It is concerning that the Tibetan government-in-exile is becoming involved in political issues that are beyond of its remit in India. Provocative remarks from the political leadership of the Tibetan refugees have an influence on India’s domestic affairs and put the already precarious ties between India and China in jeopardy.
—
Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists in India utilize worry beads, which are said to help with mental attention. Focus, however, seems to be the one thing lacking in the Indian governing party’s trans-Himalayan strategy as we near the conclusion of the Great Game on the Tibetan Plateau.
Returning to an autonomous Tibet, let alone one that is independent, is comparable to making a trip to the fabled Shambala.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has previously stated that he is “not seeking independence for Tibet and wishes to stay with China,” but his recent statement that “he would return to Tibet at once if China agrees” has reignited talk of a potential reconciliation with Beijing.
The political ice is thin for the Tibetan leadership in India.
If we look at the overtures they made in New Delhi and Washington, the current temporal Tibetan leadership seems to have different plans.
Penpa Tsering, the President or Sikyong of the purported Tibetan government-in-exile located in India, made a gratuitous remark on June 22, 2023 in Australia.
“We are Indian. My birthplace was India. Modi’s coercive measures are not as severe as they are depicted in the world media to be. He does not want to convert Muslims to Hinduism. Some cow vigilantes overreact to certain events, and the government is criticized for this.
“In my opinion, India is one of the world’s most accepting nations. When questioned about India and the “Hindutva thrust,” Penpa Tsering said that there were “so many different kinds of people, so many different religions, and such a diverse culture.”
The paradox of Indian foreign policy is that it permits the Tibetan government-in-exile to operate from Indian territory while wailing foul over foreign meddling in Indian domestic matters.
There is little doubt that the assaults on Muslims and Christians in India were hidden from the Tibetan political establishment’s renowned Third Eye. Forget the Third Eye; when Tibetans enter places outside of their political purview, they do it blindly, without looking back or forward.
They should at the very least read the US International Religious Freedom Reports’ yearly reports.
The Tibetans have gone above and above to demonstrate their value to the Hindu fundamentalist regime in New Delhi.
Dr. Tenzin Dorjee, a US citizen of Tibetan descent and a former commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, dissented from the report on religious freedom in India in a dissent note he submitted in 2019.
The Dalai Lama himself has raised alarm over the spread of bigotry in India back in 2015.
Notably, since 1979, the Dalai Lama has communicated with the RSS’s highest levels of leadership. Connections between the RSS and Tibet date back to 1962, during the Indo-China War.
The Tibetan political establishment’s most recent move is obviously an attempt to ride the Hindutva wave to prosperity. Should I say chariot instead?
The Tibetan leadership’s support for Hindutva in India portends poorly for the future of the general acceptance of the Tibetans among the non-communist political elite and non-Hindutva inhabitants of India.
It should be made known right away that the typical Tibetan refugee is welcomed. But it is the responsibility of the Indian citizen to raise some concerns when the political leadership of this refugee population makes contentious remarks that have an influence on the domestic affairs of the host nation.
Except for a few occasions when the Indian security establishment became frustrated with some political initiative from McLeodganj, a suburb that serves as the official capital-in-exile of the Tibetan government-in-exile, which had not been approved by New Delhi, the only refugees who have continued to be welcomed into India since the late 1950s are Tibetans.
There aren’t many people visiting India nowadays. It seems that more people are going back to China, mostly for job prospects.
the Karmapa arrives
The Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, is a resident of the Gyuto Tantric Monastic University, which was raided by the Himachal police in 2011.
In January 2000, the Karmapa, the spiritual leader of the Karma Kagyu School, one of the four branches of Buddhism, left Tibet and sought asylum in India. The entrance of the then 14-year-old caught the Indian security apparatus off surprise.
Following allegations of possible links to Chinese officials, the Karmapa, who is regarded as the third most important Tibetan religious figure after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, has had his actions scrutinized.
His movements had previously been restricted by the Indian government to a 15 km radius around his house, which was near to the Dalai Lama’s residence. He was prohibited from making regular trips to see the Dalai Lama.
