My struggle for independence

When I was growing up in school, I viewed Tibet as this magical land of spirituality, peace and harmony. The name 'The Roof of the World' seemed to describe its holiness and breath taking beauty. While reading Tintin in Tibet, I wondered whether I would ever be able to meet the affable and youthful monks like Tintin did. How little I knew about this great nation! Even while I was in college, I only knew that Dharamshala had a significant Tibetan population and His Holiness the Dalai Lama resided there, but I had no clue about its painful history. Face it, I was only into Tibetan markets and momos.

A few years have passed and I am now a lot more aware about my neighbouring country, my fellow human beings. And now when I think about Tibet, I feel a great pain and suffering in my heart, as if I was a Tibetan in my previous birth. If I even begin to imagine the kind of oppression and frustration that each and every tortured Tibetan soul must be facing, I feel this great burden on my heart and I desire to do something to support the cause of Free Tibet!!

I wonder how the Chinese government can be at peace with their enforced domination which is based on their arguement that their ancient monarchs and dynasties ruled Tibet through surrogate authorities. How can they ignore the fact that since the beginning of its millitary domination in 1949, Tibet has been struggling and pushing and fighting for its freedom. Just because Ashoka ruled over many parts of the neighbouring countries does not give India the right to storm into another nation and force our rule over them. Could China be giving more priority to historical facts over the voices of all the Tibetan people who have been shouting for independence since 1949?

A lot of people in India look upto China and its cities as role models of economic development. We strive for our GDP growth to emulate the Chinese story. There is so much hope that one day the Indian Elephant will outlast the Chinese tiger (or is it dragon?) WHAT IS THE POINT ? Is it more important to be the rulers of economic forces or the champion of rights? The Left parties often prod the other parties to condemn the oppression of any country but why does it remain silent in the case of Tibet? It is all right to be ambitious in our dreams but we must be brave in our criticism as well. So if its a country whose idealogy is revered by a political party, the misdeeds of that country should also be reprimanded. If China wants to project itself as an emerging superpower then let it channel its power with justice, humanity and transparency. It blocks all information on the Internet and media that it forgets that even Iraq allowed UN inspectors at its nuclear plants. The latter had nothing to hide about its deeds, is it another story in the Chinese suppression of the Tibetan protests?

A few days before I was proud to be in the midst of two hundred young people marching for a Free Tibet, their passion and their emphasis on the non violent nature of the struggle was humbling and inspirational. The group who mostly comprised of college students spoke about how their movement was based on ahimsa and karma. Many of them shared stories about how they are being indoctrinated in schools by the Chinese education system, as young students they had no idea about whether there was a national flag of Tibet, what was their culture, their history. They spoke about how they were confused about their own history because they were told by their parents one thing and were taught a completely different thing in schools. A young boy rightly said that it is like somebody barged into your house, threw your siblings and parents out of the house, shot your friends and told you that you can continue to stay in the house only if you abide by their rules. Put yourself in the shoes of a Tibetan soul and feel what he or she is going through in your heart.

All those people who talk of the Tibetan struggle as a lost cause, I hope they do remember that the story of our independence also spanned over many decades.Yet I feel so sorry that instead of complete independance many people in Tibet are resigned to settle for complete autonomy instead. In other words, Im telling the person who has occupied my house that he or she can continue to be the ruler of my house but I would like to become a paying guest, so atleast I can lead my life in my own manner. I have lost my home, my land to this mighty bully. I only dream that the demand for autonomy would be granted, but still one day the Tibetan freedom that many people around the world dream of would become a reality..

Here below I have penned a few lines for the people struggling for freedom in Tibet and Palestine, albeit in a non violent manner!!!

One day I dream of peace,
Of a nation full of proud people
Ecstatic in their celebration of their freedom.
Their land and homes are theirs again
From beneath the graves its spirit and culture will be reborn.
A nation full of happy people
who on that day will shout in one voice
'We have won our Independence'

The above is a dream, a hope, a prayer and for sure a glimpse of the future!!

See the video below

Media loves the term Moderate Muslim

I just saw a debate today on bbc world in which the topic was 'Are the Moderate Muslims Failing to Reign in Extremeism’. It was debate which had representatives of diverse opinions and backgrounds including this one lady who could give George Bush a run for his money for being the most dumb person on the planet..

If any of you ever get to catch this debate on television then do watch it because it is very thought provoking and insightgul. The angle that I wanted to explore in this debate is why the mainstream media relegates the role of reigning extremeism to moderate muslims only. Does that mean I am absolved of any responsibility if I belong to a different religious community? That only if you are a part of that community can you step up to solve its problems? Should I forget that it is my role as a citizen of this world to reign in extremeism irrespective of my religion, caste, colour, economic or geographic background? My silence irrespective of my background encourages the rise of violent extremeism that we see in the world.

I become very angry with the mainstream media when they use terms like moderate muslim failing…hell ech and everyone of needs to do something but we are not, all of us are failing. Hell are they trying to divide us on the lines of religion by focussing on the religious identity of who is failing and who is not? And then I become very suspicious of the media when they start speaking like this. Through this debate they divide a community into muslims and non muslims and then encourage the non muslims to think as if the muslims are not capable enough to solve the problem of their community.

And why doesn’t the media use the term moderate when it comes to other religions like Hinduism , Sikhism and Christianity. Why don’t we hear today in Maharastra and Gujarat that moderate hindus are failing to reign in extremeism. When Sikh families kill the daughters in their families if they have married somebody from a different community, why dont we have debates about the failures of moderate Sikhs? And with these questions I begin to question the intention and intelligence of the media companies which highlight such debates. After all every individual or organization has a set of beliefs and principles according to which they act.. so are these debates reflective of their way of thinking?

When I look at my responsibility of spreading the light of humanity against the waves of extremeism then I should not be looking through the lenses of religion or community the only lens that I need to put on are those that make me realize that im a citizen of this world and I need to set my world in order.