Don’t trust the Chinese, say Tibetan students

Kajari Bhattacharya
KOLKATA, April 8: The Indian and Chinese governments may be treading cautiously to cement friendly ties at the cost of the Tibetan cause, but Tibetan students in Kolkata don't think the Chinese can be trusted. “When Tibet was free, India and Tibet had no border issues. With the Chinese ruling in Tibet, first the Chinese invaded India in 1962. Now, they want to lay siege to Arunachal Pradesh. This would never have happened if Tibet were free,” said a 25-year-old Tibetan student in the city.
Dhondup Gyarong, a Tibetan student of BA (General) in Scottish Church College, does not think the Indian government is being wise in choosing to change foreign policy and support China instead of Tibet. “China is a powerful nation and India does not want to have bad relations with their neighbour. But Indians should be aware that one cannot trust the Communist Party in China,” said the member of the 50-member strong Students for Free Tibet (SFT).
Tibetan students said they believe China has good reason to keep Tibet to themselves. “Tibet is geographically located in such a way that China can target each and every country in Asia easily from there. The implications are plain to see,” said Dhondup.
Right from Jammu & Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, several Indian states share the Indo-Tibet border. Of course, many of these regions are not recognised by the Chinese government as Tibet at all.
Members of SFT hail from North Bengal and the North-East, as well as Kolkata. Another member of SFT said the UPA government seemed to be inclined to support China because of their alliance with the Left Front at the Centre. “The BJP, however, still supports the Tibetan cause,” he said. The Dalai Lama doesn't want the people of Tibet to do anything that might disrupt the forthcoming Beijing Olympics. But Tibetan students in Kolkata and North Bengal say “a country where there is neither human rights nor unity does not deserve to host the Olympic Games”. They attribute the difference in opinion to a “generation gap, like the one Indian youths would have with the tenets of Mahatma Gandhi”.
Likening the recent killings in Tibet to the alleged atrocities of the CPI-M in Nandigram, Dhondup said: “When the Chinese government implemented their crackdown on Tibetans this March, no Press was allowed inside. The same happened in Nandigram when the CPI-M brutally 're-captured' the villages.”
While the Dalai Lama is only pushing for autonomy in Tibet, SFT members want a free Tibet. Tibetan students say that it is difficult to trust the Communist Party in China, as they might grant autonomy one day and crackdown the next. SFT will organise a peaceful demonstration at Mayo Road near Mahatma Gandhi's statue on 10 and 11 April, and a hunger strike at Metro Channel on 12 April.