The opinion piece below was sent to dorjeshugden.com for publication. We accept submissions from the public, please send in your articles to [email protected].
By: Shashi Kei
When the ‘Five and Fifty’ (Five-Fifty) vision was launched in October 2017, it was hailed as the ‘flagship policy’ of Lobsang Sangay, the Sikyong or ‘President’ of the Tibetan government-in-exile known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The ‘Five-Fifty’ was Sangay’s blueprint to resolve the Tibetan issue within 5 years from 2017. It aims to regain control of what is today the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) from the Chinese government in that time. Should that not happen, it signals the Tibetan leadership’s readiness to continue to oppose China for another 50 years. The ‘Five-Fifty’ is Sangay’s attempt to keep the mood of the Tibetan struggle buoyant. Although lofty in its persuasion, there are indications to strongly suggest that this may be more Sangay’s showmanship than a realistic pursuit. For Sangay’s ‘Five-Fifty’ to succeed, there has to be a Tibetan populace forming a collective with both the willingness and the capability to drive it. But this is precisely where the plan unravels.
Tibetans, Merely Pawns on a Chessboard
From the very start, the Tibetan struggle has been fought largely at the expense of ordinary Tibetan refugees. It is they who have had to bear the harshest conditions in exile. While the spotlight has been on the Dalai Lama and his ruling officials, their glorified status has sheltered them from the most bitter conditions in exile – estrangement from family and spiritual ties, dejection, sickness, abject poverty, and being stuck without the ability to move too far beyond refugee settlements. So, when the Tibetan leadership trumpeted that the “Tibetans are the most successful refugee community“, many fans of the Dalai Lama and supporters of the Tibetan cause cheered but the Tibetan people themselves knew better.
Seasonal sweater selling is the mainstay of the Tibetan exile economy. The CTA has not managed to develop a proper industry even though it has recognised that the sweater selling cannot sustain the people. In 2018 the CTA website reported “Though the new year has set in, the Tibetan sweater sellers in Parel, Mumbai doesn’t see signs of good times ahead. The month, which usually registers sales of Rs 3,000 per day, is currently witnessing pitiable sales of
Rs 800 to Rs 2,000 per day”.
Over the past 60 years, three generations of Tibetans have endured this ordeal by holding faith in the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan leadership. By the sentiments voiced by ordinary Tibetans and the actions may have taken in recent years, it would appear that their patience is exhausted and that they have lost trust in their own government.
In a recent Tibet Sun article by journalist and writer, Lobsang Wangyal (“CTA’s Education Department gets maximum budget of 559 million rupees”) the Secretary of the CTA’s Department of Education was quoted as saying that the CTA was going to close some schools due to a drastic drop in the number of students. The Secretary, Karma Singey, attributed this to a lower birth rate, the emigration of Tibetans to the West and lower numbers of new arrivals from Tibet. Contrary to the Tibetan leadership’s claim, these factors are not symptomatic of a successful community but the opposite.
A Complete Loss of Confidence
A lower birth rate reflects Tibetan exile families’ concern over the lack of economic prospects and poor living standards. Clearly, this concern is pervasive and has deterred more Tibetans in the TAR from crossing the border into India. The Times of India (TOI) and other news media reported in 2017 that the number of Tibetans arriving from the TAR into India had dropped by as much as 97%, with the decline beginning around 2008. Some have blamed tighter border security for this decline but, in truth, China has relaxed its grip on the Tibetans in the TAR over the decades. In any case, blaming China cannot explain why Tibetans living in the Indian settlements are even deciding to return to the TAR. The population of Tibetans living in the Indian settlements is reported to have dropped sharply from an estimated 150,000 to a mere 85,000 over the last few years. This represents a decrease of almost 45%, indicative of a serious and endemic problem within the exile community. The Tibetan Review has reported that the drop is, in fact, as high as 75%.
Frustration is setting in as Tibetans who in the past had been weary of speaking against the government are now becoming more vocal. The general trend is to leave the settlements and become independent of the CTA. Click to enlarge.
What would make a Tibetan choose to move away and become even more detached from their already small and disenfranchised community? What would make them decide to stay away from their beloved god-king, the Dalai Lama whom they had willingly followed into exile and into an uncertain future? For that matter, what would persuade a Tibetan to remain in what is reportedly oppressive conditions in the TAR instead of seeking a better deal in India? The TOI news report said that until recently, Tibetans from the TAR had crossed into India seeking “better education, jobs and to join monasteries”. That stopped and we instead hear in a separate interview with the Indian government’s advisor on Tibet Affairs, Amitabh Mathur, that a large number of Tibetans had, in fact, returned to Tibet, choosing to live under the governance of China instead of their own government-in-exile.
All this evidence points to a major loss of confidence in the Tibetan leadership. It is important to note that this trust deficit did not happen overnight. Until 2008, Tibetans from the China-controlled TAR were still looking for means to go to India and join the Dalai Lama’s exile community. So what changed? Clearly, it is a build-up of factors that finally reached a tipping point. We see the clues in a number of studies and surveys conducted by scholars and academics who have examined the situation.
Proof of The CTA’s Failure
An academic paper was undertaken under the auspices of Emory University, referenced Tibetan reporter and social reformer, Tenzin Tephun Shashtri, who observed that there has been a stagnation of human resources and a lack of any large scale economic progress since the start of [the Tibetan] exile. Interestingly, Shashtri noted that “since the Tibetan leaders did not address economic progress at the start of exile, the problem has expanded”. [Unemployment in the Tibetan Community in Exile, Rebecca Arnold, Emory University]
Immediately, we see that the Tibetan leadership failed from the very start to put in place the necessary infrastructure to ensure the survival of the Tibetan nation-in-exile. This would have guaranteed the continuance of the Tibetan struggle and provided the people with the means to preserve their culture. In the earlier years in exile, the Dalai Lama and CTA relied on a number of Nechung’s (the State Oracle) prophesies that the Tibetan people would soon regain their homeland. Based on these, the Dalai Lama made numerous pronouncements to the same effect. Trusting the Dalai Lama to be correct, the Tibetan people did not even establish proper homes in exile until much later when it became clear that they could not continue to subsist that way. In short, apart from waiting for a miracle, hoping for foreign military intervention and relying on foreign aid, the Tibetan leadership did not bother to establish a proper plan.
The CTA under Lobsang Sangay has persisted in advocating divisive and harmful policies. Much more attention have been placed on propagating the harmful Dorje Shugden religious conflict and instigating self-immolations than taking actions to reduce the sufferings of the Tibetan people.
A grave mistake the Tibetan leadership made was failing to anticipate the possibility that the 150,000 Tibetans who had followed the Dalai Lama into exile might be in limbo for more than 60 years. Even after it became clear that the Tibetan leadership was in for a long and protracted struggle, the CTA refused to address the problem and instead took only superficial measures. The University of Rochester in New York conducted a study and found that 46% of the Tibetan exile population is engaged in traditional farming or herding and 49% in seasonal sweater selling. There is no proper framework for industries to be established and most businesses are small-scale operations and disorganized. (Tibetan Innovation Challenge, Univ. of Rochester) Basically, the CTA’s negligence and refusal to acknowledge facts created stagnation in the lives of the Tibetan people and hindered them from taking steps to improve their standard of living.
In his paper on the state of Tibetan refugees, Tsering Paljor, a Tibetan academic, cited the Tibetan Demographic Survey (TDS) performed in 2009 (the TDS is performed every 10 years and the next survey will be in 2019). It found that “…the unemployment rate among the Tibetan youth is as high as seventy-five percent. On that, the number of school and college graduates is increasing every year, about 1,250 students passing out every year from the schools and colleges in India. The chances of these youth getting employment in our community are very low as total absorption capacity is just five per cent. The major factor is the lack of employment opportunities in the settlements and the shift in the economic structure of refugees in exile”. [Current Situation of Tibetan Refugees in Exile, Tsering Paljor, Mussoorie, India]
Seasonal sweater selling is the mainstay of the Tibetan exile economy. The CTA has not managed to develop a proper industry even though it has recognised that the sweater selling cannot sustain the people. Instead, the CTA use the donation they receive to produce books and documentary to demonize another religion which in this case is the practice of Dorje Shugden.
Tibetan Struggle for Sale
The Tibetan leadership cannot deny that it was aware of the problem. Some have argued that the Tibetan leadership has been restricted in what it could have done due to a shortage of resources. But the facts point to the contrary. There is ample evidence that the Tibetan leadership had access to more than adequate resources provided by the global community and channelled through a number of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). A Modern Diplomacy article lists some of these:
- INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR TIBET based in Washington, US is endowed with a USD 4 million annual budget and purports to support the works of the 14th Dalai Lama and the CTA.
- TIBET HOUSE (known also as Tibet House US Cultural Center of H.H. the Dalai Lama) which was founded in 1987 by Columbia University professor Robert Thurman, actor Richard Gere and composer Philip Glass has an annual revenue of USD 2.5 million and accumulated assets of USD 6.5 million. Today, the organisation operates in New York, India, Mexico, Germany, Spain, the UK and Russia.
- FREE TIBET is yet another organisation that raises funds for the Tibetans. It is based in London, UK and has an annual budget of USD 500,000.
- STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET is an NGO based in New York, US that has a declared annual budget of USD 700,000. This NGO claims to have a network of 35,000 students working toward the Dalai Lama’s and CTA’s goals.
- TIBET FUND is based in New York, the U.S. and has an annual budget of about USD 6 million and cumulative assets of USD 8 million. This is the principal fundraising organisation working in partnership with the Tibetan leadership via its Office of Tibet branches in 13 countries. It has a presence in New Delhi, Kathmandu, Geneva, New York, Tokyo, London, Paris, Moscow, Brussels, Canberra, Pretoria, Taipei and Budapest.
- THE DALAI LAMA TRUST is the foundation of the 14th Dalai Lama. It is based in New York and India and administers the royalties and revenues from the Dalai Lama’s intellectual properties and public events. In the year 2009 alone, when the Trust was set up, it reported having received USD 2.2 million in donations. Every year since then, the Trust has received well in excess of USD 1 million in donations annually. It is estimated that the Trust has accumulated assets of over USD 8.6 million. In addition, The Dalai Lama Trust controls several organisations whose revenue and assets are unknown.
The Dalai Lama Trust claims that its objective is for the welfare of the Tibetan people. But it is doubtful how much actually reaches the needy Tibetan people. Click to enlarge
US Tax filing showing the Dalai Lama Trust having accumulated assets in excess of USD 8 million. Click to enlarge
- TIBETAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY is an NGO based in Dharamsala, India. Its budget is unknown.
This list does not include special grants from governments such as the USD 17 million that the Trump Administration allocated towards the Tibet issue and for the welfare of the Tibetan communities in exile for the year 2019 alone. The year before, the US government provided over USD 20 million in aid to the Tibetan people, including USD 2.5 million for humanitarian assistance for Tibetan refugees; a sum not less than USD 6 million for economic development in Tibetan exile communities; and a sum not less than USD 3 million to strengthen governance and the capacity of Tibetan institutions.
US aid to the Dalai Lama and the CTA began in the 1960s and the CTA has been the beneficiary of generous donors for 60 years. Sadly, the sad state of affairs the Tibetan community-in-exile is in does not reflect this fact.
The Dalai Lama’s foundation (Trust) professes that its mission is “For activities of individuals and institutions belonging to, associated with and working for the welfare of the Tibetan community and other needy persons around the world…”. The other Funds mentioned above and more not listed herein proclaim similar noble objectives but it is doubtful how much the Tibetan people actually benefit from these donations as there is no transparency in the financial accounting. But surely there is more than enough money to put a dent in Tibetan poverty which if anything is getting worse even as the donations keep rolling in.
An investigative piece by Indy Hack and Frank Parlato published in a US weekly exposed that the Dalai Lama’s trip to Lithuania and Latvia in 2018 alone ran clocked up about USD 1million with the “simple Buddhist monk” staying in the Presidential Suite costing USD 1087 per night. The article documented how the Dalai Lama’s event can command ticket sales of USD 186,000 per day.
And yet at the same time, the Tibetan people live on the poverty line and in abject hopelessness.
Where Did The Money Go?
All in all, the CTA receives an annual sum estimated at no less than USD 50 million per annum in foreign aid and has received countless millions in donations for decades. The full extent of how much the CTA has been receiving from governments, NGOs, corporations and private individuals is unknown because the CTA is not required to disclose such information. As it turns out, this has left plenty of room for questionable dealings.
It is certain that there has been more than enough money for CTA officials and their cronies to bicker over. Corruption is rife and as common as financial irregularities.
- Examiners of the accounts of the Tibet Fund, set up supposedly to procure funds to improve the lives of Tibetan refugees, have reportedly refused to attest to the proper financial management of the fund.
- In 2017, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay was accused of having illicitly directed USD 1.5 million meant for the Tibetan people towards the purchase of real estate in the US instead.
- A long-time supporter of the Tibetan cause blew the whistle on the dealings of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), claiming that large sums of money are siphoned off by cronies of CTA officials under the guise of ‘management fees’
- In fact, profiteering and shady dealings by the Tibetan leadership and their associates are well known. In 2012, US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher even warned Sikyong Lobsang Sangay in an official letter that it had come to his attention that US funding meant for the Tibetan people had been misspent.
- Corruption is rampant among the Dalai Lama’s representatives, who regularly sell audiences with the Dalai Lama and solicit payments for the Dalai Lama to make appearances at events.
In the meantime, more Tibetans-in-exile living in Indian settlements fall below the poverty line. The CTA even leverages a voluntary tax on the Tibetan people in the name of patriotism. Therefore, to say that the CTA has not had the resources to help the Tibetan people stave off poverty and escape chronic unemployment and hopelessness is simply untrue.
Official letter from US Congressman to Lobsang Sangay warning him about the misuse of US aid intended for the Tibetan people. Click to enlarge.
The Big Sacrifice
In the March 2019 edition of the Tibetan Review, Asst. Professor Tashi Phuntsok of the Department of Economics, Calcutta University questioned the lack of attention on the punishing rate of unemployment. He also asked which issues have dominated the CTA’s attention when such serious problems are resulting in a decay of the Tibetan exile population and also the people’s ability to sustain the Tibetan cause.
The answers are simple and logical enough but they may be unpalatable for the Tibetan people.
Self-interest of the leadership
Lobsang Sangay’s personal feud with Penpa Tsering has dominated the attention of the CTA instead of policies to alleviate Tibetan poverty and unemployment.
Put simply, being in exile became a lucrative business for those in power because they do not share the same fate as ordinary Tibetans in exile. Sikyong Lobsang Sangay has no personal stake in the success of the Tibetan cause. As long as there is a struggle against China, Sangay has a job. But his Presidency becomes defunct the moment the Tibetan people find reconciliation with China. The same applies to the CTA Cabinet which comprises Sangay’s appointees. In a proper democracy, parliamentarians exist to represent and serve the people. But the Tibetan parliament’s role is merely to rubber-stamp decisions made by an unelected few so as to give the impression that the CTA is a democracy. As such, it is unheard of for Tibetan parliamentarians to speak against wrongful CTA policies and fight for the welfare of the people they are supposed to represent. To do so may be political suicide because it exposes the inadequacies of the leadership. No one dares to address the real problem because the source of the Tibetan people’s plight today is intrinsic in the mindset of the few who wield power.
CTA’s political ambition
The CTA claims that its struggle is for the good of the Tibetan people. However, the Tibetan leadership’s choices over the years reflect its own self-interest and prioritization of its political ambitions over the welfare of the Tibetan people.
One clear example is seen in the way the CTA has ignored the rampant unemployment that is driving the Tibetan people away from the settlements. An immediate solution would have been for the CTA to assist educated Tibetan youth to seek Indian citizenship, which they are legally entitled to. This would give them a fighting chance of becoming gainfully employed by Indian businesses and corporations. But the CTA discourages this, fearing that it would dilute the people’s zest for the ‘Tibetan struggle’. So the CTA made the suggestion taboo and tantamount to disloyalty to the Tibetan cause and the Dalai Lama. It is clear that due to poor planning, there is now a mismatch between the political objectives of the Tibetan leadership and the wellbeing of the Tibetan people. The situation has left the Tibetan people with no choice but to strike out on their own and become independent. In the Tibet Sun article quoted above, the CTA’s Education Secretary acknowledged that the number of Tibetan children is on the increase in the US, Canada, Australia and European countries. This implies confidence, the opposite to the low birth rates of Tibetans in exile, and is itself proof that the Tibetan people who stopped relying on the CTA have fared better than those who continue to. One is left to speculate if this is due to the CTA’s sheer ineptitude or whether it was policy to sacrifice the wellbeing of the people to achieve the political ambitions of a few.
While researching her book, academic Dr Stephanie Roemer spoke to a number of Tibetans and found that there is “considerable frustration and helplessness about CTA politics and the failed results in the Tibetan freedom struggle until the present day” (Tibetan Government-in-Exile: Politics at large, Routledge). However, there is a prevalent fear amongst Tibetan exiles that stops them from voicing their complaints openly. Doing so risks raising the ire of the leadership and being labelled unpatriotic, disloyal and ‘anti-Dalai Lama’.
Nowhere to Go But Down
In conclusion, and to answer Asst. Professor Tashi Phuntsok’s question about the issues that have dominated the CTA’s attention, one would only need to scour the Tibetan news. It is nigh impossible to find reports of any significant affirmative measures that the CTA has undertaken to curb the punitive rate of unemployment, poverty and the sense of hopelessness amongst the people it is supposed to care for. Instead, the CTA’s website focuses on anti-China rhetoric, propaganda that boasts of CTA’s ‘successes’ and matters that perpetuate the CTA’s politics of divide such as its religious ban on the practice of Dorje Shugden. By imposing a religious ban on the practice of the very popular Tibetan Buddhist deity, Dorje Shugden, the CTA has managed to divert the Tibetan people’s attention away from the CTA’s mismanagement and blame the occult for the Tibetan people’s misery.
Lobsang Sangay launched a book on self immolation
On the CTA’s website, pages are assigned to criticising China, demonising Dorje Shugden, and broadcasting news that extols the virtues of the present leadership. None of these can help the Tibetan people escape the clutches of destitution and unemployment. Over the past two decades, the CTA has invested untold amounts of money into printing books, pamphlets and videos aimed at segregating the people via the Dorje Shugden conflict and also materials that glorify Tibetan self-immolation. In 2012, after Lobsang Sangay launched a book that martyred Tibetans who have burnt themselves alive, the number of Tibetan self-immolations spiked. The gruesome spectacle of a Tibetan person in flames lends weight to the CTA’s political goals and its anti-China rhetoric. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of Tibetan lives. Again, we see clearly the Tibetan leadership’s attitude that it regards Tibetan lives as dispensable. The time, money and effort the CTA put into segregating the Tibetan people should have gone instead into solving the problems of the Tibetans in exile, not add to their woes. But the CTA persists in this policy of segregation even as the number of Tibetans in exile continue to fall.
Still, the rhetoric continues. In a recent post on the CTA website (“It is high time we unite and become self-sufficient: CTA President to the Tibetans in Kamrao Tibetan Settlement”), Sangay proclaimed that “it’s high time that we unite and become self-sufficient”. In addition, the CTA leader urged the Tibetans to “avoid indulgence in unnecessary internal bickering which only creates communal disharmony and divisions”. If indeed that was said with any sincerity at all, Sangay would instantly cease in his politics of division. But by now, the Tibetan people have learned to tell the difference between promotional buzzwords and a genuine commitment to do something good for the people. And so, Tibetan people in exile will continue to abandon the settlements and with that, the hope of ever seeing their homeland again. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. Seeing how the Tibetan leaders have failed 150,000 Tibetans even after 60 years of global support, it is chilling to imagine how much more damage they would inflict on the 6 million Tibetans in the TAR.
Many Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama out of Tibet to live in India. So many Tibetans are 2nd and 3rd generations, born in India. They are more Indian than Tibetan. All of these Tibetans claim to be loyal and to love the Dalai Lama so much. If that is the case, why are thousands of Tibetans emigrating to the West and or returning back to Tibet? Why are they leaving the Dalai Lama behind in India? Tired of waiting for a future with no end under an ineffectual administration, the rapidly emptying schools are the surest sign that Tibetans have definitely lost hope in the Dalai Lama and his regime headquartered in Dharamsala. Surely the Tibetans still love the Dalai Lama as he tried his best, but it does mean they have lost hope in his abilities to rescue them out of poverty and getting their country back.
[Tibet Sun] CTA’s Education Department gets maximum budget of 559 million rupees
Source: https://www.tibetsun.com/news/2019/03/31/ctas-education-department-gets-maximum-budget-of-559-million-rupees. Click to enlarge.
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Tenzin K
April 28, 2019
This is very obvious that the Tibetan unable to hold on to CTA empty promises. CTA has been falling many times and there are so many scandals that CTA created. From a secular point of view, Tibetans already losing hope and would want to explore their future themselves. No point to keep their faith and hope on CTA, because after 60 years there is still the same.
Yeshe
April 28, 2019
Looking at the current situation, His Holiness’s wishes to go back to Tibet cannot be fulfilled. His Holiness manifesting of illnesses is not a good sign. Many Tibetans in exile depend on His Holiness the bring them back to Tibet because the Tibetan government is too useless to do it. The Tibetan government spend their time fighting petty conflicts instead of finding a way to talk to China.
Once His Holiness enter into clear light, there is no chance for the Tibetans in exile to return to a free Tibet. They might even lose their right to stay in India because the Indians have been unhappy with the Tibetans staying in their country and creating problems for them.
The Tibetan government is incapable of taking care of their people and Tibetans will be forced to run away to foreign countries or back to Tibet under China. That is why all the Tibetans are leaving India now even when His Holiness is here.
Dorje S
April 28, 2019
60 years ago, the Tibetans went into exile with the Dalai Lama, one of the biggest reason is they loved the Dalai Lama, they trusted him, hence they were willing to follow him wherever he goes.
Now after 60 years in exile, obviously the story changed. The Dalai Lama is still in India, he didn’t mention any plan to leave India, he didn’t show any interest in becoming a citizen of the West, he didn’t even say he wants to become the citizen of India. However, more and more Tibetans have chosen to leave the Tibetan settlements in India, some go to the west, some go back to Tibet, some chose to apply for the citizenship India. Everyone is leaving regardless of the Dalai Lama is still there, start showing signs of aging and not so healty anymore.
Who will choose to leave someone he/she loved so deeply before? I guess the answer must be dissappointments, not only one, but one after another. Tibetans must have lost their hopes already. The person they trusted most brought them there, painted a beautiful future for them, yet nothing is real.
All these are still bearable if the Dalai Lama and the Kashag are going through everything with them, good or bad. But this is not the case, just look at what the CTA have, how they enjoy their lives and compare their lives with the ordinary Tibetans who barely can make their ends meet. Now who can endure this? Old Tibetans might be used to theocratic feudal serfdom, but this is definitely not the case for new generation of Tibetans who are more exposed to the outside world and who are educated and know what a real democracy is.
I am not surprised at all looking at what’s happening today. I am a buddhist and I believe in karma.
Bonpo Tibetan
April 28, 2019
I am a Bonpo Tibetan and first time I am here on this site. I live in Canada. Our family left India over 2 years ago because we don’t believe the Dalai Lama and his government to provide jobs for us anymore. We don’t believe he can free Tibet and get the Chinese out. We were thinking of returning to Tibet but decided on Canada instead. We had to pay much money to the agent to get to Canada. It has been 60 years and still we cannot get our country back and Dalai Lama’s promises are not believed by Tibetans anymore. We cannot openly say things against Dalai Lama as it is not a democracy in the real sense. So many Tibetans return back to Tibet to join their families because many improvements in Tibet. We are not happy Chinese are in Tibet but Tibet is much better economically.
Many Tibetans leaving India to west and back to Tibet because they lose hope in Dalai Lama. Many promises but no results. 💔
Amber Sonam
May 1, 2019
I am very lucky that my family decided to move away to other countries. As much as I feel sorry for my fellow Tibetans to remain in India and continue to be sweater seller. Sticking around the CTA will only bring the Tibetans down.
It is only fair that Tibetans get an Indian or Chinese passport so they can start leading a normal life.
Anonymous
May 3, 2019
Tenzin K
May 4, 2019
Tibetan leaving India because they can wait anymore. CTA has been lying to the Tibetans for 60 years and used them just for funding and no improvement in their welfare. CTA will spend their money for discriminating Dorje Shugden instead of help the Tibetans. Why the focus is so narrow and after spending so much for the ban, after 20 years what is the result from the ban? Tibetan able to go back to their homeland? Unfortunately it is a big NO! The reason why after so much effort on Shugden ban there is still no result on Tibetan cause is because the ban has nothing to do for Tibetan cause! CTA has been lying all the time! This is illogical and we don’t understand why CTA so insist to spend so much resources to it.
As a Tibetan, don’t you feel that there is something wrong with CTA and how you want to depend on them to fulfil Tibetan cause?
Dalai Lama only wish or hope is to be able to go back TIbet. Now is CTA duty to fulfil Dalai Lama wishes and use whatever me to achieve it before Dalai Lama passing.
Tenzin
May 14, 2019
If we look at whoever that works with CTA, all they can achieve are troubles and failures. There is no good ending with CTA. Look at Karmapa Ogyen Trinley who ran away to the west and suffers from depression. Look at all the Tibetan in exile who desperately burn themselves to death to raise awareness against China which is totally a waste of precious human life.
Wherever CTA goes, there will be destruction and disappointment. Just look at the Tibetan settlements. There is not much of improvement since 1959 despite millions of donation were received by the CTA for their people. The number of Tibetans are decreasing and no new Tibetans are coming to India to seek refuge because it is quite obvious that there is no hope in the Tibetan settlements.
China, on the other hand, is totally opposite proven from her development of Tibet. They are very near in eliminating poverty from Tibet and fellow Tibetans are having a decent life in Tibet. That is why there are no new Tibetans who want to flee to India because the living condition is better now. There is no need for them to risky whatever they have for India.
Doreen Park
May 28, 2019
After 60 years in exile, and living lives of poverty or near poverty, the Tibetans are now willing and even desperate to leave India. Some are even returning to the TAR, as living conditions and the economy there are much better than for the Tibetans in India. They have obviously lost faith in the ability of the Tibetan leadership to effectively realize a free and independent Tibet for them . After 60 years not only has no progress been achieved, but the Tibetan leadership has sought to distract them from their ineptitude and from the reality of a free and independent Tibet being only a pipe dream, by dividing them in conflict over such controversies as the ban on Dorje Shugden practice.
The saddest part is that in their own desperate bid to bind the Tibetans in Exile to them, the CTA have discouraged and even disallowed these Tibetans in Exile , who after 6 decades living in India, have become more Indian than Tibetan, to become Indian citizens. Now , with growing resentment from the Indians towards these Tibetan refugees, it seems that it will be a matter of time before the “refugee” status will be removed . Lobsang Sangay and the members of his cabinet are not worried about this because they have already acquired citizenship of Western countries.
That’s how power corrupts and absolute power absolutely.
Ngawang Jigme
May 31, 2019
Unlike 5 years ago, Tibetan leader Lobsang Sangay is not invited to Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony this time. It is clear that PM Modi of India snubs the Tibetan leadership once again in favour of deeper ties with China. The Tibetan leadership finds itself increasingly isolated as nobody wants to offend China by lending any support to the ungrateful Tibetans.
Tenzin
June 9, 2019
Who wants to forever stay in India and never be able to have a good future? If I am a Tibetan, I would not want to spend the rest of my life in Tibetan settlement camps in India. What a horrible place to be with a horrible government. I would never entrust my future in the hands of CTA.
Just look at what they had accomplished for the past 60 years? Nothing aside from hundreds of Tibetans killing themselves to fight for the independence of Tibet while CTA sits back and did nothing. They even have the audacity to publish a manual to teach the Tibetans on how to immolate themselves better. What kind of government does that?
Tibetans in exile should escape from CTA as fast as they can before they are being used as a pawn to get more donation and attention from the western countries. China is now opening their arms to Tibetans who wish to return to Tibet and Tibetans should treasure this opportunity because CTA will never be able to get them back to Tibet.
Disappointed with CTA
June 14, 2019
60 years had passed and CTA had not been progressing. In fact, they are degenerating and they had not been doing much for the Tibetans. They are just sitting in India waiting for donations to pour in from the western countries. When the donations are running low, Lobsang Sangay will go on a world tour to brainwash the world to make them think China is the big bully and the poor Tibetans need more money.
Many Tibetans had left the settlements in India to fight for a better future elsewhere. Many are successful with their new life but not those who are in the Tibetan settlements. No more Tibetans are coming into India to join CTA as they know the situation is not good there. Hence, the number of Tibetans in the settlements are decreasing drastically and soon there will be no one left there.
When there are no more Tibetans in exile in the Tibetan settlements, CTA will have to close down. Let us hope that day will come sooner as CTA has proven to be a bad influence on the Tibetans and they are part of the reason why Tibetans do not have their own country now.
Drolma
June 19, 2019
60 years of being a refugee in India is enough for the Tibetans. There is no direction from the CTA what will happen next, the CTA is still doing what they were doing for the past 60 years for the Tibet cause, how are they going to be successful with their cause if they don’t change their strategy. I guess this is also what the Tibetans have realised so they have completely lost their confidence in the CTA and decided to move on.
The normal Tibetans are the ones that suffer the most in the Tibet issue. Many of them escaped from Tibet with the Dalai Lama and they were very hopeful in returning to Tibet but this did not happen. They settled down in India but are without an identity. Their refugee status is being used by their own leadership to make money for themselves.
There is so much progress in Tibet and the lives of the Tibetans in China has improved tremendously. They have so much opportunity compared to the Tibetans in India. How can the Tibetans in India continue to trust the Tibetan leadership? The CTA has shown no result, they have disappointed all the Tibetans. The CTA has to admit they have failed miserably.
If I am a Tibetan
June 19, 2019
If I am a Tibetan in exile in India, I would have escaped to other countries a long long time ago. The situation in India is so bad that there is literally no hope for those Tibetans there. There are so many opportunities out there waiting for them and many Tibetans are leading successful lives in those countries.
Why are they choosing to stay in those Tibetan settlements when only failures, disappointments, and poverty awaits them? Tibetan government is clearly not going to be any better or improve. They are just going to degenerate to a point where they are useless and they are not doing anything for the people.
Lobsang Sangay is not a good leader and this is shown clearly in the result of him being the President of CTA for years. He achieved nothing other than more violence, discrimination and deaths in the Tibetan community in exile. Tibetans have to wake up and see the truth and not have blind faith in the CTA.
Hopeless CTA
June 23, 2019
CTA really has some brain issues because while they keep saying China is making Tibet worst when there is plenty of evidence of Tibet becoming a better place now under China’s governance. Who would believe them? Does CTA think that everyone is as dumb as them and not check the news before believing them? Their words are not convincing at all.
With the current CTA leadership, Tibet will never be a free country. There is no way they can negotiate with China to get back Tibet’s independence. They have wasted 60 years of their lives waiting and waiting and yet, no results. They have missed the opportunity to get back Tibet now.
China had invested a lot into Tibet and it is illogical for them to take their hands off Tibet now. Tibet had flourished with China’s help. It is so much better than the Tibet before the invasion in 1959. Tibetans just have to accept that China’s government is much better than their government.
Chodag
June 26, 2019
Obviously Tibetan cannot wait anymore with CTA lies for bringing them back to Tibet. Most of the people know that they can’t rely on CTA after 60 years still nothing happens. Now there have to find their own way, their own opportunity before too late.
This is what happens after 60 years CTA still riding on Dalai Lama’s fame and keep playing the sympathy card. Now no one will go against China for Tibet so CTA has t work harder to Chin open there door.
JHT
July 3, 2019
This clearly shows that the Tibetans today even though they still respect the Dalai Lama, but the level of their respect is no longer the same as their older generation. It means the Tibetans have
JHT
July 3, 2019
cont from above:
It means the Tibetans have become more and more exposed the world and started to adopt the common way of thinking unlike the old tibetans who still under the influence of feudal system. Even though they still see the Dalai Lama as a great monk, they no longer willing to blindly follow anyone as there were too many unfulfilled promises already.
CTA sucks
July 5, 2019
Even the Tibetans who are under the rule of the Chinese government are reluctant to go to India anymore and they abandoned their government when they do that. It shows how bad the situation in the Tibetan settlements in India now and how the Chinese government has successfully changed the situation in Tibet.
Sooner or later, the number of Tibetans in exile in India will drop so slow that there is no point having a government anymore. Many of them left India to seek for a better future overseas and many of them manage to find better opportunities there while the Tibetans in India still struggle to make a living by selling sweaters.
Drolma
July 17, 2019
Tibetan cannot stand anymore due to CTA doesn’t keep his promises. They need to live and look after their future. Unfortunately, CTA didn’t do their work and causes the Tibetan to take action on their own. Too bad that Tibetan cannot go along Dalai Lama wishes because of CTA.
Drolma
July 18, 2019
Tibetan cannot stand anymore due to CTA doesn’t keep his promises. They need to live and look after their future. Unfortunately, CTA didn’t do their work and causes the Tibetan to take action on their own. Too bad that Tibetan cannot go along Dalai Lama wishes because of CTA didn’t d their work after 60 years.
Pema
July 18, 2019
I believe not many people want to be with Dalai Lama but they just can’t hold to it anymore. People can keep waiting for nothing. There is no promising result from CTA and even for Dalai Lama, CTA will just keep empty promises. Everyone worries for their family and future. The majority of Tibetan in India already into their 2nd generation. The younger generation will not understand much about the Tibetan cause and I believed they would rather stay in India and become Indian citizenship.
Roy
July 25, 2019
Many Tibetans in India are finding their ways to leave India, no one wants to stay in India because there is no hope. CTA promises to bring Tibetans back to Tibet and free Tibet but until today, there is no result. Life in India as a refugee is not getting any better. Indians don’t really like Tibetans.
Tibetans in Tibet are also not coming to India anymore. Opportunities in Tibet in terms of education and career are much better. There are many universities in China and Tibet for Tibetans to attend and they can also own a business if they want. In India, it is impossible to own a business if they are refugees.
CTA is very disappointing, they cannot be trusted. Tibetans see that the Dalai Lama is getting older and they have accepted the fact that Free Tibet Movement is a mission impossible. They have no choice but to leave. No one really wants to remain a refugee.
Anonymous
August 19, 2019
If CTA did not waste their time on creating useless policy such as Dorje Shugden ban, they might be back in Tibet sooner than we thought. However, they just go around and wasting their precious time and energy on something that cannot help with their cause.
On the other hand, the problems that CTA created is tearing the community apart and the unity is destroyed. It is very hard for a community to move on or achieve something if they do not have unity. Hence, it is CTA’s fault that the Tibetans are still living in India as refugees.
At the end of the day, everyone knows that it is CTA’s fault that Tibet is still under China and that is why the donations is going down and getting lesser each year. If CTA thinks they can fool the foreigners into giving them donations by sounding pitiful, they will soon realise how wrong they are.
Ngawang Jigme
September 1, 2019
CTA can forget about selecting the next His Holiness the Dalai Lama because China will not let them get away with it. The next Dalai Lama will be selected by China and they cannot do anything about it. They have no power because the person who is supposed to find the next Dalai Lama’s incarnation is Panchen Lama who is on China’s side.
On the other hand, China is so powerful right now that no one will stand against them and risk their whole country’s economy for the Tibetans. They are just not worth it. What the CTA should do right now is to suck up to China to make them happy so they have a chance of getting back their country.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama already said that they should go for Umaylam instead of Rangzen. If they can’t make China to be happy with them, they will not have any chance of going forward in Umaylam.
John
September 11, 2019
Many Tibetans are leaving India to look for better opportunities instead of staying in India under CTA which never looking their welfare and after 60 years of waiting, it really demotivated. Most of the Tibetans in India already in their 2nd generation and this generation mostly will not understand the frustration from their parents. What they are after is a better livelihood and live just like the local Indian. With CTA, Tibetan will always stay as a refugee and there is no future for their next generation.
Move out from India or rather CTA is the best decision. CTA will not look after them. Think about your future.
Tenzin
September 28, 2019
Tibetans have been in exile for over 60 years now. They had suffered so much from poverty and being a refugee for so long. Since His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been been able to fight for Tibet’s independence from China, they really have to plan for their own future.
They can’t see their future and that is why they need to fight for their own. I believe the Tibetans loves His Holiness the Dalai Lama and also respect him a lot. However, if they continued to stay in the settlements, they will have a hard time surviving.
Just look at the Tibetans who went overseas. Many of them have successful lives. They are just look for a chance to get a better life.
Tamang
September 30, 2019
Only Dalai Lama is being taken care of. The Tibetans are still the same as before. After 60 years of waiting, CTA has not fulfilled its promises and Tibetans can’t trust the CTA anymore especially looking at CTA issues on mishandling the fund, separating and discriminating Tibetans with Shugden ban, intercept other lineages tradition by recognizing another leader, and etc. How do you want Tibetan to have confidence with CTA seeing all their work and action is just to destroy Tibetan. Tibetans felt there is no hope and would not want to wait for another 60 years as they will be no change. It is better Tibetan stand by themselves and decide what best for them. It’s sad as many people have so much hope and faith for Dalai Lama but not for CTA.
Alex
October 2, 2019
The Tibetans are leaving Dalai Lama behind because they are fed up with their stagnant situation in the Tibetan settlements. The Dorje Shugden ban can be solved easily if the CTA wishes to. However, CTA has been complicating things on Dorje Shugden practice and made it a taboo for everyone. On top of that, His Holiness the Dalai Lama supports the ban and spoke outwardly about it. This makes everything worst.
If only His Holiness the Dalai Lama willing to meet with the leaders of Dorje Shugden practice and reconcile the differences peacefully, there will be no ban. Even leaders of two very different countries that have been enemies for years can come together peacefully, I am sure that we can do that too with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
CTA always said that they wanted to protect Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If the ban continues, more Tibetans will have to suffer and the community will not be able to progress. Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden practitioners will be fighting with each other day and night and nothing will get done. Tibetans will forever be a refugee in India and suffer poverty generation after generations.
Drolma
October 4, 2019
Let’s be real, who wants to be a refugee for the whole life? A refugee cannot move around, they cannot buy properties, they cannot own a business, they just cannot live freely like the rest of the people. The very old Tibetans might want to remain a refugee like the Dalai Lama but not the younger generations.
The young Tibetans have lost so much opportunity in life due to their refugee status. Compared to the Tibetans in Tibet, the Tibetans in India are missing a lot in their lives. Many Tibetans in Tibet are successful in the sector they have chosen to work in. For examples, there are many talented movie directors, actors and actresses, singers in Tibet.
That is no wonder many young Tibetans are also returning to Tibet seeing there are so many opportunities in Tibet. But I think not wanting to remain a refugee does not mean Tibetans don’t respect the Dalai Lama. It just time have changed, Tibetans have accepted that free Tibet is a mission impossible. Life has to go on.
Chodag
October 17, 2019
The latest news about CTA letters that requesting India help to table it to the Chinese is really sabotaging the relationship between India and China. The letter is good enough to make the Chinese unhappy with CTA and it will also blow over to India for helping CTA.
CTA will keep making people around them angry and unhappy. This is just so ridiculous as they keep creating unpleasant conditions for the Tibetan. It seems to look like the CTA is the spy that sabotaging Tibetan from returning to Tibet.
Tara
October 21, 2019
I believe Tibetans don’t really abandon Dalai Lama but is the CTA. Many Tibetans follow Dalai Lama to India is due to their faith and at that time Dalai Lama is still the one leading the Tibetan. What happens now is that the governance is no longer under Dalai Lama and it has been 60 long years in India the Tibetan don’t see any positive sign for them to return as promised by CTA. Furthermore, Tibetan welfare is not taken care of. Adding up with all the scandals, separation, discrimination, violence that CTA put up to the Tibetan it doesn’t really help their situation to go on with and wait. They have their families and their children where they need to think about their future. Dalai Lama may still bale to wait but the Tibetan will not hold on to CTA anymore because their situation is worse.
JangChub
November 4, 2019
60 years have passed and Tibetans are still selling sweaters in the Tibetan settlements in India. Why would the Tibetans still have hope for their own government? CTA broke their promise on sending the Tibetans back to Tibet so many times. Until now, there is still no progress on the Tibetan cause. I don’t think the CTA is even working on it because it is way to hard for them. They would prefer to sit around, get free donations from countries around the world and eat momos.
Bob
November 27, 2019
It definitely a sad moment for the Tibetans to leave Dalai Lama but I beleive they have no choice due to CTA is not really helping them as a leader which supposed to protect their interest and create a peace and harmony environment. Tibetans are not experiencing all that and on top of that they have been taken advantage of by CTA to get funding and their welfare has not been improved. Where is all the money gone?
Tibetan really need to stand up and exercise their right if their so-called democratic government is not doing what they supposed to. CTA needs funding and they will be worried if Tibetan put this up to the world press.
Anonymous
December 24, 2019
Filthy desi
February 9, 2020
Fully understand why Tibetans in India want to leave the shithole. Who wants to be called chinkis or momos or risked getting beat up if you ventured into the wrong neighborhood because of your look?