Students United Movement of All Arunachal (SUMAA) have been protesting against the Government of Arunachal Pradesh’s adoption of the Tibetan Rehabilitation policy (TRP). They say Tibetans are infringing on the rights of the indigenous population.
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: Solaray Kusco
In 2014, the Indian government initiated a policy called the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy (TRP). Supporters say that the TRP was the Indian government’s attempt to boost the Tibetans’ standard of living; cynics say that the TRP was agreed to by many state governments, in order to woo Tibetan voters into voting favorably for them.
One such state that is now speaking up strongly is Arunachal Pradesh, in North India. In October 2017, hundreds of Indians in the state began passionate protests against their government, calling upon them to rollback their agreement to implement the TRP. In their protests, they willingly labelled themselves anti-Tibetan. The protests became so heated that Tibetan-owned businesses in Arunachal Pradesh state drew their shutters and required police protection from potential attacks.
The anti-Tibetan sentiment in Arunachal Pradesh joins an increasing number of vocal comments and remarks being made by Indians finally realizing how Tibetan so-called refugees have been taking advantage of the Indian nation’s kindness. Meanwhile the Tibetan leadership stays silent about the situation in Arunachal Pradesh while their people remain at risk of losing their entire livelihoods. It is clear that:
- The current situation is not the fault of the Tibetan people but of their leadership known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala, North India. The CTA do not implement good policies to expose their people to better education, world politics, current affairs, better job opportunities as well as life opportunities and instead they keep the Tibetan people downtrodden and poor for their own purposes. In doing so, the CTA hopes that the world remains sympathetic to them labelled as ‘refugees’ although it has been 60 years since leaving Tibet, and hence gives them more money and donations. In reality, Tibetans actually have many opportunities in India to better their own lives if they would go beyond their scopes. The CTA does not encourage this within their communities although to sponsors and foreign donors they show a different face.
- Even their refugee status is being thrown into doubt and the citizens of their host country India is questioning why they are still refugees after 60 years of living freely. The tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh State in North India who are engaged in anti-Tibetan protests say that Tibetans are not genuine refugees according to the 1951 Geneva Convention which is the main international instrument of refugee law. There are many more genuine refugees in the world that fit the description much better. There are approximately 7,000 Tibetans in the North Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh alone. For example, real refugees do not live in nice houses, own farms, keep livestock, go on holidays abroad, send their children overseas for education, open up businesses, have big golden temples and get to enjoy all of the country’s facilities, while the indigenous population in India continues to suffer and does not receive adequate government aid. This indigenous population are speaking up now against this unfair practice of double standards. The double standards are those of the Tibetans claiming to be refugees and all the ‘perks’ that it accompanies this label, along with having passports of other countries such as Nepal, USA, England, Canada and so on. The head of the CTA or the so-called Prime Minister Mr. Lobsang Sangay has an American passport. If anything should happen in India, he can hop on a plane and fly to safety, quite contrary to the situation that his own countrymen face.
- So for the Tibetan government to keep using the “refugee” card is a clear indication that they are cheating the local Indian and indigenous population. That is to say, the CTA has the ability to create an environment for their people to do well and thrive, without needing affirmative policies from the Indian government who should be allowed to focus their efforts on the Indian population. Yet, the CTA continue to rely on the Indian government for such policies because it is free and easy money, and this is why Indians in Arunachal Pradesh are so upset. The fact that anger is now being directed at all Tibetans is a very clear indicator that the CTA have not been good leaders in securing their people’s future and current status that now even their refugee status can be attacked. It clearly shows that the CTA and Tibetans have not made themselves welcomed in India even after 60 years. No country will ask an immigrant or refugee to leave if they have lived there for 60 years. So something is seriously upsetting the Indians against Tibetans. Why are they still refugees after 60 years of living in free India?
A banner posted by Students’ United Movement of all Arunachal (SUMAA) in Itanagar, India, on 6 October 2017 stating: “Anti Tibetan Refugee Movement” driving start from 10th October 2017 onwards. We strongly stand firm against the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy-2014. We seek every indigenous people to join in this rescue mission for the safeguards of indigenous community. Go back Tibetan…! Go back refugee…! Kaling Moyong, Vice Present (Pro) cum Issue Chairman; Tagri Tame, President; Akom Suraj Licu, General Secretary; Taki Longte Ta…, Education Sec’y cum Issue Vice Chairman.
- The current anti-Tibetan sentiment shows that the CTA has not done much to give back to the people of India for being such a kind host and allowing them to live so freely, with all the additional perks even the locals do not get to enjoy. This shows how ungrateful the CTA is, and that they are all about taking and milking whoever they can manipulate into believing their ‘poor me’ stories. If the CTA had encouraged the Tibetan people to get involved with Indian society and assimilate, open charities, help the Indians and indigenous people, establish clinics, offer medical assistance and so on as the late Mother Teresa had done in India, Tibetans today would be viewed as Indians, and not as a separate community from the Indians. Being a separate community makes it easier for them to be identified as the opposition and enemy.
- The level of anger we are currently witnessing in Arunachal Pradesh is not a spur-of-the-moment thing. It is not just because of the TRP that Indians are suddenly protesting against Tibetans. In fact, anti-Tibetan sentiments have been brewing for decades, and the TRP just happened to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Why are the Tibetans still asking to remain as refugees and not assimilate, and furthermore asking for special refugee privileges? Tibetans who migrate abroad to Canada, USA, Japan, Australia, Europe and so forth have to immediately assimilate, apply for permanent residency status or green cards, as well as passports and work. There are no special privileges. So why do they demand or expect this of their most kindest host, namely India? It has been 60 years already. “Assimilate or return to Tibet,” is what the Indians are logically demanding. Pay taxes, join the Indian armed services to protect the land, obey the rules of democracy and so on, and stop crying for help as you pretend to be a refugee.
- SUMAA (Students United Movement of All Arunachal) are students, so they are not just random uneducated village people. They are educated and they can observe and think, and having analyzed the situation, they have grown to become very angry and are now protesting in the hundreds because Tibetans still want preferential treatment and ask for aid from the foreign countries. What the CTA need to realize is that SUMAA have vowed that this is just the beginning and will not stop until their state government of Arunachal Pradesh rolls back the TRP and rescinds the state’s support of this affirmative action. This type of anti-Tibetan sentiment is growing. It has been brewing in various parts of India for decades.
- What the CTA also needs to understand is that once one group starts to get vocal and complain about the Tibetans, everyone else will join in too because finally, a group has taken the leap of being identified as anti-Tibetan and it is now no longer taboo to be considered as such. When that time comes, what can the CTA do to protect their people? After 60 years, Tibetans are still more likely to become sweater sellers than scientists, doctors, engineers and so forth. This is thanks to the CTA’s leadership and method of keeping their people uneducated, unexposed and unaware of the world at large for their own exploitative purposes. It is simple: the leadership keeps the population in poverty while they use this to receive aid and line their own coffers. It is well-known that the members of the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala are wealthy, own houses abroad, send their kids to western countries for higher education, own cars, have foreign passports and can afford overseas holidays. While this method may have been initially intended to protect and preserve the Tibetan way of life, it has spectacularly backfired due to extreme corruption as Congressman Dana Rohrabacher stated. Now, the Tibetans cannot even earn a living safely and uninterruptedly, let alone think of preserving their culture in an atmosphere that is increasing hostile towards the so-called refugee Tibetans.
- Why does the CTA not say something to placate the situation and make peace with the Indians in Arunachal Pradesh? It is most likely because they know they can do nothing to placate the protestors, as their anger has grown so great. Before it reached this stage, the CTA would have tried to say or do something to quell the anger and so now, it is too late. So how will the CTA help the Tibetans now? Can they speak up for Tibetan refugee rights without angering the local Indian population? What would stop Indians from saying that Tibetans should just leave, which they have every right to call for?
- The CTA’s treatment of Dorje Shugden practitioners is coming back full circle. What’s happening now to all Tibetans and how they need police protection from the backlash from the Indians, is similar to how Dorje Shugden practitioners had to be protected by Indian police in the past when the CTA directed violence against them. Now the Tibetan community has to suffer because the CTA spent 60 years focused on making personal financial gains from their political positions. Thanks to the CTA’s actions against their own Tibetan people, the entire Tibetan community now has to suffer. Now the majority of Tibetans will know how it feels to live among self created hostility.
Locals have been seen protesting against the Tibetans in the hundreds.
What the CTA should be REALLY concerned about is that this is what is happening to Tibetans while Dalai Lama is still alive. While the Dalai Lama, who commands such massive respect in India, is still alive, there are already people in India calling for the Tibetans to leave. The request seems almost illogical; with nearly 90,000 Tibetans living in exile in India, it is impossible for all of them to leave. Where would they even go? It is becoming all the more obvious now that the CTA has to make friends with China so they have somewhere to go back to at that time, or to become Indian citizens now and be proud and serve the country. The Dalai Lama does not have a foreign passport but an Indian protectorate document for travel. But most of his government members do carry foreign passports but it is kept hush-hush. Ordinary Tibetans will find it prohibitively expensive to do the same.
This situation should be something of concern to all Tibetans, that once His Holiness the Dalai Lama passes away, there will be nothing to stem the wave of anti-Tibetan sentiment that is coming. They will not be able to rely on the CTA to handle it and certainly, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay has demonstrated he is incapable of doing so and will literally ‘fly the coop’ with his American passport. The funds for the whole of the CTA comes solely because of sympathies towards the charismatic Dalai Lama. Without him holding it together and being a magnet for monetary aid, all would collapse overnight. If Sikyong Lobsang Sangay had the ability to control the situation, the present situation in Arunachal Pradesh would not have boiled over into anti-Tibetan protests on the street. The fact there are protests now show that Lobsang Sangay was ineffective in dealing with this. The Tibetans did not make good impression on the Indians for the last 60 years.
After 60 years of living in India, Tibetans are still hoisting their flags throughout the communities in India. What an insult to India. They should be hoisting the flag of India which is the country that gives them safe refuge, education, opportunities, citizenship, free platform to campaign for a free Tibet, headquarters for the safety of the Dalai Lama, jobs and homes. But this shows how ungrateful Tibetans are. In every other country they migrate to, they must salute the flag of the respective countries. India is really kind and generous in all respects and now further is offering Tibetans citizenship which their CTA is refusing. To the public, they ‘encourage’ Tibetans for Indian citizenship but privately, they tell their people to not be a traitor and remain a refugee because the Tibetan cause will be lost, when in truth it is all about losing refugee aid money.
It is the CTA and their underhanded tricks all over again. By taking citizenship, Tibetans can no longer enjoy the free perks of foreign aid and have to fend for themselves. Indians are tired of being insulted and used as a stepping stone for Tibetans to get to another country. When they cannot get to another country, they want to remain as refugees forever, citing not losing the cause for Tibet, then only do they remain in India. Why is India the second choice? Why is India good enough to live as a refugee for 60 years but not good enough to become of citizen of? Tibetans are arrogant and are obviously using India. If getting an Indian citizenship is being a traitor to the Tibetan cause of freedom, then what about the thousands of Tibetans in Europe, Japan, Australia, North America who have already been naturalized as citizens of those respective countries? Are they all traitors also? Tibetans in India remain refugees because is easier to get aid than become a full citizen of a democratic country like India where they would have to fend for themselves like any other citizen.
As time passes, life gets better for most other refugee communities around the world. They are either repatriated as conflict in their homeland dies down, or they assimilate into their host nations and thrive there. Yet with the Tibetans, we are seeing the opposite, as more people become less enamored by the idea of a Shangri-la Tibet, and wake up to the reality that everyone knows is true – after 60 years, the CTA have given nothing back to India and will continue to give nothing back. Even as the Indians themselves speak up against them, with the Tibetan leadership it is truly a case of old habits die hard and at the end of the day, it will be left up to the Tibetan people to suffer. The precarious situation for Tibetans in India happening now is only the beginning of the end.
Indians (SUMAA) Protest Against Tibetans
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
Part Translation: “This is not a simple foot march, it is a protest rally and I want to say to the state government and the central government, whoever is behind this policy, to immediately roll it back. If not…this is just the beginning. I will say it one more time, this is just the beginning. And of our people who have come here today came along the road, if tomorrow the chief minister’s office asks, if necessary to save our prestige, we will, the SUMAA will go to any extent. Our demands are that the policy is rolled back.”
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Part 4
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SUMAA Leaders Speak
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Articles
Click to enlarge. (Source: http://arunachalobserver.org/2017/10/11/sumaa-holds-protest-march-demands-trp-2014-rollback/)
Click to enlarge. (Source: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=39650)
Click to enlarge. (Source: https://www.tibetsun.com/news/2017/10/05/tibetans-in-arunachal-pradesh-face-wrath-of-locals)
English
Indonesia
Tibetan
Pema Wangchuk
January 24, 2018
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is expressing his wish to visit China again. This is not the first time His Holiness mentioned about visiting or returning to China. In fact, His Holiness made a strong statement in November 2017 that His Holiness “would return to Tibet at once, if China agrees”. Could this be another sign from the Tibetan leadership that rapprochement with China is happening soon?
Tsering
March 3, 2018
Comic drawn by Tendor, a prominent Free Tibet activist.
Tsering Kyi
April 29, 2018
Breaking news!
Well, all the people who was saying China-backed Panchen Lama is fake sure look ridiculous now. They attacked all the Tibetans and supporters who respected the China-backed Panchen Lama calling them all types of dirty and foul names in person and on social media. Calling them China stooges and China paid vulgar names for believing in the China-backed Panchen Lama. Now who looks so ridiculous? Now the Dalai Lama says the China-backed Panchen Lama is good and has a good teacher. If he has a good teacher it means he is turning into a good teacher himself. So he is qualified to teach. The end.
Dalai Lama says the China-backed Panchen Lama is an emanation of the previous Panchen Lama because high lamas can incarnate back as several lamas at the same time. So the Panchen Lama recognized by the Dalai Lama and the China-backed Panchen Lama are both good and both are incarnations of the previous Panchen Lama. How the tables have turned. Now all the people who criticized China-backed Panchen Lama can keep quiet and remember how ridiculous they look now. Listen to what the Dalai Lama says now as of April 2018 about the China-backed Panchen Rinpoche http://video.dorjeshugden.com/videos/11PanchenLamaIsAlive.mp4
The Panchen Lama recognized by Dalai Lama is alive and well also according to Dalai Lama himself.
Sonam Rinchen
May 4, 2018
Is it time to save the sinking ship that is the Tibetan cause? But wait a minute, the ship has already been sunk for the likes of Mr Ugyen Gyalpo.
Gone are the days when Tibet’s independence was possible, yet Tibetans like Mr Gyalpo are still living in a fantasy, asking the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to go against the Dalai Lama’s goal of meaningful autonomy for Tibet, and advocate full independence instead. On top of that, he wants India to help Tibet gain its independence, disregarding how these actions would jeopardize India’s relationship with China.
This is the same kind of illogical, self-centred, wishful thinking that caused the Tibetans to lose their country to China by signing the 17-Point Agreement in 1951. Why ask someone to fight for a lost cause? Perhaps Mr Gyalpo was on holiday and did not catch the latest media flurry about the Dalai Lama stating that he is happy for Tibet to be in China. The CTA President Lobsang Sangay even urged Tibetans to make the Dalai Lama’s dream of returning to Tibet come true.
It is time for My Gyalpo and other pro-independence activists to seriously wake up from their self-imposed slumber and plan what they can actually do if and when the Dalai Lama gets the green light to go back to Tibet. Do they want to support the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader? Or will they betray and abandon him?
UTsang Kunga
May 6, 2018
In March 2018, Tibetan protestors gathered near the Tibetan parliament, seeking to impeach Lobsang Sangay because his actions are unjust and akin to those of a dictator. Protestors also questioned his sudden termination of Penpa Tsering, the former Representative of the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, who was his arch-rival during the 2016 Tibetan election.
But this is not all, Lobsang Sangay’s CV includes a long list of deceitful actions, such as hiding the loan trail of $1.5-million taken by his office from Tibet Fund to purchase a building to house the Office of Tibet in DC. He even ordered the Auditor General to remove any mention of the loan in various financial reports. Lobsang Sangay is also alleged to have sexually assaulted an intern of the International Campaign for Tibet advocacy group. Even before he became the Sikyong (the president of the Central Tibetan Administration), scandals surrounding his actions were rampant. Four years after buying a house near Boston, his US$227,000 mortgage disappeared overnight, one week before he became the president of the CTA. It is no wonder that Tibetans like Pelgyamo express their dissatisfaction by posting sarcastic comments on Lobsang Sangay’s Instagram page.
Thinley Woeser
June 8, 2018
Things are going to be very different for Tibetans in India from now on as Sino-Indian relations get warmer by the day. India has vowed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and ensure Tibet-related issues are handled ‘properly’. This means India will tighten her grip on all Tibetan-related activities. So, the trouble-making Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) better watch themselves and not create further problems that may antagonise China. This is something India will no longer tolerate.
Peljor
June 14, 2018
Ex-Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche caught sleeping in a meeting
The representative of the Dalai Lama and former prime minister of the Tibetan government in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche during an important meeting having a nice sleep. The Tibetan government in-exile are run by people like this who have no control over their body and manners. They only stay awake in the meeting if there is FREE aid money coming their way to line their pockets. Shameful how Samdong Rinpoche is sleeping in the middle of a meeting and he represents the Tibetan government in-exile. This is why after 60 years Tibetan leaders have failed to get Tibet back but blame others for their failures. Shame!
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1528941530.mp4
Tsering Drolhma
July 8, 2018
UNRULY TIBETANS FIGHTING AT DALAI LAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY AGAIN
July 2018-NYC- Tibetans fighting at some birthday celebratory event for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They set up a throne in the back, place Dalai Lama’s picture, and they fight, push, shout, scream at each other right in front of the throne of Dalai Lama and it’s filmed. That is the level of the Tibetans overall. Tibetans are not gentle, Buddhist, peace-loving, tolerant people as they portray to the world. They are rough, rude, hateful, vengeful, violent, regionalistic, narrow minded and will create trouble wherever they go. Very feudal. They always resort to vulgar words and violence. There are some moderate Tibetans, but on the whole they are very violent people who do not practice Buddhism. The average Tibetan know nothing of Buddhism and do not practice. Buddhism is just a meal ticket for them to get to another country. Their support of Dalai Lama is blind and only to be politically correct and they never practice what he teaches. Disgraceful to see a group of violent Tibetans fighting at a Dalai Lama birthday event. Shameful.☹
Tibetans are not welcomed wherever they go. Bhutanese kicked them out. Nepal hates Tibetans. India has no more use for the ‘refugee’ Tibetans and their temples made of gold. After 60 years they cannot get their own country back. What a bunch of losers and useless government people they have.
http://video.dorjeshugden.com/comment-videos/comment-1531033672.mp4
Tsering Drolhma
July 15, 2018
The letter:
It is about the incident that happened at His Holiness’s birthday celebration in NYC recently July 6, 2018. Some members of Tibetan woman association approached to Parliamentarian Tenpa Yarphel during the ceremony and complained that his comments regarding Nechung was disrespect to the protector and His Holiness. They also said him that he made many Tibetan people sad with his comments. And told him not to do that again in the future. Then Dhondup Tseten stood up and shamelessly touched those women. That incident almost made the ceremony stopped. To keep maintaining the relationship between Tibetan Woman Association and Tibetan Parliament Representative, TWA are asking for an apology letter from Dhondup Tseten for touching their members.
(It is so sad that in the fake democracy of the Tibetan leadership in Dharamsala you cannot say anything against a leader or criticize. Too bad)
Bonnie Fider
July 12, 2018
WHY DOES RICHARD GERE AND DALAI LAMA SUPPORT SOGYAL THE DISGUSTING ABUSER?
As long as you are friends with the Dalai Lama, your actions are excusable, no matter how horrendous they may be. Even something as heinous as sexual abuse of over 60 women can be overlooked when the perpetrator is friends with the Dalai Lama namely Sogyal Rinpoche. Why rush to join the chorus of Hollywood voices condemning Harvey Weinstein’s criminality, but remain silent against Sogyal’s exploitation and abuse of women? Richard Gere was vocal in condemning against all the abuses and attacks against women by Harvey Weinstein. But silent on Sogyal Rinpoche. BBC has a full length documentary on Sogyal’s abuses as you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhIivvmMnk. Yet Richard Gere can take photos with the disgusting and abusive Sogyal. Is it because one group of women are worth protecting and the other are not? If it is not for that reason, then it can only be because Sogyal is the Dalai Lama’s friend. The Dalai Lama’s condemnation against Sogyal is very light and it’s disappointing. I guess since Dalai Lama supported Sogyal so much, he can’t be seen as wrong in doing so. Politics is sad.
Christie Donald
July 14, 2018
Hollywood is one of the most influential groups of people who have promoted the mysticism of Buddhist Tantra to the world. Together with the media, they have packaged Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan lamas into a fantasy Utopia, filled with God-like beings who are able to lead people along the quick path to enlightenment.
This propaganda has been widely exploited by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) to garner support, especially financial aid, for the so-called Tibetan Cause and the Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule. Little does the West, including Richard Gere and the so-called Buddhist Professor Robert Thurman, know that efforts from China to improve the infrastructure and standard of living for the Tibetans in China have created opportunities for Tibetans to grow and be successful. This is something that is rarely seen in exile under the governance of the CTA.
This false image that has been promoted for the past 60 years or so is now slowly fading away as more and more victims come forward, exposing the sexual abuse they have suffered under the hands of Tibetan lamas like Sogyal Rinpoche. The root of the problem is clear, people are greedy and lazy while wanting quick success and attention. Since they get these from the Tibetan lamas like Sogyal, they are willing to accept the exploitation. This is further driven by fear that they would no longer be seen as the privileged ones in the inner circle if they do not clutch at their lamas and be seen showing tremendous devotion to their gurus. With only a superficial knowledge of Buddhism, this cult-like group of Hollywood stars and American politicians like Richard Gere continue to generate respect and love for their skewed version of the “Dharma”, while real Buddhist masters are relegated to the side lines.
Tracy
August 8, 2018
Of course Indians are angry at the Tibetans, they only take and they don’t give back. Having a refugee status is not that bad at all, at least that’s what the Tibetans are thinking. They enjoy preferential treatment from India, they receive donations from the west, they don’t have to pay taxes to the Indian government but yet they continue to enjoy everything India provides them.
The CTA, on the other hand, is not concerned about the sentiment of the Indians at all. If they do, they would have done something to repair their relationship with the Indians in Arunachal. It is important to have a good relationship with the Indians so that there is no conflict between the two. The last thing the CTA wants is for Tibetans to be chased out of India.
From how the CTA reacts, we can be sure that the CTA wants the Tibetans to remain as refugees so the CTA can still go and ask for money from the west. Without the refugees, it is not possible to win the sympathy from the west for more money. The Tibetans to the CTA are only a fundraising tool, their welfare is not the priority of the CTA. Money always comes first for the CTA.
Lhakpa Dhendup
August 11, 2018
What will the all the people around the world and in Tibet do now? Dalai Lama says he is happy that Tibet is a part of China and should remain a part of China. So many Tibetans self-immolated for Tibet to be independent and now Dalai Lama did a 360 degree turn and says he wants to go back to Tibet and China and Tibet should be a part of China. So unbelievable. So many are angry and disappointed.
Dalai Lama should set things right
August 12, 2018
Dear Dalai Lama,
Since you started the cruel ban against the 350 year Dorje Shugden practice, how has it benefit your Tibetan society and Buddhism in the world? Things have become worse and most educated Tibetans can see this. They don’t speak out not because they don’t see your ban as wrong, but you instill fear in them and not respect. It is like fear of a dictator. I am sorry to say so. Everyone is divided. There is no harmony. Before your ban there was more harmony and unity.
By enacting the ban, you split the monasteries, split so many families, split regions in Tibet apart, split your disciples from you, split your own gurus from you, split Tibetan Buddhism apart. You have created so much disharmony.
It is not democratic what you have done to ban a religion within your community. You always talk of tolerance and acceptance and democracy and yet you do not accept and tolerate something different from your beliefs. When people practice Dorje Shugden you ostracize them, ban them from seeing you, ban them from using Tibetan facilities. You know you have done that. There are videos that capture your speech and prove this point. You even had people expelled from monasteries just because they practice Dorje Shugden. Some of the monks you expelled have been in the monastery for over 40 years. Many older monks shed tears because of this.
Many young educated Tibetans lost confidence in you as they saw the damage the Dorje Shugden ban created and they lose hope. Many have become free thinkers. They reject what you have done. So many people in the west left Buddhism because of the confusion you created with this ban against Dorje Shugden which is immoral.
You could of had millions of people who practice Dorje Shugden to support, love and follow you, but you scared them away. They are hurt and very disappointed. They loved you and respected you deeply before the ban. It has been 60 years and you have failed to get Tibet back. Your biggest failure is not getting Tibet back after 57 years in exile. Now you are begging China to allow you to return to Tibet to the disappointment of thousands of people who fought for a free Tibet believing in you. So many self-immolated for a free Tibet and now you want Tibet to be a part of China with no referendum from Tibetans. Just like a dictator, you decide on your own. It was your government and you that lost Tibet in the first place. Your policies and style of doing things do not benefit Tibet and Buddhism. You have been the sole ruler of Tibet your whole life and you still have not gotten our country of Tibet back for us. Our families and us are separated. Yet you create more pain by creating a ban to further divide people. Please have compassion.
No other Buddhist leader has banned or condemned any religion except for you. It looks very bad. You are a Nobel laureate and this is not fitting of a laureate. You should unite people and not separate them by religious differences.
You said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not do right to the Rohingya people in Myanmar due to religious differences, but you are doing the same thing to the Shugden Buddhists within your own society. There is a parallel in this. You separate the Shugden Buddhists from the others in Tibetan society.
You have lost so many people who would have loved and supported you. You have lost so much support around the world. The Shugden Buddhists who love you number in the millions. When you are fast losing support from governments and private people, it will not do you well to lose more.
After you are passed away in the future, the rift you created between the Dorje Shugden and non-Dorje Shugden people will remain for a while and that will be your legacy. Disharmony. You will be remembered for this. Not as a hero but a disharmony creator.
Dorje Shugden will spread and further grow, but you will be no more as you are a human. No one wishes you bad and in fact we hope you have a long and healthy life, but we have lost so much hope and have so much despair because of you. All the hundreds of Dorje Shugden lamas, tulkus and geshes are maturing and there are hundreds of Dorje Shugden monasteries in Tibet who will not give up Dorje Shugden. You have made a mistake. These hundreds of teachers and teachers to be will spread Dorje Shugden further in the future.
The gurus that gave us Dorje Shugden as a spiritual practice and you have called these holy gurus wrong and they are mistaken in giving us Dorje Shugden. How can you insult our gurus whom we respect so much? If they can be wrong, then you can be wrong. Then all gurus can be wrong. So no one needs to listen to any guru? You have created this trend. It is not healthy. Your own gurus practiced Dorje Shugden their whole lives. Your own gurus were exemplary and highly learned.
Dalai Lama you have created so much pain with this ban against so many people due to religion. You are ageing fast. Are you going to do anything about it or stay stubborn, hard and un-moving. You show a smile and preach peace and harmony wherever you go. But will you do the same to your own people? Please rectify the wrong you have done. Please before it is too late. You can create harmony again or you can pass away in the future with this legacy of peace. May you live long and think carefully and admit what was a mistake in having this unethical ban against Dorje Shugden religion.
ayana
August 15, 2018
Why doesn’t the United States and its allies end Refugee Status for the useless Tibetans? They have been refugees for 60 years now and don’t tell me they still cannot get their lives back in order?
Tibetans really know how to put on a good show and use people, take their money and do nothing in return.
Ojas
August 15, 2018
Supreme Court of India JUSTICE Mr. MARKANDEY KATJU (RETD) writes that Tibet is much better under the Chinese than it was under the lamas who only wanted to make the populace slaves. It was feudal and it will never return to the backwardness again.
Yoezer
August 19, 2018
While the government of Nepal has framed a policy to tighten the noose around non-governmental organisations, they have welcomed 30 Chinese NGOs to enter the country. These NGOs will penetrate the country’s social sector at the grassroots level. This is the first time such a large number of Chinese NGOs have entered Nepal at one time. Nepal is increasingly open to Chinese influence, a sign that ties between both countries are strengthening, while India’s influence is being reduced. The time has passed for India’s monopoly to remain uninterrupted in Nepal as opportunities to engage with China are being welcomed.
Vardaniya
August 22, 2018
The cracks in Tibetan society are starting to show, and it is now coming to the attention of local Indians who have all but identified the Tibetan leadership as the source of the divisions. According to this author, disunity amongst the Tibetans is now creating problems for Indian law enforcement agencies, and this disunity may culminate in young Tibetans holding silent grudges against their host country. It is incredible that after six decades of generosity from India, Indians are now facing the very real possibility Tibetans can be ungrateful towards India. The Tibetan leadership totally failed to impart positive values upon their exiled community, like gratitude for those kindest to them and the need to repay these kindnesses with real, tangible results. It’s also very unlikely that the Tibetan leadership will now start to do this, after six decades of failing to do so. Indians need to realise this, and see that there is no benefit for their nation to align themselves with the Tibetan leadership, and there never will be.
Maya
August 24, 2018
Although the Dalai Lama has offered an apology, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) still expressed their disappointment over his controversial comment on Nehru, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). Dalai Lama called Nehru self-centred.
The Congress said Dalai Lama being a foreigner should shun and refrain from interfering in the internal as well as external affairs of India.
Drolma
December 15, 2019
Tibetans have not lost their culture and religion under the ruling of the Chinese government. It is true that they have to learn Mandarin but they also are allowed to learn and speak Tibetans. The effort the Chinese government put in preserving Tibetan Buddhism and improve the standard of living of the Tibetans are more than what the CTA has done to the Tibetans. Billions have been spent in restoring Buddhist monasteries and sites in Tibet by the Chinese government since the 80′s. The Dalai Lama wants to be part of China because the Chinese government can give a better future to the Tibetans.