By Sherab Woser
When His Holiness recently declared that he was losing faith in the Chinese government, almost every one went crazy. Our exile-government offices rolled out press releases, speeches and interviews to make the statement sound better to Chinese ears, including at times certain glaring misinterpretations. The international press devoured onto it like hungry wolves and have followed its smell to the special meeting going on in Dharamshala. Governments began to contemplate ‘what if’ and the British known for their eccentrics came out with a lengthy discourse repeating that they don’t support Tibet’s demand for independence. But the craziest was perhaps the Chinese government. Until now it would have been stupid for anyone to imagine the Chinese government holding an exclusive press conference on the current dialogue process between Tibet and China, let alone committing to the continuation of the win-win dialogue process for them. Although the Vice-Minister of the United Front Work Department had nothing pleasant to say but they did it – they won the crazy prize.
The only person who seemed composed was His Holiness The Dalai Lama. For my limited knowledge of history, His Holiness had earlier also, at least once lost complete faith in the Chinese government as a result of which we escaped into exile. I don’t know what miracles did China perform to earn that faith back but we know for certain what China has done to lose it, once again. With His latest message to Tibetans in and out of Tibet, His Holiness has seemingly written the elegy for His Middle Way Approach based on the Strasbourg proposal. And still if there are people who have hopes left with the Chinese government, I humbly suggest that either you are too optimistic to be able to do any good to yourself let alone your people or you are simply politically challenged– God wasn’t kind to you.
The tales of the glorious Spring Uprisings and the sacrifices of thousands of our brethrens were written in golden words as so proclaimed by the Kashag and the chapter almost closed when His Holiness called for the special meeting to be held under the constitutional provisions with regard to the emergency situation inside Tibet. Being the true democratic leader that He is – His Holiness saw, heard and recognized the sacrifices and wishes of His own people while many of our elected leaders were already busy with their own lives. I am sure that it was not with a happy heart His Holiness declared that his policy of the past almost three decades has failed to yield any concrete political result. But by admitting to the reality of failure He has won a moral victory – an art that so many leaders are yet to learn. And with the call for the special meeting His Holiness has induced a new vigour and a rejuvenated enthusiasm in the otherwise drag of hope since 2002. I might not be over guessing if I say that perhaps right now His Holiness is feeling much the same way when he stepped onto Indian soil as a refugee almost five decades back. There was this sense of failure as it is now but then more eager to raise head was the commitment to win, to return, to restart.
For the exile population in general and the exile government in particular, this meeting has opened us the opportunity to re-affirm our status and purpose as the representatives of the majority of our people languishing under the communist regime. It should be with this great sense of duty that the delegates of the special meeting bring onto the table the aspirations and demands of our people left back home who have continued to oppose the Chinese regime many times at the cost of their lives. The purpose of the meeting will be truly met when the delegates leave behind their comfort zones of self-proclaimed practicality and believe themselves to be the parents of a brave son who went out on March 14 and never returned, when the delegates believe themselves to be a brother or a sister of one of the innocent hundreds who calling for ‘Rangzen’ on our own streets were massacred by the Chinese, when the delegates believe themselves to be one of those brave souls who hoisted the Tibetan flag on a Chinese government building and hoped that Tibetans in exile will forever uphold the dignity of our flag instead of surrendering our independence.
Belief – it is not that difficult. Decades back in America when the black people were passing through their worst nightmare they believed in a dream. When in India 200 years of imperialism seemed never ending a young man believed in the power of truth and active non-violence. When in 1959 His Holiness didn’t have a roof of His own He believed that He can build schools, monasteries and settlements. And today, living in the worst times of our history, Tibetans in Tibet still dare to believe. Believe that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will return home, believe that the Tibetan flag will fly over the Potala Palace, believe that their children will grow up to be Tibetans, believe that Tibet will be free.
We can make this meeting special by believing that yes, together we can.
The writer is a former executive member of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
[OPINION-DISCLAIMER]
