Skip to main content

Revealing the real ways of Tibetan govt in exile through an anonymous friend

By Rajiv Shah 
Recently, I received an email from from a person who introduced himself as Ronny Krier, claiming to be an American cultural researcher. He said, he visits Counterview in a regular basis to read news about India, and thinks, “It's a great platform to break the information filter bubbles and hear different voice.” Then Kreir, who is on Twitter and Facebook, and calls himself “independent investigator, religion-politics researcher,” refers to a friend whom he does not name to point out how the Tibetan government in exile is failing to take care of refugees.
Says Krier, “Under the pandemic, my friend, a Tibetan refugee who lived in Dharmsāla, had something to talk about the CTA (Central Tibetan Administration) in dealing with Covid-19 and current issues in the Tibetan community. I met him when I was travelling India, and recently he reached me and talked about it. He really wants to be heard by the Indian public and the global audience. However, he's still a bit cautious about his personal info(Tibetan community is not big), so he would like to talk anonymously at this stage(I will try to convince him to be brave and speak out loud).”
He adds, “I think his story really needs to be heard in the Indian public, for it's about refugees ' human rights and the actual functions of the Tibetan exile government. And I think Counterview is a great platform to publish his opinion. So if you are interested in his story, please email me back and I will give you his whole story.”
I asked Krier to send a story, and this is what he sent to me along with a couple of photographs, revealing the ways of CTA:
***
Thanks for your reply. Then I directly sent his words to you...
"It is clear that the coronavirus in Dharmsāla has not been effectively controlled, as any Tibetan can see. Being a Buddhist, I practice every day. But in this situation, I always want to look back to see what led to such a bad situation. CTA is the elected government of Tibetans. Lobsang Sangay was the Sikyong that we voted for. But under his leadership, the pandemic was out of control and he seems to know himself as a local mayor under the Indian bureaucracy rather than our Sikyong. Looking through the news of the CTA, Lobsang Sangay seems to be busy soliciting international support on behalf of the Tibetan community. He has made a historic visit to the White House, he has met with some high-rank Indian officials, and he has written a letter to some important person... But I think he should have led the CTA to take stronger actions in dealing with coronavirus and focus on our Tibetan.
By contrast, I really appreciate the dedication of community health workers. Even though they are not scientifically trained, they are still doing something realistic. As for vaccines, they have been available in India for a long time and even have been exported to other countries, but how many people in Dharmsāla have been vaccinated? I read the news that hundreds of thousands of Indians vaccinated, but only 10 Tibetan health workers have been vaccinated. Isn't it what we CTA should have worked on harder?
Not to mention the economy under the pandemic, I know that if we want to build a strong settlement, we also need to develop our economy, at least to meet the basic living standard of our Tibetan. But the truth is that many people around me have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus, and we would rather see the CTA as a democratically elected government to give the Tibetans more tangible benefits than stay at home in despair and watch Dr. Lobsang socialize everywhere.
What's worse, His Holiness Dalai Lama is also facing the threat of coronavirus, he is over 80 years old, one of the high-risk groups to get this horrible virus. If the vaccine is really effective, why don't they give His Holiness Dalai Lama the vaccine first?
I am very worried about the safety of HH Dalai Lama, especially near where he lives. I heard that there are some new cases in the nursing home around there, and the number of deaths.
What most depressed me with the CTA government right now, like the @Tibetans said, is Lobsang Sangay. He did not respect the promise of Tibetan democracy. He broke the rules and did the campaign for Kelsang Dorjee Aukatsang, trying to interfere in our democratic elections, Sikyong 2021. I really don't want our democratic election to fall into party politics, since it's been a tough time getting here. I can only hope that the next government will improve our living standards and really focus on our benefits."
... And he still wants to speak anonymously, thanks for your understanding.

Comments

TRENDING

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C.  In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative   In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year. 

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari   Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria*  Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027.  However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan   In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra*  The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: Akbar to Shivaji -- the cross-cultural alliances that built India

​ By Ram Puniyani   ​What is Indian culture? Is it purely Hindu, or a blend of many influences? Today, Hindu right-wing advocates of Hindutva claim that Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture, which supposedly resisted "Muslim invaders" for centuries. This debate resurfaced recently in Kolkata at a seminar titled "The Need to Protect Hinduism from Hindutva."

Drowning or conspiracy? Singapore findings deepen questions over Zubeen Garg’s death

By Nava Thakuria*  For millions of fans of Zubeen Garg, who died under unexplained circumstances in Singapore on 19 September last year, disturbing news has emerged from the island nation. Its police authorities have stated that the iconic Assamese singer died while intoxicated and swimming in the sea without a mandatory life jacket.