Sunrise from our window this morning.
Arvind, our guide for the day met us at 9.00am and we walked to the Buddhist complex where the Dalai Lama lives, there is a temple and a museum commemorating the Chinese invasion of Tibet. The residence was of course out of bounds, so we went into the temple. Having seen many Buddhist temples in Bhutan this one felt much less ornate, although that is a relative concept.
The museum made grim reading. Small in size, it has large posters up giving the chronology of events from 1949 when the Chinese first invaded Tibet, through to the last decade. Much of what follows is information taken directly from these posters (I took photos of all of them so I would have the information!) These are supplemented with a lot of photographs and personal accounts, some too hard to look at.
In 1949 the newly established People’s Republic of China announced its intention to liberate Tibet. In 1950 40,000 soldiers invaded a small region and Chamba had no option but to surrender. In 1951 a delegation from Tibet was sent to Beijing to negotiate but ended up having to sign a treaty agreeing to the peaceful liberation and annexation of Tibet to China. Active resistance began in the Khan and Amdo provinces as soon as the invasion happened and by 1956 there was a full scale guerilla war. By 1958 there was a united Tibetan resistance movement and in 1959 fighting in Llasa was so severe that many thousands of Tibetans lost their lives and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee for his own safety. Although the resistance movement had some success they were soon overpowered by the Chinese forces.
Since then the Chinese have attempted to erase all traces of Tibetan culture, religion and identity, including the destruction of ancient monasteries, (over 6000). 1.2 million Tibetans are said to have lost their lives through torture, executions, hunger and labour camps. There has been the destruction of the Tibetan psyche and the building of distrust between Tibetans as well as the destruction of Tibet’s natural resources. Mining, the felling of trees, hunting and the use of the land as a nuclear dumping ground are all accusations levelled at the Chinese.
Since Chinese occupation an aim of the Chinese has been to assimilate Tibetans to a mono-ethnic nation. There were ‘cultural reforms’ to demolish the cultural and national sovereignty of Tibet. In 1966 over three quarters of the most distinguished symbols of Tibetan society were destroyed by the Red Guard. This ‘reform’ is known as Sinicization, and leaves Tibetans feeling marginalised in every aspect of their lives. In protest at this several hundred young Tibetans over the years have chosen to set fire to themselves and there is a monument at the Temple to remember their sacrifice (self-immolation). The Dalai Lama has called on Tibetans not to do this, although it is thought a few people still choose this.
Since 1959 over 150,000 Tibetans have fled into exile. The stories related in the museum were grim. Many are here in Dharamshala, where they have been welcomed by the Indian nation. Before their arrival this was a small village but it is now a large town, with a burgeoning tourist industry. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Seikhs, Christians, all seeming to get along quite nicely.
The view back to our hotel in the centre, the side clearly seen and the front in the trees.
The Tibetans have their own parliament sitting in Dharamshala but made up of representatives from all Tibetan communities across the world.
Part of the complex of government offices.
Effort is put into retaining as much of the Tibetan cultural identity as possible. There are Tibetan schools, traditional crafts are still taught, as is the language. However it does not appear to be exclusively for Tibetans. Schools can be mixed, there is now some inter-marriage, and Tibetans can have an Indian passport.
We visited where the traditional crafts are taught and of course there was the obligatory shop 🙄😳 This was followed by a cup of tea and a cake too!
We also visited another Buddhist temple, from a different branch of the Buddhist faith. Lots of young Buddhist monks here. Each family is expected to offer one child, boy or girl, to become a monk or a nun. They are often taken to start their training before they are 5. I find that really hard to understand. They all wear the reddish habits characteristic of Buddhists and I was amused to see one little boy in his habit carrying his skateboard!!
We were then driven further up the mountain and were glad of a bit of a breather from all that we had seen in the morning. We stopped at Naddi, the highest village in this area, and the road stops. The views are wonderful though and restored a little bit of calm!
On the way back we stopped at a Church that was built in the Norman style for the British soldiers who were stationed nearby. We could have been at home!! As we walked down we were told by our guide that filming was going on and you could see all the big lights and gear for the cameras plus loads of people and tents catering for their every need. Filming was happening and we stood and watched. When it stopped Arvind asked if we could go inside the Church and we hurried in and sat down with all the extras who were supposed to be there! Talk about feeling out of place!!! There was then the call for action and a man with a camera, sitting on a trolley that was on rail-like tracks, being supported by 2 others, slowly reversed half way down the aisle and back again. When they said cut, everyone applauded. I have no idea why!!! We then got up and went out. Have we been extras in an Indian film? Who knows! Arvind is going to find out what the film is and let us know!
The end of our tour and back at the hotel sitting on the terrace in the sun with a cup of tea, trying to figure out the day.
We stayed at the hotel again for our meal and stuck with traditional Tibetan food. Shabri and Thenthuk. Both based on noodles and vegetables and both very tasty!
Tonight’s sunset!
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