By Tenzin Lhaksam
The Supreme Court yesterday gave a major blow to the Tamil Nadu Vidhan Sabha by putting a hold on the arrest of N. Ram, the editor of the Hindu and five journalists. The state assembly of Tamil Nadu had ordered arrest of the six journalists for criticising and misreporting parliament proceedings.
The police is believed to have broken into the office of the Hindu in Chennai but did not find the journalists they were searching for. The issue was covered widely by the Indian media which also showed its solidarity with the six victims. But for the Tibetans it is a matter of joy since the man in question is the same man who once carried a thirty six page cover story filled with blatant lies and unethical reporting of his short visit to Tibet in Frontline magazine, owned by the same group as Hindu, two years ago.
I was literally giggling at my Television when N. Ram was shown talking to reporters about the so-called injustice done to him and his profession. I remembered the accusations against His Holiness, lies of economic growth and manipulated figures he so cleverly had presented. I said to myself, “this is ‘Tit for Tat’. But then I thought, how would His Holiness be reacting at this? And the answer was simple, compassion and forgiveness. N. Ram is fortunate.
That N. Ram’s cover story did hurt the sentiments of many Tibetans and Tibet supporters is clear since no Tibetan would want to hear a single word of abuse against their leader whose very glimpse is considered a blessing.
But there was no retaliation, neither official nor personal, against the editor, in writing. No publication in the exile Tibetan community retaliated N. Ram except for a letter to the editor in the next issue of Frontline by a Tibetan student, and a line or two in a publication of the Tibetan exile government.
Is the silence on the Tibetan side an indication of their subscription to the views of N. Ram was the question that would have come to the minds of many. But no.
Or was it because the Tibetans lacked the caliber of providing the truth, and fighting lies with truth.
Today, N. Ram is furiously explaining how he and his colleagues were made political scapegoats in Tamil Nadu. Terming it ‘outrageous’ N. Ram says that the freedom of press, speech and expression should be respected and violations of these should not be tolerated. It is perhaps these freedoms which allowed him to publish the lies and abuses against Tibet, Tibetans and the Dalai Lama in Frontline. N. Ram should have also realised the duties of the press, its ethics, norms and codes. He should not have sacrificed truth for an opportunity to please his Chinese masters and comrades.
A report on the issue of Tibet done by a man like N. Ram can be productive in that his words will be more trusted by the Chinese than others. One of the most serious challenges faced today by the Tibetan government in their quest for talks with China is the inability to convince China. Despite attempts by Dharamsala to prove its loyalty and commitment towards dialogue with China, it has not been able to make China believe that the Dalai Lama was not bluffing in US congress or Strasbourgh. But N. Ram can.
N. Ram should pay a visit to Dharamsala, the exile Tibetan government’s base, and know the truth himself about political prisoners, new arrivals, what Tibetan government strives to achieve through negotiation, how the Dalai Lama, a splittist for him and China, is leading a peaceful struggle of a nation. But please not on the invitation of the Tibetan exile government like his China visit. And then I shall believe that the editor of one of the oldest newspapers of India has stood by his journalistic ethics and held high his principles if he has any.
N. Ram is a leftist. And has close affiliation to communists who invited him to Tibet. So such direct, targeted lies and criticisms are but natural. This was perhaps what seemed to have been thought by many Tibetans and what eventually let off N.Ram. But today, he is in trouble. But the Tibetans are not rejoicing. Forgiveness, compassion and love for others, even for your foe, are what their leader has preached.
Yesterday’s victory to N. Ram and others after the Supreme Court order was hailed all over as a triumph of truth. And the Tibetans believe truth shall always win, and have therefore, been struggling peacefully for more than four decades. And by that similarity in the two cases, I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision.
