The Tibetan Struggle for Independence
Throughout history, struggles for land, and battles for independence have all been fought via the hand of war. Winners are decisive and quick, and disputes are fought and won at the cost of many deaths. War is gruesome, ugly, and never predictable. Does struggle have to always involve death and fighting? For more then 50 years one country has found a way to maintain a non-violent independence struggle. The people of Tibet have implemented non-violent tactics in the fight for independence, even after years of atrocities inflicted on them by the Chinese. For some they are a model, and to others they remain a joke. Many people wonder how a country with such a large populous of
…show more content…
Today Tibet is moving in two different directions. The Dalai Lama’s "middle way" approach has shown us that violence is not always the answer. His policy of kindness has culminated in years of focus on gaining independence. and now, autonomy for Tibet. For the defenders of violence in Tibet, non-violent tactics have not gained sufficient results, yet they have done nothing except preach against the Dalai Lama. They claim that violent resistance is the only answer. They are ready to die, but know that war would be mass suicide. Would violence really change the Tibetans situation or make it worse? Support for war is growing, yet any violent protest would result in disaster for the Tibetans. Buddhism preaches non-violence, thus violent actions would be a direct assault of every ideal the Tibetan culture is built on. Past violence has resulted in many Tibetan deaths, and so will violent actions now. Fighting the Chinese would be mass suicide; the Tibetans would gain nothing in their freedom struggle. Also, Tibet lacks the support to face a country as big a China. The Dalai Lama is losing his political power over his people and the non-violent struggle he has looked to uphold for so many years. Yet it is his holiness's Buddhist ideals of non-violence that will be the only answer to the future independence of Tibet. If Tibet moves towards violent actions, the only outcomes will be negative.
While when discussing the history of the world’s power forces, violence makes for stimulating discussion, other tactics were put to good use, one of these alternatives being non-violence. With the guidance of three worldwide heroes - Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela - with contagious optimism and high spirits, it became apparent just how much of a difference could be made carried out through non-violent terms. Mankind was introduced to another way to resolve major problems just as effectively, if not more, than violence could.
Since the beginning of this nightmare, China’s involvement has been a significant human rights violation. First of all, China has driven the Dalai Lama out of his own country and has forced him to leave his people. To Tibetans and Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is “both a spiritual and political leader … like a cross between a Pope and a President” (Oliver, 2017). Traditionally, before the Dalai Lama dies, he must find his reincarnation, the Panchen Lama, who finds his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama, before he dies and so on. Furthermore, the Dalai Lama picked a six-year old boy to become the next Panchen Lama and then “China kidnapped [the] six-year old and no one has heard from him since” (Oliver, 2017). Not only is this horrifying truth a human rights violation, but it has also completely destroyed a long-lasting and sacred tradition. According to the current Dalai Lama, “it will be impossible for Tibetans and those who follow the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to acknowledge or accept [the next Panchen Lama] (“Reincarnation”, 2011). Currently, China has a great firewall, called the Golden Shield Project, that censors information on various items that negatively talks about China. Many people in China are protesting against these heinous acts on Tibet, even though the Golden Shield Project is preventing many from learning what is happening in Tibet (“The Great Firewall of China: Background”). China’s destruction of this peaceful religion and culture is clearly against the policies of the United Nations Humans Rights
“In 1949 35,00 Chinese troops invaded Tibet.”This was put into detail in an article by Hisyam Takiudin.The Chinese raped,tortured,and murdered one fifth of the Tibetan population,most in work camps and during arbitrary.As a result,47 million people in all have died during these tragic times. The brutality was so bad that the parents with children were forced to bury their children alive when they disobeyed.These crimes have lasted 49 years! Evidently,these crimes are still being committed! In Tibet today there is still no freedom of speech,religion, and arbitrary detainment still continues. As Tibetans are being slaughtered,we’re sitting here doing
From the beginning, the Tibetan women have been viewed by males in the culture as a type of second class citizen, even to the point that women were described negatively. The Tibetan women were also seen as seductresses from a man's point of view and were not considered to have the spiritual ways to become enlightened. Questions that will be addressed are since the women take the brunt of the responsibilities, why are they treated as a second class citizen? Why is it that Tibetan women are considered not equal even though they work just as hard or harder as the Tibetan men? Do the men of Tibet fear that the women may have the intelligence to further themselves than what they give credit and continue to keep the women underneath the men?
For centuries, violence has been the go to way to settle conflicts, but it has also been very controversial throughout the years. While some say war is important in order to maintain our freedom, it is actually a very unnecessary and destructive way of settling conflicts because it kills so many innocent people and it hardly ever accomplishes anything for such a hefty price.
The Republic of China never attained direct control over Tibet, and so there was a de facto independent Tibetan state. This unofficial and unrecognized country continued to exist for about forty years. During this time, Tibet was controlled by a very conservative people. Refusing to modernize and/or industrialize. When the communist revolution in China occurred, and the former government fled to Taiwan, they would have to face a new threat: the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic claimed that the Tibetan government was exploiting the citizens as serfs, and that they should be liberated from them by none other than the People’s Liberation Army. Although Tibet actually had a high resemblance to medieval European feudalism, the government never exploited the citizens per se. When the PLA was at their doorstep, they were nowhere near prepared and were conquered by the Chinese. They were eventually officially annexed into China, and the 14th Dalai Lama was exiled to India. Under the PRC, the Tibetans endured many hardships that were brought upon them. The so-called Great Leap Forward led to widespread starvation, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution led the Red Army to destroy thousands of cultural artifacts and sites,
Buddhism, Christianity, and the Prospects for World Religion: Criticism on Dalai Lama’s Interview by Jose Ignacio Cabezon
The ostensible contradiction between war and morality has resulted in serious moral questions that many ethicists have tried to answer. Is war ever just? Is war just an irremovable part of human nature? Is some war just? The world constantly finds itself in a state of some form of war, and as such it seems that assessing the morality of war is essential.
The Dalai Lama has also challenged adherents to accept the fate that is given to them and make the greatest use of their reincarnated form. As a young child he was unable to reject the position of ‘Dalai Lama’ however he has managed to utilise this position to the best advantage and has bettered the world through this. He has pushed for the bettering of the world for both religious and secular societies. His messages of peace, tolerance and the renunciation of the desires of anger and revenge have resonated with people globally.
We see this through they way Gandhi speaks instead of acting on his emotions he take the time to seek a peaceful act and commits said act. He once said You ...our Government, only so long as we consider ourselves your subjects. So long as it is your endeavour to control us with justice and love, we will let you to do so. But if you wish to strike at us from behind, we cannot permit it (Gandhi 148). This is the way peaceful civil disobedience, he speaking as a whole for his people not just him this many people giving their voice one which is more powerful than anything else out there. And when it comes to peaceful civil disobedience the will of those who are participating in it is always strong “we will calmly endure all and not hurt a hair of your body. We will gladly die and will not so much as touch you. But so long as there is yet life in these our bones, we will never comply with your arbitrary laws.”(Gandhi 148). Peace out overpowers hate and injustice
The Causes of Indian Independence in 1947 In 1947 India was declared an independent country from Britain, after years of peaceful and violent protests, pressure from all sides, and numerous promises. Not only this, but Pakistan was also formed by partitioning the country into two, providing a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. Although independence was greeting with relief from all, partition came with riots, millions of murders and a hatred between countries that has not healed up even by today. The word "inevitable" in the essay title implies something which was almost 'destined' to happen from the beginning, and the course of action could not be averted under any circumstances.
The fourteenth Dalai Lama, named Tenzin Gyatso, has been both the spiritual and political leader of Tibet for about sixty-five years. When most people imagine life as a political or spiritual leader they most likely imagine a life of privilege and luxury. His Holiness, however, has lived a life of exile away from his people and his country. When His Holiness was at the young age of fifteen, The People's Liberation Army invaded and took control of Tibet. In order to protect the religion of Buddhism and his life, he fled Tibet and journeyed to the neighboring country of India. Since then, he has been joined by a number of refugees who, to this day, try their best to preserve their religion for generations to come. Can you imagine trying to protect
In addition to this, violence is the better answer for countries to find freedom because people will not attempt to revolt against these laws or their rulers since they are afraid of what will happen to them if they try to rebel. Most countries use violence as solutions because they know it is the best option for them to get their country to be the best it could be. When kings, rulers, or presidents use nonviolent methods as their solutions they come out to have more issues because many people come out to rebel against the rulers of their country. Most nonviolent protests like Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were all people that wanted to rebel against their government because they did not like how they were being treated so they started their own rebellion so that the people that are like them can be together to create a perfect world that they think is right. Most protests that happened at this time did not get these people anywhere because the government often shut them down before they could do anything to help the government and to have freedom for their people or
Especially in societies that call themselves ‘free’ and ‘welcoming to all’, peaceful resistances are crucial in allowing people to feel protected, to feel heard and to feel useful. Peaceful resistances, and their successes, show that policies can be altered, opinions can be accepted and revisions can be made without the harming of a single life. Everyone needs to understand
About 100,000 people followed him into exile and he established a democratically based alternative government at Dharamsala in Punjab, India, aptly known as little Lhasa. It has cultural and educational institutions and serves as a “capital-in-exile” for 140,000 Tibetan refugees. In the past decade, the Dalai Lama has tried to negotiate with the Chinese while in the main time pleads for help where ignored by United Nations and NATO who have gone to war to defend the Kawaties, the Bosnians and others. Despite the fact that they have forsaken the Tibetan people in favor of selling products to the Chinese masses the Dalai Lama is still fighting for the freedom of his people until this day. He is 63 years old and hopes to return to his country in his lifetime.