DHARAMSHALA, AUGUST 16: The Tibetan Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay has said the Tibetan sweater sellers of today must uphold the ethical values in business maintained by the elder generation of Tibetan merchants over four decades.
The Tibetan PM was speaking at the 3rd general meeting of sweater sellers and suppliers of hosiery goods in Ludhiana today, organized jointly by three organizations – the Tibetan Refugee Traders’ Association (TFTA), Lala Tibetan Hosiery Association and Indo Tibetan Hosiery Association.
The Tibetan PM also said that the trust between the Tibetan buyers and Indian sellers built over the years based on honesty and integrity should not be broken. at all costs. He urged the Tibetans to continue this relationship based on a strong foundation rarely found in businesses elsewhere.
Sangay further said that Tibetan sweater sellers, many of whom are parents, that they must ensure that their children gets modern education as well as Tibetan tradition of virtuous behavior. “Education, dedication and efficiency are the three keys to a dynamic Tibetan society which is tiny in number in comparison to China’s 1.2 Billion population,” said Sangay.
The steep hike in sales tax over the years had hampered the profit margin of the sweater sellers who acquire loans from banks to invest in their seasonal business that has been the main source of income for the majority of the exile Tibetan population.
The Indian Lalas in Ludhiana and the Tibetan refugees have built up a good rapport between them that the latter can avail huge amount of orders on credit from the former.
The Tibetan sweater sellers fraternity was set up in 2006 to initiate works to promote sweater selling, relief assistance in cases of unforeseen calamities, enhance the collective bargaining clout of Tibetans, educate on taxation, and above all, link the unions of sweater sellers with the exile Tibetan administration.
Currently, there are over 80 Tibetan sweater sellers’ union across several states in India.
