Tibet and its speedy march for modernization

Yuba Nath Lamsal

While over 1.3 billion Chinese people are marching forward on the path of development and modernization, some trouble makers in the name of self-styled Tibetan refugees are using foreign soil to create trouble in their motherland. They are not the genuine Tibetans but criminals who fled the motherland after committing crimes against their own brethren back home. These criminal elements are being instigated by foreigners and enemies of China and are trying to harm their own country and fellow country people. They are out to split and weaken China for which they have become pawn and puppets of some external elements and forces that do not see a unified, strong and prosperous China.

For the last few months, some Western media have raised the issue of self-immolation by some so-called Tibetan monks protesting against what they described as Chinese rule in Tibet. This is yet another propaganda being unleashed by anti-China elements and their supporters abroad. Buddhist monks, be they Tibetan or others, believe in non-violence and remain away from dirty politics and any kind of conspiracy. Moreover, Tibetans are free to practice their form of Buddhism in Tibet. No genuine Tibetan monk is likely to opt for such kind of crime against humanity. It is nothing other than the conspiracy being instigated by the Dalai Lama, who was forced to flee in the wake of popular uprising and Beijing assertion of its right over Tibet in 1949. These people claim to be Tibetan refugees and are trying to create trouble in Tibet.

In fact, Tibet was not occupied by China but it was only liberated from Dalai Lama\'s serfdom. Tibet had never been an independent country but remained a part of greater China throughout history. China had granted autonomy to Tibet and the local chieftain used to rule over Tibet with the consent of central authority in Beijing. China remained weak under feudal reactionary rule of different dynasties and dictators, Dalai Lama took advantage of the autonomy and imposed his serfdom in Tibet and treated Tibetan people as slaves. After, China was liberated and People\'s Republic of China was established in 1949, Beijing also took direct and active initiative to liberate Tibet from feudal serfdom. As People\'s Liberation Army in collaboration with Tibetan people finally emancipated Tibet from serfdom, following which Dalai Lama and some of his loyalists fled the country.

On March 28, 1959, Beijing announced the dissolution of the local government of Tibet and replaced it with a preparatory committee for establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region. This marked the beginning of a new era in Tibet. Since then, phenomenal changes have taken place in this province of China in the Himalaya.

Chinese authorities describe the Dalai Lama\'s rule in Tibet as a period of serfdom where people were treated not as citizens but as personal property. This was worse than the slavery that existed in the United States of America before Abraham Lincoln declared an end to slavery and the slave trade. Under serfdom, all properties, including the people and natural resources, belonged to the rulers, and the people had to submit to the government. While the rulers enjoyed a luxurious life, the general mass suffered hunger and lived a primitive life.

Some may take Beijing\'s claims and its comparison of life then and now in Tibet as mere propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party. But anyone who has seen Tibet in recent years agrees with China\'s version. Once one of the most backward regions of China, Tibet has now leapt forward in terms of economic development after the central government intervened and decided to ensure governance by the people of Tibet, which was impossible during the Dalai Lama\'s rule.

According to some western propaganda that we have seen in the biased press, Tibet was an independent country which was taken over forcibly by China. They are fanning separatist activities in the name of a small group of followers of the Dalai Lama. According to them, the situation of human rights in Tibet has worsened and the Tibetan people have been denied the right to self-rule by Beijing. This is a mere propaganda designed to create a split in China and an attempt to once again push the people of Tibet into the trap of serfdom.

As said earlier, Tibet had never been an independent country but an integral part of China. All historical facts have proved this. Right from the Tang Dynasty in early 7th century, Tibet came under Beijing\'s rule, and it continued to be under the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. When China became a republic in 1912, the central government declared it as a republic of five nationalities - Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetans. After the establishment of the People\'s Republic of China, serfdom was abolished, and Tibet was declared an autonomous province of China.

However, Tibet was granted total autonomy by the central government, which has now been dubbed by some as having independent status. This is a distortion of history and the truth. But one thing is true that whenever rulers in Beijing were weak, Tibetan authorities tried to be more assertive. But all the decisions taken by the Tibetan authorities had to be finally endorsed by the central government in Beijing even before 1951.

After the 1949 revolution that established a communist government led by Mao Zedong, things changed. The Dalai Lama was so unpopular in Tibet that the Tibetan people themselves wanted Beijing\'s intervention to free the Tibetan people from the vice of serfdom. At the request of the Tibetan people and policy of the Communist Party to free its people from all forms of slavery, serfdom and exploitation, a contingent of the Chinese People\'s Liberation Army marched into Lhasa along with Tibet\'s common citizenry and declared an end to serfdom and the beginning of people\'s rule.

The Dalai Lama along with a small group of his henchmen then fled to India from where attempts were made to destabilize Tibet and China. Some western powers that are opposed to the socialist system anywhere in the world have found a good excuse to bash China and carry out activities aimed at splitting China. But these ill motives have always been foiled due to the solidarity of the Chinese people, including Tibetans.

China has been focusing more on ensuring a decent life for its people so that they can enjoy and exercise other rights. This is exactly the case in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Moreover, the support to the Dalai Lama is support to slavery and serfdom, which is the worst violation of human rights. In fact, slavery and serfdom are a blot on civilization. But it is only the Dalai Lama\'s supporters who are backing serfdom in the name of the \'Free Tibet movement\'. They want serfdom to stage a comeback in Tibet in the name of "Free Tibet", which is being backed by some western governments.

The question here is whether emancipation from serfdom or pushing the people back again into serfdom is a human right. It is time for the world to decide which side is right and which one is trying to snatch the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people. We must speak loudly and clearly where we stand - with the people of Tibet who have enjoyed a far more decent and dignified life or with those who want a return of feudal serfdom in Tibet.

The entire humanity applauds Abraham Lincoln for his bold and historic decision to end slavery in the United States of America, which has been hailed as a step towards upholding human dignity. The end of serfdom in Tibet is a similar step. While the people in the western countries hail the end of slavery in America, they make a hue and cry when same thing happens in China. This clearly shows the double standard and hypocrisy of the western world regarding human rights.

Tibet is an autonomous province of China and it is resolutely marched forward on the path of development. Autonomy refers to a system in which local authority has final say in cultural, economic and even political affairs of the region. Local self-governance is another dynamic of the political autonomy. Central government has already declared Tibet as an autonomous region and the local government takes decision on local affairs. It was the status of Tibet in the past as the central government had given some sort of autonomy. Now Tibet enjoys better autonomy than in the past. So far as Nepal\'s position is concerned, it has adopted a one-China policy and supported Tibet\'s modernization process. Perhaps, no other country knows Tibet better than Nepal due to its geographical closeness and interaction between the two peoples. Since Nepal has recognized Tibet as an integral part of China, it does not regard anybody that flees from Tibet as refugee. Those who flee Tibet and carry out anti-China activities are criminals and they should be treated accordingly.