe.

Th ey are removing the photos of the

traditional masters and putting up

pictures of the Chinese leaders and

those coming there to worship are

forced to worship those pictures.

Th ese monastic centres are becoming

just like military camps. Th ere was a

tradition of schoolchildren spending

some time in the monasteries. Now

they have restricted even that. Th ey

seem to be determined to fi nish Ti-

betan Buddhism, which is very sad.”

But there is a ray of hope. Th e Bud-

dhism preached by the Dalai Lama

is becoming a way of life for many

people across continents. While the

Tibetan population may be on a

decline in schools and monasteries,

about 60 per cent of the students

in several monastic institutions

across the country are Indians from

the border region—from Ladakh to

Arunachal Pradesh—and others from

the trans-Himalayan region. Th ey are

inheriting the Tibetan culture.”

Another ray of hope comes from

the Indian government. Th e Dalai

Lama described the India-Tibet

relationship as one of a guru and

a chela (follower), and it might be

time the guru does something for

the chela once again. At a time when

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

his team of security czars led by

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval

are fi rming up the Tibet policy for the

second term of the BJP government,

CTA president Lobsang Sangay, in an

interview with THE WEEK, made an

appeal to the Indian government to

make Tibet a core issue.

Th e Dalai Lama also reminded In-

dia why it could trust Tibet. “Tibetan

people have showed India that they

have kept its tradition safe, especially

at the time when British rulers ne-

glected it. So, we have showed India

that we are not only the chela, but the

most trusted and reliable chela.”

China, on the other hand, contin-

ues to distrust him. An offi cial who

was part of a delegation from Beijing

to New Delhi last week told THE

WEEK that the Dalai Lama cannot

hide his agenda as a separatist. He

also insisted that his reincarnation

would be cleared by the Chinese

government. He added that the Dalai

Lama had expressed his desire to go

back to his homeland several times,

but it would have to be done through

negotiations between the Chinese

government and the Dalai Lama.

“Th ere have been many rounds. But

he should give up separatist activities

fi rst,” he said. Th e Dalai Lama, for his

part, said that Chinese communism

would not last long.

What began as an independence

struggle has evolved into a mid-

dle-way approach for stability and

coexistence between the people of

Tibet and China. And the Dalai Lama

is fi rm on prioritising restoration of

“real freedom” through ahimsa and

karuna above everything else, even

over the human desire to return to

his homeland. “Let them (China) say

I am a separatist,” he said. “I will be

happy to live in India for the rest of

my life.”

DIVINE PRESENCE

The Dalai Lama with THE WEEK’s Senior

Special Correspondent Namrata Biji Ahuja