Title: "India is our
Guru!"
Author: Pritish Nandy
Publication: The Times
of India
Date: March 21, 2000
Q. Over forty years have
been gone by since you came here as a refugee, heading a Government-in-exile.
What do you see as the future of Tibet?
A. Very bad, if you
look at it in local terms. My people are in chains. There is environmental
havoc taking place. There is cultural genocide. Human rights violations
are taking place all the time. Repression of my people. Things are getting
worse arid worse out there in a sense.
At the same time, things
are very good, if you look at d in a global perspective. India, our strongest
neighbour, has been very good to us. There is great understanding and compassion,
amazing love. There is cultural synergy between our nations. India is the
bright light of hope that shines -- as one of our greatest writers said
-- to dispel the darkness that pervades our land.
Communism has collapsed
worldwide. Be it the Soviet Union -- the father of the Marxist state --
or the nations of Eastern Europe, they have all realised that totalitarianism
is a failure. It cannot survive. Repression must be replaced with freedom.
The old order has fallen. I am sure that a new, spirit of freedom will
pervade the rest of the world and we will move towards a more open, a more
democratic social order. Tibet waits for that day. I have been here for
41 years, waiting for that day.
Q. What is your view
on the coming of the young Karmapa to India?
A. He is a very fine
young boy. He has come to study here and, as long as the issue does not
get politicised, it is fine. India is a warm country. India is always open
to people to come to stay here. It welcomes everyone. That it its most
wonderful quality.
The problem is: Other
nations do not always see it in this light.
Q. Do you think that
considerations of trade with China will eventually force the Western nations
to ignore Tibet and the repression against your people?
A. Trade is very important
to Western nations, I agree. But how can they ignore human rights violations?
How can they ignore repression and cultural genocide? Even the mightiest
Marxists states have fallen because they did not listen to the voice of
the people. How can Tibet be ignored? It is not possible, Pritish.
Q. How do you see your
struggle for a Tibet evolving in the future?
A. Our own spirit today
is very strong. Unlike, say, what it was forty or fifty years ago. Our
struggle will continue. But strictly through non-violent means.
We are not seeking a
complete separation from China. We want only genuine autonomy. Self-rule
for the Tibetan people. In fact, more and more Chinese people today understand
and appreciate our point of view. More and more Chinese people are themselves
beginning to support us. They realise that for reasons of genuine stability
in the region, it makes sense for the People's Republic of China to give
us this autonomy. We are not going to break away. All we need is some degree
of freedom, some satisfaction. Up to now they have imposed their will on
us and used harsh methods and force. They have to realise that this will
not work.
We are your shishyas.
India is our guru. We believe in non-violent means to achieve our political
objectives.
Q. What do you feel about
the kind of international support that your movement has been able to drum
up in recent years? Is it strong? Is it adequate?
A. It is strong and,
what is more important, it is growing. In fact, it has grown very fast
in recent years. In France, Germany, England, Norway, many smaller nations.
Support to us is growing faster than we thought it would.
Q. But the free world's
trade with China is also growing?
A. You are referring
to America. But they have also appointed a special co-ordinator for Tibetan
issues in the State Department.
Q. But China still gets
Most Favoured Nation status In the US?
A. Yes, but there are
issues they have to satisfy. That is why the status is annually renewable.
It is not a continuing status. It is linked with issues of human rights.
For us, actually, the
most important relationship is with India. India has done a great deal
for us but it could have done more. It could have taken a stand on issues
that it stays clear of today. India's attitude towards China, I believe,
as well as its policy towards Tibet, is somewhat overcautious. That is
why the Chinese leadership may be thinking that they can bully India. That
is my feeling.
However, in recent months,
China appears to have realised the importance of India. That is why during
the Kargil crisis, despite the strongest efforts of Pakistan, China stayed
neutral. This is a clear indication that they have finally recognised the
importance of India. Maybe it is because India has now gone nuclear! That
is the sad part. No one understands your power unless you show it.
Q. So what do you expect
of India?
A. I would like India
to recognise Tibet as an autonomous region within the People's Republic
of China. That is not difficult to do. This can be done on the basis of
the 1914 Simla Convention in British India, which recognised Chinese suzerainty
over Tibet on the basis that China recognises Tibetan autonomy. India should
press for that. It should recognise China's suzerainty over Tibet and insist
that China must give us full autonomy.
You know why I said I
think that India is overcautious? It is because in 1987 and 1988 there
was a lot of tension in Tibet. Some Tibetan people were killed. Many were
injured. Lots of nations all over the world expressed their concern. But
India kept completely quiet. That was not necessary. I felt very sad. It
was not a political issue at all. It was a human rights issue and India
is always known for standing up on such matters. The whole world sympathised
with us, and India, which has otherwise done so much for us, chose to keep
quiet. It made me very, very sad.
India is such a bid country.
It is such a strong country. It is an upright country. It has done the
maximum for us Tibetans. Yet why is it not ready to stand up for us on
issues like human rights violations?
Q. What is, in your opinion,
India's most important contribution to your people other than giving you
refuge?
A. Teaching us the importance
of nonviolence and educating us. I remember Pandit Nehru telling me that
if the Tibetan struggle is to succeed, we must educate our young people.
We must teach them English. We must put them through school and college.
Only then can they take the message of a free Tibet worldwide. He was so
right.
The fact that the Tibetan
struggle is still alive and is, in fact, finding more and more supporters
worldwide, is exactly because of this. Because we listened to India, because
I listened to Pandit Nehru and encouraged young Tibetans to study and learn
and take our message over the world. Education has been the strongest force
in binding us all together in this struggle for autonomy and self realisation,
and I owe that to your country and They showed us the way.
