By Dawa Tshering
Self-immolations and silent political protest has been going on in Tibet over the years against forceful occupation of the country by the Chinese. They have expressed their grievances whenever they saw a window of opportunity, especially since the Chinese liberalization policy of the late 1970s. Under the oppressive rule, Tibetans have been very innovative in devising mechanisms to express their grievances, such as performing “khora” (pilgrimage/meditation) around the Jorkhang temple, offering special prayers every Wednesday, the procedure for cremation of bodies of those shot dead by the Chinese authorities, and so on.
Self-immolation is the latest mode of protest adopted by the Tibetans. This is an act of desperation as there are no other viable avenues to express their grievances. This mode is not a Tibetan innovation as it has been resorted to by others before. However, unlike other cases where a single self-immolation captured international headlines and triggered major reactions, in the case of Tibet the effect has been different. Despite nearly a hundred persons having immolated themselves over the last few years, these events have passed by without much notice, let alone reaction.
This double standard of the international community is partly to be blamed on the Tibetans themselves. They failed to think and act like a nation according to the general trend in their neighbourhood and the rest of the world. They preoccupied themselves with religion and closed themselves to outside influence. Tibetan leaders bartered away their sovereignty for protection in the garb of a patron-priest relationship with China. Tibetans allowed their martial instincts, well known in their recorded history from the seventh century onwards, to be subdued. In short, Tibetans preoccupied themselves with the next life, forsaking the ways of living this present “conventional” life.
Historical evidence suggests that Tibet as a nation had inadvertently committed major blunders, and that the people of Tibet, both inside and outside Tibet at present time, are bearing the harsh consequences of those blunders. Tibet is an ancient country with a recorded history of its existence since the seventh century. Its foundation, basic characteristics and consolidation as a distinct country took shape under the reign of 42 ingenious kings, who ruled from around 127 BC up to 842 AD. In the seventh to ninth centuries, Tibet emerged as a formidable military power in Central Asia and adopted expansionist activities towards its neighbours. The King of Nepal and the Emperor of China had to offer their daughters to the Tibetan Emperor in marriage. However, when Lang Dharma, the last of the aforementioned kings, was assassinated in 842 AD, Tibet underwent a period of turmoil and fragmented into small principalities.
This period had been referred to by the Tibetan historians as “Sil-bu-dus”, a veritable dark age, but in reality it was a period of cultural renaissance in Tibet. During this period, Buddhism had transformed from a courtly interest into a social force which permeated every aspect of Tibetan life. Moreover, different schools of Tibetan Buddhism started flourishing during this period. It was the Mongols’ invasion of Tibet and handing over the reign of Tibet to Sakya Lama that eventually paved the way for the system of rulers in whose hands both the earthly authority and the prestige of religious sanctity were united, and the whole of Tibet was once again brought under one central authority. The rule of the Lamas, first by the Sakyas (1247-1358) and later by the Dalai Lamas (1642-1959), brought about the historic transition from royal authority based on force to a lama-ist authority based on religious belief. The predominance of religion had the effect of neglecting statecraft and killing the martial spirit of the Tibetans.
In order to protect the lama-ist rule from external threats, a unique patron-priest relationship developed between the rulers of China and Tibet. Under this system, the Chinese rulers accepted the lama rulers of Tibet as their spiritual leaders and, in return, provided military protection to the latter. However, when the protector itself started posing a threat, after the Communist takeover in Beijing, it became necessary for the Tibetan government to interact with the rest of the world.
In the mid-1950s, the Tibetan government sent missions to India, Nepal, Britain and the United States to explain the crisis developing in its relationship with the new regime in Beijing, to inform the threat of China’s action against Tibet, and to seek their assistance. It also sent an appeal to the United Nations (UN) on November 7, 1950. In a letter to the Secretary General, it explained:
Tibet recognises that it is in no position to resist (The Chinese advance). This unwarranted act of aggression has created a grave situation in Tibet and may eventually deprive Tibet of its long cherished independence.
Neither these countries nor the UN responded positively to Tibet’s pleas for assistance. When a full-scale military attack was launched on Tibet on October 5, 1950, Tibetan soldiers fought bravely at Chamdo but were defeated. Tibet was also faced with a diplomatic set-back as the UN decided to defer the discussion on the Tibet issue mainly on the ground of its unclear status. With these setbacks, Tibet had no alternative but to sign the contentious Seventeen-Point Agreement on May 23, 1951. However, the simmering discontent and resistance to China’s policy in Tibet continued throughout the 1950s and finally erupted into a full-scale national uprising against Chinese rule in March 1959.
When, for the first time, a full-scale discussion on Tibet took place in the plenary session of the UN General Assembly, Tibet was discussed not as a nation subjected to aggression and colonial occupation but under the diluted, term “human rights violation”, thus evading any reference to the political situation. A resolution was passed in that august body calling for “respect for the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people and their distinctive cultural and religious life”. The draft resolution was passed by the General Assembly by 46 votes to nine, with 26 abstentions. Subsequently, two more resolutions of a similar nature were passed in the General Assembly in 1961 and 1965. Thus, according to the UN, the ancient nation of Tibet was not qualified to be treated as a nation-state; nor did the august international body consider Tibet to be an occupied territory. It simply denigrated the issue as merely a question of the denial of human rights of the Tibetan people by the Chinese state. INAV