By Londen Phuntsok
London Phuntsok |
March 27, 2014
Tibet is not a subject of international relationship like it is to the international scholars, it’s not a religious issue like it is to many of the Dharma followers--Tibet for Tibetans is an identity issue--a legacy of distorted western concept of imperialism. And It is imperative for the Tibetans in exile, and its supporters to get it right!
The Young Husband’s expedition
to Lhasa in 1904, the Jesuit priest’s mission to the forbidden land, the
western traveler’s erotic obsession with Shangri-La, or drawing inferences from
some Hollywood movies about the generalized enchantment of ‘God King’ His
Holiness Dalai Lama, Tibet connotes gamut of wildly stereotypes.
Since Tibet
remained aloof from the world, this has purportedly led to emancipation of western’s
mysticism on a par with its own skepticisms of it. Western representations of
Tibet in early as 17th century provides to be a vantage point for that was
nothing more than delusion of oriental priest-patron relationship and exoticism
of Lamaism. The west from time to time fantasized these grimy, dirty, religious
Tibetans as hordes of primitive people, who lived with peaceful existence in a statehood
of ignorance towards western concept of modernity.
Much of its representations
to the post-colonial world were dominantly contrived of ignorance and escapist fallacy
back then. Dibyesh Anand (Tibet: a victim of geo-politics) writes “when the
Tibetans went in exile they found that 'Tibet' already existed in western
imagination, and given their limited options, they conformed to that image in
order to gain support.” But this has
entailed, western romanticizing with Tibet even more. Tibet scholars like Lopez
attributes Tibetan Diaspora members as ‘prisoners of Shangri-La’, to which
Tibetan scholar Tsering Shakya corrects “if the Tibetan issue is to be taken
seriously, Tibet must be liberated from both the western imagination and the
myth of Shangri-la.”
Anomalously,
Diaspora of more than 50 years old has not outgrown the western imagination or
its representation. What is prevalent is corollary of its discursive and
desultory provocation by the west. Tibetans still remained as the grimy,
backward, religious prisoners of Shangri-la, which now they hadn’t been able to
negate its once conformed image by west.
More importantly because the Central
Asia unique priest-patron relationship of Tibet with its neighbouring
countries
is a
palpable arrangement existing even now in the form of western patronage to the
Tibetan Diaspora. The Tibetan nationalism is an assortment of its different
façade it glorifies, ‘Buddhism’ ‘Unique cultural’ ‘Human Rights’ ‘Global warming and third
pole’ ‘geo-politics’ ‘China’ etc, thereby it brings the attention of galore of Buddhist community, the law makers,
scholars, journalists, scientific researchers and travelers alike. The
pluralism of political Diaspora, has precipitated cauldron of populism,
conformist, non-conformist views about the Tibet question.
More or less
Diaspora is becoming more prone to the insidious effects of such
trans-nationality of Tibet nationalism. One fair reason would be the growing active
Tibetan political voices in the virtual world, one wouldn’t fail to notice the
pro-independence proponents like Jamyang Norbu’s blog adorned with scurrilous
innuendos, for his personal dissenting
views about the Tibet question; almost always half of comments by western’s
Tibet enthusiasts. Almost ironically, they would also release vitriol for the
Central Tibetan Administration ‘Elites’ of their alleged debauchery,
Machiavellianism and list goes on.
It seems to their prescient nature and the
Tibetan’s stereotypical image of being one at the receiving end; they are able
to envisage the ‘better’ for the Tibet’s posterity.
Tibetans growing dependence
on west pro bono tutelage on its political ambitions is a pernicious threat, if
the Tibetans don’t ever contemplate for themselves. The premonition of such
unsolicited amelioration has perpetuated for several years, more so now, owing
to the interconnected world through internet and its implications.
Paltry
of Tibetan scholars in Diaspora subscribes to the divergent posits, as to why
the Tibet is not being taken seriously, which apparently has to do with
posteriori of diluting the cause, banking on the other issues pertinent to the
development of a nationalism such as human rights, religious freedom, cultural
degeneration; primarily based upon religion, language, cultural commonalities
rather than the historical practicalities of Tibet suzerainty or sovereignty,
and its independence status.
Parochialism in the context of the Tibet Diaspora
is widely contested between the issues ranging from cultural assimilation within
host country, to migration to western countries, from pro-independence to
Middle-way approach. But they failed to notice; Tibetan Diaspora is no more
theirs, it is of the pompous activist that comes on the stage, whose only
weapon is contrived of gimmickry from signing up petitions on internet, to calling
up the embassies and to upload the picture of their member’s activities in
social networking sites. Tibet Diaspora is no longer a mass movement; it is
rise of bourgeoisie, sharing the limelight. The world in salvation of Tibetans
from evil, comes with the wild clichés of Tibetans as ‘Shangri-la’ people,
though they are most honest in their intention, however when the find the
dichotomy between what they expected and what they found; sometimes the
malignancy is plausible.
In
times when Tibet card is played by the world not knowing, what it could conjure
up for them? It is a red herring issue, when the west and world is embroiled in
its parochialism and plays possum about it, but finds its worth when it has
advantage to gain a bit of soft power. In times when the hypocrisy of media is
partisan, when it is always the People’s Republic of China rebuttal to any
Tibet issue that finds a corner in the daily news, but not what was what, made
them spit vile on first hand. The parsimony with which the west or the rest has
dealt Tibet issue, it is not honorable to believe the west or world as the most
integral part of Tibet solution.
Moreover, the United Nations in best possible
words has manifested being a parody of justice, an amicable understanding that
Tibet never finds a solution, thereby in much connivance with the China’s
repressions in Tibet. It is imperative for the Tibetans in exile, and its
supporters to get it right, that Tibet is not a subject of international
relations like it is to the international scholars, it’s not a religion of
happiness like it is for many dharma followers; Tibet for Tibetans is an
identity, a legacy of distorted western concept of imperialism.
Tibet biggest
enemy is not the communism but the Tibet Diaspora’s pandemonium of its
representations. People’s Republic of China biggest nemesis would not be the
Tibetan Diaspora but its own policies of repression which history has always
corroborated- to be reciprocated by a revolution by its own people. To quote a G.W.F.
Hegel remark “The history of the world is none other than the progress of the
consciousness of freedom.” And the consciousness of this world will be
re-instilled, and Tibet will be free from this debacle of salvation.
NOTE-- London Phuntsok is a poet,blogger, and author of book "The Gossamer of Love" which is a collection of poems and verses
Some comical, some dangerous, some silly lines blended in a hodgepodge of dialectical diarrhea.
ReplyDelete"one wouldn’t fail to notice the pro-independence proponents like Jamyang Norbu’s blog adorned with scurrilous innuendos, for his personal dissenting views about the Tibet question; almost always half of comments by western’s Tibet enthusiasts. Almost ironically, they would also release vitriol for the Central Tibetan Administration ‘Elites’ of their alleged debauchery, Machiavellianism and list goes on."
" Tibet biggest enemy is not the communism but the Tibet Diaspora’s pandemonium of its representations. " Meaning, communist china is not the enemy but JN and other blogger are.
Crazy chit made up stuff which can only come from the distorted mind of a D'sala propagandist. Stick to poetry kid, political writing isnt your forte.