Tibet is a bomb waiting to explode. No amount of development rhetoric or propaganda window dressing by China could conceal the simmering anger in the ?Roof of the world?. This is not the first time Tibet erupted. The seething resentment against the Chinese occupation of the Buddhist country this time resulted in a bloody uprising in which over a hundred people were killed and thousands thrown into jails. This may not be the last we have heard on the Tibetan rebellion.
Chinese authorities sadly misjudged the determination of the Buddhist youth of Tibet, that they thought a clever mix of westernisation, consumerism, demographic dilution and media blitzkrieg will suppress the Tibetans? determination to liberate their country.
The Chinese crackdown on the Buddhist monks in Lhasa and other provinces of Tibet has shocked the world community. But the world leaders are muted in their condemnation of the atrocities. Even India which has a national commitment to help Tibetans realise their rightful claim on their motherland has been extremely cautious in its reaction. The saddest part of the sweeping human tragedy is that the Chinese authorities have accused His Holiness Dalai Lama of instigating the violence. This is as atrocious and outrageous as the inhuman suppression of human rights in the Chinese-occupied territory. Like all Communist dictatorships China has a deeply cultivated colonial agenda. That is why it is having territorial disputes with all its neighbours.
Till 1959, when the Beijing authorities forced an exile on Dalai Lama, the Tibetans enjoyed some level of autonomy. The Dalai Lama has always been pleading for a dialogue with China and prodding his followers to stick to peaceful means in the face of unacceptable brutality. He went to the extent of agreeing to an existence under the Chinese with autonomous powers only to preserve the rich Tibetan culture and pursue religious practices. But China is not willing to budge an inch.
The trouble is that the Tibetan youth, now a formidable force, is not entirely wedded to peaceful means to achieve their goal. They are not willing to accept anything less than sovereignty. Modernisation and development have only strengthened their resolve. This is the worry for China as well. For too long it cannot suppress the legitimate human rights by Tiananmen Square type barbarism.
India cannot ignore the agony of Tibet. Thousands of Tibetans have taken asylum in India. The UPA government existing on the life support system of the Indian red brigade is understandably afraid of calling a spade a spade. Most shameful was the CPM silence on the killings in Tibet. Why is that party so beholden to and afraid of the Chinese comrades? Is it only an Indian chapter of the Chinese Communist Party?
There were mischievously inspired reports in sections of campaigning media that India cannot take a strong stand because of the Kashmir situation. There is no comparison. Kashmir is an integral part of India. It is not an occupied sovereign state. Kashmir was always historically, geographically, culturally and administratively part of India and it was the cradle of Shaivite Hinduism. Nothing of this kind of affinity can be claimed by China on Tibet. Moreover, India is a democracy and Kashmir enjoys full democratic rights. No word of condemnation is sufficient to describe the Chinese genocide in Tibet. China can help itself if it starts dialogue with respected Buddhist leaders of the Himalayan country.
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