New Delhi, June 23 – Friends of Tibet today successfully inaugrated the first ever conference for an Independent Tibet. Day one saw a packed hall of two hundred, listening intently to Rajeev Vora, a prominent Gandhian and founder of Swaraj Peeth, as he explained the true value of Tibet. “The struggle for an Independent Tibet is a search for truth. And, this struggle cannot be waged without testing our strength to test ourselves, question ourselves”. He inaugrated the Conference by unveiling the Shakabpa passport. This passport is the only surviving legal document proving Tibet’s Independence recognized internationally.
After him, another prominent Gandhian, Radha Bhatt, Chairperson fo the Gandhi Peace Foundation described the time when the borders between Uttarkhand, where she grew up, and Tibet was almost non-existent. Cross cultural exchange was constant and people felt free to move about the borders, Suddenly, the movement was as good as stopped, what with all the rigid rules and regulations. In Hindi she stated how “the need to free Tibet is also the need to free India, give me back the culture I grew up with.”
Earlier in the day, the delegate-members of the Conference visited Rajghat and began the sessions by saluting the contribution of Gandhi’s thought and practice to the non violent struggle being waged in and for Tibet. Sethu Das, President, Friends of Tibet gave the welcome speech, by raising questions like, “During the last two decades, some of the crucial questions concerning the Tibetan struggle have found no answers – What is the role played by the exiled Tibetan community and Tibet Support Groups worldwide in the movements? Is there an attempts from a power centre to divert people’s attention from the issue of occupation to some unrealistic issues? With no alternative thinking, does the debate on Tibet remain merely at an intellectual level, without leading to any conclusion?”
‘Tibet of Our Minds: A Journey’s End’, an audio-visual presentation by Vijay Crishna was the next session. Armed with an exhaustive slideshow of images which historically documented the changing nature of Tibet, Vijay Crishna spoke at length about the way Tibet has been seen by the outside world, how the chinese colonization is leaving its imprints on the people,culture, water and soil.
The afternoon session had Lhasang Tsering, former President of the Tibetan Youth Congress deplore the Middle Way approach of the Dalai Lama, which seeks genuine autonomy within China. “Where is the need for China to talk to a bunch of refugees? The Strassbourg Resolution of 1988 has divided the Tibetans, it has confused them and we are still thinking about which path to follow, when time is running out for Tibet.” He also mentioned how “there is a certain loss of a pain with death”, but if today, Tibet is lost, it would mean peril for India. Even while thanking India for the support it has been showing since 1959, he warns India of the scenario in which it shares a permanent border with China. “I want to take one step forward, even if it is wrong.”
Lawrence Liang, Legal Researcher of Alternative Law Forum, Banglore started his talk on a very personal note. “My parents are chinese who ran a noodle shop in Banglore and Tibetans would visit the shop often and ask me whether I was Tibetan or not. I have been to Dharamsala and met some Tibetans who had crossed over. I was often asked the question, “Gyami re?” and I would answer “Gyagar Gyami”. He then contextualized Tibet’s right to self determination in a time when the concept of nation state itself is contested. He explained how there is growing gap between the real world of International Relations and normative world of International Law. The Tibetan claim to nationhood falls in this gap. The international community has weakend Tibet’s case by recognizing China’s defacto sovereignty over Tibet as de jure sovereignty. The Dalai Lama’s stand of seeking autonomy further hurts Tibet’s case as it was a move from reclaiming the right to external sovereignty to internal self determination.
The first day of the conference thus tried to understand Tibet’s case for Independence through a varied lens. It was able to expand the various possibilities which have remained un talked about till now.
