By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, April 8: An academic symposium on the late Professor Dawa Norbu was held in the Indian capital yesterday with the participation of prominent academics and researchers alike. The JNU Tibet Forum, a students’ group within India’s premiere university, organized the second edition of the symposium.
The event was necessitated to open new discourses and perspectives on Tibet as an academic subject ranging from the political to the sociological to the cultural aspects besides independent works on range of geo-political issues and ideas. Participating in the proceedings were academics such as Prof. Tashi Rabgey, George Washington University and Dr Dibyesh Anand, Westminister University, Prof. Yeshi Choedon, JNU, Prof. Sangeeta Thapliyal, JNU, Prof. Bharati Puri, IIT, Dr. Tsering Chonzom Bhutia, JNU, Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, JNU, Rinzin Dorjee, Tibet Policy Institute, Tenzin Desel, TPI, among others.
Professor Tashi Rabgey from the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University in her key note speech regarded the late pioneer scholar as a rational and reasonable person whose contribution was beyond Tibetan studies. She says that despite Dawa Norbu’s being an intellect with many published work, “there is a huge lack of dissemination of Dawa Norbu works inside and outside Tibet.”
Dr Dibyesh Anand, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster, UK who chaired the valedictorian session remarked that young Tibetans should create a precedent of Tibetan knowledge being produced by Tibetans. “Much of the knowledge on Tibet has been produced by non-Tibetans. It is very important that young Tibetan scholars get inspired by Prof. Dawa Norbu and become active producers of knowledge on Tibet. This symposium is a good step in that direction,” he said.
Students from various colleges and Universities participated in the event. One such student from JNU, Amar Singh said, “It was a quite enlightening and an idea of transcending to a holistic view of society and academics while retaining one’s own identity, as represented by Prof. Dawa Norbu, is invaluable to the idea of self-determination.”
Prof. Dawa Norbu who passed away in 2006 was a foremost expert on Central Asian Politics and the leading voice on Tibetan affairs. Besides teaching at prestigious institutes such as San Francisco State University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, he was also the editor of the Tibetan Review, a monthly journal, from 1972 to 1976. His most notable works include Star over Tibet, Tibet: The Road Ahead, and China’s Tibet Policy.
