Reportage – 2007

Bleeding Mcleod Ganj needs immediate Tibetan hands

MCLEOD GANJ, India, 8 May 2007 — It was the Tibetan who first hit the Indian, and the Indian now has 17 stitches on his head from being struck by a beer bottle. The Tibetan is still at large. This was happened on 2 May night.

Seven days after an event that was basically just a fight between a drunk Tibetan and a speeding auto driver in one of the narrow streets of Mcleod Ganj, the situation is turning murkier with Tibetans continuing to boycott taxis and autos. Some Tibetans are even reportedly stopping other Tibetans from going to some targeted Indian shops. And now the sudden burst of anger from the Akhil Bharat Hindumahasabha (All India Hindu Organisation).

The Hindu organisation, which came into the scene after media from both the Tibetan and the Indian sides clamoured at each other over proving their points, on Monday lodged a formal complaint to the Superintendent of Police in Dharamshala against the reports published by a Tibetan-run website: www.phayul.com.

Nilendra Gautam, the President of the organisation, named two reporters of the website and wrote, "There are elements of evoking communal terror in the reports published on the website and the police should take actions to shut down the website."

A statement on the website on Monday made the points that maybe it had "aggravated the situation" and apologised for hurting the sentiments of some local reporters. All the three stories related to the incident that had been published were deleted. On Tuesday the section of its ‘Message Forum’ where views and issues were expressed was removed. Had it been moderated from the beginning, it would not have had to be removed today. Perhaps it’s a lesson learned for the website.

A few senseless, instigating and misguided remarks have hurt the sentiments of some Indians. Tibetans shouldn’t be influenced by remarks containing communal flair coming from far away places, comfortably posted from sofas or bedside fast internet.

Such irresponsible write-ups and remarks by a few senseless Tibetans pitting the entire Tibetan populace against the Indians will not only affect the lives of Tibetans here in McLeod, but will put the entire Tibetan movement in jeopardy. There cannot be a greater disaster than this.

Moreover, the majority of the Tibetans in exile are still living in India. Chauvinistic and misguided remarks will create a situation where Tibetans are no more welcome to India.

The small group of uneducated and immature Tibetan schemers probably do not realize that the drinking water to the entire Tibetan populace in Dharamshala runs down through the villages of the same taxi and auto drivers.

It wouldn’t take much effort for just one local Indian to wind up a water pipe. The electricity supply switches are also in the hands of the local Indians. These are just some simple examples. The worse option they could give us is leave Mcleod Ganj. Or even worse — leave India!

A series of meetings (still continuing) were convened by a section of Tibetans, after which they called a boycott of taxis and auto rickshaws (operated by Indians).This is a move only pushing the Tibetans and the locals farther apart, increasing the tension. There were stickers in Tibetan misquoting the Dalai Lama to instigate the Tibetans.

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, in an emergency public meeting on Sunday afternoon, urged Tibetans to withdraw from any activity that might escalate further tension.

Prem Sood, a journalist who was one of the chief organisers of the long-life puja offered to the Dalai Lama on 16 April, insists that the majority of local Indians love the presence of the Dalai Lama in Mcleod Ganj, and that they care about and support the struggle of the Tibetan people.

"There are miscreants in any society, whether Indian or Tibetan. The recent incident should not be given any communal fervour."

The Tibetan Welfare Office issued an appeal to all Tibetans to end the boycott call and to continue using the services of the taxis and autos to bring about normalcy in the community. The letter said, "The Central Tibetan Administration and the majority of the Tibetan populace living in Dharamshala do not approve of and support this call for an all out boycott of the taxis and the autos."

However, the Tibetan demand that the local taxi and auto drivers show restraint, and not escalate any personal confrontation into a group attack, or take the law into their own hands, is certainly not unreasonable.

Mcleod Ganj taxi operators have assured the Tibetan community that this would not happen in the future. Actions will be taken against those who would be involved in any group attacks.

"We are waiting for Tibetans to come back," said Ashok Pathania, the President of the taxi operators. "We felt happy that the Tibetan Welfare Office has appealed to the Tibetans to end the boycott."

Dawa Tsering, a member of the Tibetan parliament and a former welfare officer, said that the boycott, and giving communal flavour to the incident, will damage the image of the Tibetans. "We (Tibetans) must not forget how thankful we must feel for all the local Indians have done for us."

"Mcleod Ganj is where His Holiness the Dalai Lama is. It will be shameful for Tibetans to continue acting in the way they are now. We must practice what we learn from him."

The tyrants in Beijing may have celebrated when they heard the bloody news. Tibetans have better options to channel their energies should they become a bit cleverer.

In his speech on Sunday, Rinpoche cautioned that thoughtless Tibetan acts would only help fulfil the ill designs of the Chinese to hamper the relations between the exile Tibetans and the Indians.

Past similar and isolated untoward incidents have left bitter and estranged feelings between individual Tibetans and Indians. Their animosity at times lingered, leading Tibetan collaborators to beat Mcleod Ganj taxi drivers when they travel to Delhi — and the Tibetan rivals feel unsafe to show up in Dharamshala. Any such plans or designs must be completely dropped.

Wrongdoings of a few uncivilized/foul-mouthed Tibetans vis-à-vis their Indian counterparts cannot be allowed to blot out the centuries-old ties between the two former neighbouring countries.

If there is one good thing the incident has brought, it would be to the opportunity to reflect on the past shortcomings of both the communities, since many other issues have also surfaced after a series of meetings, for authorities concerned to resolve any problems within their capacity. It is a new chance to sort out, filter and mend any differences, leaving behind all the past animosity.

It is time that Tibetans practice what they take pride in promoting Tibetans as — peace-loving, tolerant, friendly and all the other charming traits — before Tibetans bring ridicule on themselves and on their leader — the Dalai Lama. The recent acts may place him — who tirelessly promotes love, peace and compassion around the world — in an embarrassing situation when his own people at his home (in exile of course) are ignoring his messages.

Tibetans in Mcleod Ganj must put an immediate end to the unwarranted boycott call and normalize the situation before it becomes too heavy a price for the entire Tibetan populace in India.