His Holiness Dalai Lama turns 75 on July 06, 2010.
How to describe the Problem of Tibet?
THE LAND OF TIBET – “THE ROOF OF THE WORLD” :
In size Tibet is as large as three States of Texas combined. It is surrounded by four of the world's ten highest mountains. It is home to about six million Tibetan people.Communist China's military occupation has changed the population composition of this Land.
All the major rivers of Asia have their origin in Tibet.
Bos grunniens, a long-haired, stocky, wild ox of Tibet is often domesticated as a beast of burden, for its milk, meat, and its butter which is used to light the butter lamps in Gompas, Tibetan Places of Worship.
Tibet is the highest plateau in the world and it came into existence when the landmass of India had joined the Asian landmass. All the major rivers of Asia have their origin in Tibet. These rivers support the lives of about 2 billion human beings. The ecology of Tibet is critical in view of global warming and scarcity of water. It has been recorded and found that the rate of warming is faster in Tibet. The mountains are experiencing less snowfall, and the glaciers that feed the rivers are melting and fading away. The extraction of mineral resources, the exploitation of natural resources like forests, and hunting of unique, native animals, the construction of dams and barriers across rivers flowing in Tibet pose dangers to fragile Tibetan ecology. The problem of Tibet is not merely an environmental issue.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM OF TIBET ?
United States Congress honored His Holiness Dalai Lama with a Gold Medal during a ceremony in Washington,DC in 2007. President George W Bush, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and US Senator Robert C Byrd are seen in the photo. Senator Byrd, the longest-serving member of the US Congress has died at the age of 92 after almost six decades in office. America has lost a voice of Principle and Reason. It is a time for us to reflect upon the Problem of Tibet.
Historically, Tibet has existed in a serene and unperturbed state for several centuries. Tibetan people are naturally born free and maintained their traditional sense of Freedom in spite of invasions by foreign forces. In October 1950, Communist China’s People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibetan soil and had occupied it. This military occupation of Tibet poses a direct threat to Tibetan way of life; a direct threat to Tibetan Culture, Tibetan Religion, Tibetan Language, and the ethnic composition of the people of this Land. The problem of Tibet is not simply a concern about Human Rights and Religious Freedom. The Problem of Tibet involves Human Freedom and Human Dignity. Military occupation of Tibet is the very opposite of Human Freedom and Human Dignity.
THE RESOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF TIBET :
The Flag of Tibet symbolizes the Resolution of the Problem of Tibet. Tibetans have the natural Right to Human Freedom and to live in Dignity.
I am not a “SEPARATIST.” I am not seeking SEPARATION of Tibet from China. Tibet is not and has never been a part of China. SEPARATION is not the issue. Tibet is seeking its own existence and its own identity. Tibet is not asking for a new identity or creation of a new state from Chinese territory. Tibet is not demanding a surgical operation to carve out a new nation from an existing nation known as People’s Republic of China. The Problem of Tibet simply relates to the military occupation of the Land of Tibet by China. This Problem could be resolved by the Eviction of the Occupier. It is just to demand such eviction of an illegal occupier. Military occupation is the cause of this Problem of Tibet and eviction of this military force is the resolution that I would want in Tibet.
Please also read my blog post titled ‘India – The Land of Gautama Buddha’ dated July 26, 2007
http://bhavanajagat.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/india-the-land-of-gautama-buddha/
Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham,
Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India,
M.B.B.S., Class of April, 1970.
