[Save Tibet to Save India]
After the successful completion of the First Phase of Bharat Jagran Yatra, Tibet awareness programs covering more than 1500 Indian villages and major Indian cities in March 2003. Tibetan Youth Congress is now launching the Second Phase of Tibet Awareness Program targeting at different colleges and universities all over India. The Second Phase of the Awareness Program will be starting on 24th November 2003 from South India covering (Dharwad, Kerala, Chennai, Goa, Ooty, Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hydrabad, Vijaywada, Pune and Mumbai) as phase II and will further continue to cover Indian colleges and universities in North-East and North India. This program includes the introduction of Tibet issue, talk on Tibet and India’s Security, distribution of documents, documentary shows on Tibet and interaction between Tibetans and Indian students.
Why Indian Colleges and Universities?
The Millions of Indian students in thousands of colleges in India are not only the source of future leader of India but also a source of great friends and supporters of Tibetan Freedom Struggle. The slogan “SAVE TIBET to SAVE INDIA” is becoming louder among Indian intellectuals day by day and individual colleges have themselves approached TYC to organise program to highlight Tibet issue among the Indian students at National level. Although it is an Everest task to cover each and every colleges and universities in India but effort must be made to reach as many Indian colleges and universities.
Phase II of Tibet awareness program is directed towards reaching Indian student community to inculcate a sense of responsibility towards Tibet’s issue by enticing their attention upon the present happening in Tibet and its repercussion on India’s security. That India has everything to gain by supporting the struggle for a free Tibet. And it is only fitting for the largest democratically, militarily and morally and spiritually strong nation like India to review its policy on Tibet in tune with its national interest.
Why Tibet Awareness Program?
TIBET AND INDIA
Tibet was an independent country in fact and Law for almost two thousand years before Chinese invaded Tibet in 1949. For centuries, Tibet served as an effective buffer zone between India and China. In a Lok Sabha debate on May 8, 1959, Acharya Kirpalani stated “we are intimately concerned because China has destroyed a buffer state”. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while discussing on Panchsheel Agreement with China in the Parliament wished that India should have accorded this recognition to Tibet and that there will be no Sino-Indian border conflict. With the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, Indian troops and Chinese troops faced each other on the border for the first time in history. The first ever-bloody war between the two countries was fought in 1962. When Tibet was free, India had only some 1500 personnel to police its long border with Tibet. Today India is estimated to be spending about 65 crore rupees every day to guard the same border against over 400,000 Chinese troops stationed on the border. For the first time in the history, there was a rupture in the cultural and religious ties between Tibet and India after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Indians could not go to sacred Mansorowar Lake and to Mount Kailash and Tibetans in Tibet could no longer visit Bodhgaya, Sanchi, Sarnath and various sacred places in India.
MILITARIZATION OF TIBET
George Ginsburg and Michael Mathos said “he who hold the Himalayan pied-mont threatens the Indian Subcontinent; and he who threatens the Indian Subcontinent may well have all of southeast Asia within its reach, and all of Asia”. China has turned Tibet into a vast military zone. The militarization of Tibet profoundly effects the geopolitical balance of the region and causes serious international tension, particularly in the Indian Subcontinent.
Today, Chinese military presence in Tibet includes:
- 300,000 to 500,000 troops along the Indian border.
- 17 secret radar stations
- 14 military airfields
- 5 missile bases
- 8 ICBM’s, Intercontinental Billastic missiles
- 70 medium range missiles
- 20 Inter-mediate range missile
95% of the missiles of China are only capable of hitting targets around the border of China. Besides, China utilises Tibet for chemical warfare exercise, dumping nuclear waste from other countries on payment of huge sum of money.
RAILWAY PROJECT IN TIBET & ITS IMPACT ON INDIA
On 29th June 2001, China launched its 1118-km Railway Project in Tibet connecting Gormo to Lhasa. Political and military considerations are the key factor in China’s determination to construct the rail link to Lhasa, 600 km from Kolkata. An Indian Scholar Dr. Subhash Kapila said that the arrival of the railway in Lhasa, Tibet; would at least double China’s military deployment in Tibet and could increase the deployment of China’s airforce and missiles. Completion of the Dali-Nyingtri-Lhasa railway project, which would run close to India’s Northeast states and Sikkim, this along with China’s naval base on Burma will pose serious threat to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Completion of the railway projects will flood the Indian markets with Chinese made cheap goods which will force many of Indian cottage industries, small scale industries and medium scale industries to close down.
CHINA’S POLICY ON INDIA
China’s ambition?
In the words of the Chinese President, China’s primary ambition is to be a world power second to none, but more importantly, it wants to be the unparalleled power in Asia with no real competitor. China uses North Korea against Japan and Pakistan against India. China was able to procure a number of sensitive technologies from the Russian market including cruise missile technology. They are becoming more arrogant and threatening towards her neighbours in terms of their nuclear strategy. For them the nuclear shield is central to their ambition to be a great power. China’s military strategy is to seek hegemony in Southeast Asia, contain India, control the India’s neighbouring states and be a military power.
HOW CHINA LOOKS AT INDIA?
China looks at India as an unfriendly state and only obstacle on the way to China’s ambition to become hegemony in Southeast Asia. 95% of the missiles in China today are only capable of hitting targets around the borders of China. China is the only country in the world engaged in nuclear proliferation as an instrumental policy. It has sold nuclear technology to host countries including Pakistan. China follows a policy of containment and engagement against India. Since 1988, fourteen rounds of border talks have been held between India and China but China has never shown genuine interest to solve and settle the border issue. Ever since the process began, Pakistan began receiving more assistance from China. The first missile transferred to Pakistan by China was in 1988. The nuclear reactor was build by China for Pakistan in 1990’s, when India was signing agreement with China.
We appeal to the Government and the people of India:
- We appeal to the Indian people to convince their MLAs to take up the issue of Tibet in their respective legislative assembly.
- We appeal to the Government of India, NGO’s, Institutions and Human rights groups to intervene and pressure the Chinese government to release the 11th Panchen Lama and other political prisoners of conscience; to halt the death sentence and unfair trial imposed to Tulku Tenzin Delek.
- We humbly appeal all the members of parliament to raise the issue of Tibet in the Indian Parliament.
- We appeal to the Indian government to recognise the Tibetan Government in Exile (TGIE) as the legitimate representative of Tibet.
Contact Person: Dolma Choephel (Joint Secretary)
Mb no. 09845884793
(South India) Gadong Jigme (Inforamtion Sec)
Mb no. 09816083228
Tibetan Youth Congress (Head Office)
Tsultrim Dorjee (Gen. Secretary)
Off: 01892-221554,221239
Res: 01892-220722
Fax: 01892-221849
E-mail: tyc@vsnl.com
For update visit at www.tibetanyouthcongress.org
