Immolation as assertion: Tibetans weigh options

In the midst of reports about intensified troop activity along India-China border following a standoff at Bhutan-Sikkim border, the Tibetans living in Dharamsala for almost 60 years feel on edge. On July 29, a charred body of Passang Dhondup (48) was recovered close to his rented house off Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala. The man was said to be a vociferous opponent of Chinese “atrocities” in Tibet Autonomous Region. The Tibetans-in-exile claim Passang committed immolation, but the police are awaiting his post-mortem report. 

Originally from Gyaltse in Shigatse Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region, Passang had arrived in India in 1991 and had worked from 2012 as a wood painter at the institute. Nyima Gyalpa, Passang’s teacher, says the man was introvert and had strong views about China. “I never thought he would take such an extreme step. His self-immolation has come as a shock for us.”

This was the third such ‘self-immolation’ in India in the last two years. About 150 monks and Tibetans have died like this in Tibet since 2012, according to the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala. Such cases recur despite condemnations for the acts from the Dalai Lama and the Sikyong (leader of Tibetan people in-exile) Lobsang Sangay. In a statement given after attending the cremation of Passang Dhondup, Lobsang Sangay said the Kashag (cabinet of Tibetan government-in-exile) was considering a decision against attending the cremation of those who commit self-immolations. The step, he said, was meant to discourage Tibetans from taking the extreme step.

Growing frustration

For young Tibetan Tsering Dorjee these cases, inside and outside Tibet, indicate a growing frustration. “The Chinese have been cracking down on our religious beliefs and the youth are feeling helpless,” he said. His reaction could only be one shade of opinion in his community as the older generation that saw the exodus from Tibet and the accompanying tumult in the late fifties continues to hold on to the Dalai Lama-inspired ‘middle path’. For instance, Tashi Dolma, in his seventies, says the ‘middle path approach’ underlying a meaningful autonomy to Tibet under Chinese sovereignty is the only way forward. “We should have faith in him and not resort to as self-immolation,” she said.

Gazala Abdullah, a foreigner who has been associated with the Tibetan struggle for over two decades, says though she does not want to belittle the sacrifices of Tibetans, self-immolation has not had the desired effect. “These self-immolations are covered by the Western media. Yet no foreign government is exerting pressure on China so that young Tibetans don’t waste their precious life,” she said.

It is the young Tibetans who appear more serious about Chinese ‘designs’. “The Chinese have expansionist polices. They started infiltrating into Tibet in 1949 and completed the annexation in 1959. They are following similar policies with other small neighbouring countries. The Chinese army is already there in northern Nepal and Pak-occupied Kashmir — maybe for the reasons stated to be trade. The Chinese army is also infiltrating into territory of Bhutan,” says Tashi Dhondup, executive secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress.

He said the only solution for India is to keep Tibet to forefront while dealing with China. “Tibet as buffer state was the only solution to the persistent border disputes between India and China,” Tashi Dhondup said.

Dolma Yangchen, president of the Tibet Women Association, says the Dokalam standoff isn’t something new. “This (intrusion) is a part of China’s expansionist plan. Tibetans have been raising it time and again,” she said. Doklam is crucial as it is the easiest route to enter India. The route was earlier used for trade between India and Tibet. “At the moment the best way is to resolve the dispute through dialogue as war can be disastrous, she said.

Drop in Western aid

Many Western countries and the US have curtailed aid to Tibetans living in exile. President Trump has proposed ‘zero budget’ for Tibetans in the financial year 2018. With this the US government reversed is decades-old policy of providing financial help to the community. 

The US has termed the move as a tough choice. It wants other countries to help out the Tibetan community. In financial years 2016 and ’17, the annual US aid amounted to $1 million, just about Rs 6.5 crore. The US decision gave a wrong message across the globe that even the most powerful country had bowed to pressure from China, many Tibetans said. 

China has also managed to get invites to the Dalai Lama cancelled in many countries. The crucial grants for sustaining a distinct Tibetan culture and carrying out struggle against China were also drying up due to poor economic conditions in the West.