The Week India – July 14, 2019

34 THE WEEK • JULY 14, 2019

COVER STORY

THE DALAI LAMA

freedom to Manipur? It is better they

remain a part of the Union of India.

If India separates any part, it will be-

come weak. Today, this country is the

most populated democratic country

in the world. Th e recently concluded

general elections have demonstrated

that spirit of freedom, despite politi-

cal parties criticising each other.

But how can Tibetans expect China

to give them freedom to practise

their religion?

Th e reality of China is changing.

From being a socialist country,

China’s reality is very diff erent today.

Once I met Israel’s president Shi-

mon Peres, a Nobel laureate and a

staunch socialist. He expressed a

strong sympathetic feeling towards

China and, in some cases, was even

ready to defend it. After several years,

I met him in Jordan in 2009. I asked

him whether he still thought of China

as a socialist country. He said that

to totalitarianism. Chinese commu-

nists consider Lenin and Stalin as

their teachers. I think what both of

them learnt was totalitarian suppres-

sion. So, with time, communism will

also not survive. We must remember

that for any human being and coun-

try to develop, individual freedom is

very important. Th ere cannot be any

progress at the national level without

individual freedom because it ham-

pers creativity. So, [freedom] starts

from the individual to the national to

the international level.

You recently said US president

Donald Trump has a lack of moral

principle. Has egotism become a

dominant trait in world leaders

like Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi

Jinping?

I recently heard Russian president

Vladimir Putin saying that the west-

ern style of democracy has become

outdated. I do not know what he

exactly meant. But when Donald

Trump says “America First”, I feel it is

wrong. America has been the leading

nation of the free world. When we

talk of ego, it has a deeper meaning.

Generally, we see the entire human

evolution is [driven] with ego, else

THE RICH PEOPLE IN INDIA SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION TO

THE STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY AND TEXTS RATHER THAN

JUST UTTERING ‘RAM RAM’ AND DOING PUJA.

it was no longer a socialist country

and suff ered from the worst kind of

capitalism.

Is Buddhism compatible with

Marxism?

I have always admired original Marx-

ism. Karl Marx stood for workers’

rights and against exploitation. So, as

far as socio-economic theory is con-

cerned, I am a Marxist. But I think

it was Lenin who spoilt the original

and pure Marxism. With the Bolshe-

vik Revolution, Lenin became more

negative and militant, and empha-

sised ruthless suppression, which led