Tibetan youths are not allowed to study Tibetan language and the Chinese “bilingual education”, which should have allowed the study of Tibetan and Mandarin, now only gives importance to the Chinese language. And this system has totally wiped out the Tibetans language from the courses in schools and colleges … writes Dawa Kayb
Before the illegal occupation of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Tibetans were living peacefully and happily in their land. After illegally occupying the land of Tibet in 1950, the CCP adopted various violent strategies to silence the uproar of Tibetan fighters. The strategy used by the CCP to win over the Tibetan people has always been inhumane.
The first thing CCP wanted from Tibetans to accept the Chinese rule of tyranny but they couldn’t get success. Silencing the uprising of Tibetan people at the time when their country was forcefully taken was not an easy task to be handled. The Tibetan people were sacrificing their lives to see their country flourishing peacefully, like it used to do before 1950. For 62 years, the CCP violated every kind of human rights in Tibet and still continuing. The administration of the CCP in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) lacks the practice of freedom and violation, the only thing Tibetans expect from the CCP.
The Chinese government repeatedly claims that Tibetans are happy under its rule, but this is a sick joke. In reality, every facet of Tibetans’ identity- the right of Tibetans to control their language, land, and religion is under attack. Since the occupation, the Chinese committed severe crimes in Tibet and other Tibetan inhabited areas such as the political re-education of monks and nuns, forced disappearances, torture, sexual abuse of nuns, and prolonged detentions without trial. Chinese authorities maintain a tight grip on the region, restricting Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity, and subjecting Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings. All these are deliberately done intending to destroy Tibet and Tibetan race. The violation of freedom is aimed to torture Tibetans till they give up fighting for their country and freedom.
Tibetans in Tibet are never allowed to speak freely. Tibetan people are forcefully put to silence if they gather to object the unfair administration of the CCP. Most of the time, they are threatened with the life and sometime the Chinese armed forces are deployed. History of Tibet after the Chinese occupation has witnessed several Tibetan massacres by the Chinese armed forces. Even today, the locals Tibetans, who gather to speak against the Chinese, are punished severely.
Most recently on 15th August, 110 local Tibetans in Janglam village, Nyanrong County in Nagchu Prefecture were detained for sharing ‘sensitive content’ from the preparations for a local horse racing festival. The ‘sensitive content’ that China told were just the videos that were captured to remember the preparation for the festival. Tibetans were barred from celebrating the Shoton Festival in Lhasa and the Horse Racing Festival in Nagchu, but the Chinese government didn’t hesitate to celebrate the 70th anniversary of what they call the ‘Liberation’ of Tibet’, with the full festivities. In reality, such steps by the CCP are only to humiliate Tibetans by prohibiting them from celebrating their traditional festivals. All these humiliation are deliberately created by the Chinese authorities but they should know that these acts of humiliation are never going to stop Tibetans from fighting for their rights and freedom.
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The freedom to practice the Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet is also rejected by the Chinese authorities. They know that with the existence of Tibetan Buddhism, large aspects of Tibetans tradition and language will thrive for eternity. And all these traditional aspects qualify Tibet as an independent country and prove Chinese occupation of Tibet as illegal. Over the years, the CCP has created several rules to eradicate the Tibetan Buddhism. In 2007, CCP came out with a law to control the traditional custom of reincarnation of Tibetan spiritual leaders especially the Dalai Lama. And later on, the act of sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism was introduced only to make Tibetan Buddhism adapt to Chinese socialism. In recent years, the freedom of religion has become worst.
The CCP has forcefully taken control of the Tibetans’ right to choose their Lamas. The Chinese Communist government appointed its own Panchen Lama to influence Tibetans to accept
the Chinese rule. The numbers of monks in Tibetan monasteries these days are minimized incessantly and there are some temples that are empty with only one or two monks in it. Within few days after Xi Jinping’s visit to Tibet (July 21-23), the forced eviction and shutting down of Kharmar Monastery began. Yongjing County government sent large numbers of police to carry out the eviction of the monks and nuns from the monastery. Though the monastery has raised and donated over 300,000 Yuan for the Covid-19 relief fund.
In Tibet, the freedom of education is also restricted as far as Tibetans are concerned. Tibetan youths are forced to take Chinese language as the primary language in schools and colleges and in some region Tibetan students are arrested for requesting the Tibetan language in their curriculum. Recently, on August 16, a Tibetan teenager named Sherab Dorjee along with some other students was taken into custody by Chinese police in Trotsik Township, Ngaba County. He was arrested for refusing to attend a Chinese propaganda session organized by the Chinese government. These sessions are designed to ensure Tibetans do not oppose China’s policies in Tibet. But the fact is, he was targeted for requesting Tibetan language in their school curriculum because he had previously submitted a petition to the education authorities urging his school to be allowed to teach in Tibetan language. What is the use of this so called education system if they arrest Tibetans desiring to study their language?
Tibetan youths are not allowed to study the Tibetan language and Chinese “bilingual education”, which should have allowed the study of Tibetan and Mandarin, now only gives importance to the Chinese language. And this system has totally wiped out the Tibetans language from the courses in schools and colleges. On July 21, the General Office of the Ministry of Education issued a notice that said that from September onwards, kindergartens in all ethnic and rural areas have to be taught in Mandarin. China is replacing Tibetan-language schooling with education almost entirely in Chinese and coercing parents to send their children to faraway residential schools in a renewed effort to eliminate the Tibetan identity. A middle school teacher Rinchen Kyi from the recently closed Sengdruk Taktse Middle school, Golog, Eastern Tibet was arrested on August 1 as she was teaching Tibetan language and objected to the closure of the school. However, she was arrested on charges of inciting separatism.
The rights to celebrate Tibetan traditional festivals are also under the surveillance of the CCP. In May of this year, Tibetans in Lhasa were restricted in certain religious festivities during the holy month (Saga Dawa), which is considered sacred and Buddhists observe intensive practices during the period. The restrictions were imposed on the pretext of controlling the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. But the real aim was to restrict Tibetans from celebrating their religious festivals.
Since the beginning, Tibetans are also not allowed to celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s birthday but nowadays the Tibetans are not allowed to celebrate the smallest of their festivals. They are rather forced to celebrate the Chinese functions and festivals like the recent 100th founding anniversary of CCP. If any Tibetan defies the Chinese decree then the person is accused and framed for sabotage activities. How hard the CCP violate religious freedom in Tibet, they will never get success on eradicating Tibetan Buddhism which has expanded to such an extent that, no power can wipe it out. Chinese authorities have attempted to wipe out Tibetan religion many time but they have always failed and will continue in future.
Despite having the mightiest armed forces, the CCP has to always embrace failure and setbacks. Seventy years of occupation of Tibet has turned out to be a futile exercise for China as it has failed to win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people. In stark contrast to Chinese propaganda claims of peaceful liberation, Tibet under its draconian rule is undergoing the worst period of its history.
For years, the Chinese authorities have been deliberately humiliating Tibetans folks but they should know that such acts of humiliation are never going to stop Tibetans from raising their voices against the tyrannical rule of CCP. The violation of freedom is politically aimed to break down the fighting spirit of Tibetans in Tibet and in other countries and force them to accept the evil rule of the CCP and surrender their country to China. If the CCP is hoping to influence Tibetans to accept their rule or force them to give up by torturing and violating the rights of the Tibetan people, then they should not keep such hopes.
Hence, the CCP would have to do away with its ongoing oppressive policies in Tibet as Tibetans will not give up if they chose to humiliate the emotions of the Tibetan people by violating their rights and freedom.
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