Influenced and emulating grand features of Indian democratic setup, political head of Tibetan government-in-exile, Kalon Tripa, Mr. Lobsang Sangay had a formula for Indian politician to rid out and drastically cut down their poll expenditure after emulating from the 2011 Prime Minister election campaign held in the Tibetan settlement around the world sharing of common taxi and hotels.
Delivering 24th university lecture (series) on the theme of ‘Special Lecture (II) Democracy-in-exile, the case of Tibet’ at Himachal University auditorium on Saturday, Mr. Sangay in humorous comment advised that Indian polity toiling with the heavy election expenses should cut down the expenditure after learning from their campaign.
Prime Minister election was unique held anywhere as it was conducted in all Tibetan settlements across the world. Sharing his experience he had to share common taxi from Dharamshala to Delhi with three other contenders due to financial restrains by each candidate.
“We arrived at Majnu-ka-Tilla Tibetan settlement at New Delhi at 0200 hours in the night together looked for hotel forced to stay in shared room as we got only two rooms to take part in election debate at Delhi on the next day. It is one prescription to Indians to join election campaign together. It would bring down election expense”, he said taking a dig in the Indian election expanse, and got applause’s from the audience.
“We have to work in financial restrained and great austerity as every minister also called Kalon in Tibetan Parlance were taking salary of around Rs. 20,000 per month. However, Tibetan democracy is very much similar to Indian political system as our charter is very much based upon Indian constitution and also Parliament”, Tibetan leader noted.
Exploring his political journey and life, he said that he was born in Shichak refugee settlement in Darjeeling in 1968, in-front of Tea garden amidst fields, milking cow, fetching wood in the forest and helping his parent’s small business, including winter sweater-selling.
“I was like a Bastiwala, used to clean the cowshed removing cow dung”, he asked, “If anyone had ever cleared the cow dung?”. He said ‘Bastiwala Zindabad’, when one hand came up among the audience with clapping in the hall.
During St. Stephen and Hansraj college days when he was very active in Tibetan Youth Congress, life routinely running in between Chankyapuri Chinese embassy and police station.
Prime minister narrated golden days of police detention for protest and experience with a gentle station house officer always offer them tea and biscuit in police station treating them humanly.
Fourteen years of Harvard education, he graduated and studied along with US president Barack Obama, says “Suddenly life brought me to in-front of another tea garden here at Dharamshala not different of boyhood Darjeeling, he said adding that he could not ever distinguish the flavor of two different tea’s (Himachal tea is known as Kangra tea).
Responding to Himachal Pradesh University Vice Chancellor A.D.N Bajpai plea to help him for Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lecture in the campus, Mr. Sangay called it Himalayan proportion task, also thanking Vice Chancellor to replicate his lecture that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who could not deliver any lecture in the campus so far.
On 14 March 2011 when in Delhi, the Dalai Lama suddenly announced to separate the power of church and as political heads, I was beleaguered to know that how could I suppose to enter in the shoe of holiness.
After realizing the mistake I was alone over this decision as my mother and relatives were against this wish, I could not withdraw my candidature or had reason for it as I had to replace a world spiritual master, statements and 400 hundred years of history, the Dalai lama as political head.
He said that after paralysis and analysis, he decided to remain in fray considering it Karma as no one gave him a reason to withdraw from the race as it would be against the charters and orders of his holiness.
“After two years and three months, today I am in front of you never expect to win elections. I have a challenge, clearly said, power one (China) and powerless (Tibet) this is the dynamics with the China and Tibet”, he said.
So far, 122 Tibetan youths have committed suicide sprinkling kerosene over them out of which around 100 died and 22 injured as there was one case each of self immolation in 2008 and 2009 and rest in between March 16 2011 till today.
“No one want to suffer but in the moment of crisis’s they are staging it seeking the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet, it is in response to freedom, this slogan of self immolation is out of repression and depression very tragic form of protest”, Mr. Sangay said.
He added that not a single victim of self immolation ever resorted or inflicted any act of violence on Chinese force, authority and citizen as not a single Chinese person was killed or their property was damaged.
He added, “Holiness and my repeated message not commit such act emotionally went unheard ‘what we can do now'”.
Terming Tibet important for South East Asia, he said that it was being called third pole of the earth today due to rich and high resource of ice reserve as it thawing in to number of rivers in Indus, Satluj, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Kiang, Mekong.
He said that Tibet is vibrant for the men as billion of people was fed by it after thawing of snow in the dawn stream.
