By Nitin Gokhale
Western China, August 23 – To an outsider, China often appears as one monolithic Han Chinese majority country with a sprinkling of minorities spread along its border areas.
But in reality there are some 56 ethnic minorities, more than eight per cent of its over 1.4 billion population.
Stung by international criticism of its minority treatment, China is making a conscious effort to correct its past mistakes.
The Huis, as the Chinese Muslims are called, have an autonomous administrative set up of their own – much like the Tibetans.
Now the 20 million Islamic practitioners along with the 2.5 million Tibetans, are the focus of a new Chinese policy to uplift the minorities.
Religious freedom
In Linxia prefecture for instance, mosques incorporating traditional Chinese designs are coming up in almost every small hamlet.
Similarly, most Tibetans monasteries – both in and outside the Tibet Autonomous Region – function with more freedom than before, though a Chinese nominee is always hovering around in a key position to keep a close watch.
Chinese officials emphasise the special measures taken to bring development to minorities in many Tibetan-dominated areas.
The official administrative work is done in both Chinese and Tibetan and special schools to train Tibetan teachers are given preferential treatment. New facilities manufacturing traditional Tibetan medicines are now in growing demand.
“We give religious minority communities a lot of freedom. Officially, there is a special effort to protect and preserve their culture and their religion. Tibetan cultural relics are given special protection, monasteries get whatever help they want,” said an official.
In Tibet itself, there is a deliberate effort to install as many Tibetans at the highest levels of decision making as possible.
As China relentlessly marches towards becoming a dominant world power, internally it has launched a massive programme to uplift its minority communities like the Muslims and the Tibetans.
Clearly, China wants to be taken more seriously on the world stage.
