Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Mohan Singh and Tibet connection

By Tenzin Lekshay

Tibetan Parliamentarians led by Speaker Penpa Tsering 
meet Mr Mohan Singh, (3rd from right) senior member of 
Indian Parliament in New Delhi on 15 October 2011
After the untimely demise of Mohan Singh, an eminent socialist leader and a member of Parliament, Tibet has yet again lost one of her oldest confidante. As soon as I received the shocking news, I called upon a small contingent of Tibetans based in Delhi to visit his residence at Pandara Road, Delhi. We paid homage to our dear friend, along with scores of Indian who thronged to condole his passing away. When we arrived, the gentleman who was coordinating the last rite announced the gathering to remain silent when the Tibetan monks recite monlam prayer. In the midst, he told us that Mohan Singh ji stood up for the Tibetan cause. He was right!  Mohan Singh has been one of our oldest friend who unflinchingly supported us throughout his life.

Over the years, I had a privilege of meeting Mohan Singh ji on several occasions. Even though, he was physically unwell for years, I saw him interacting with groups of people all the time. He was receptive and always tolerate our presence with his benign gesture whenever we visit him. While lying on bed with a simple white kurta, he would tirelessly inquire about the latest development inside Tibet. He had a deep interest on Tibet and was always ready to show his solidarity with Tibet.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Will China Be True To Their Constitution?

By Tenzin Lekshay

Current Chinese Leaders
Last month, after I wrote an article on Yu Zhengsheng, I met Mr. Dawa Tsering, former colleague who is currently based in Taiwan. He is one amongst the small contingent of Tibetan bureaucrats in exile, who has prolific knowledge on China. While we discussed briefly about the current Chinese leadership, I asked his expert opinion on Yu's remark on Middle Way Policy. Though, our meeting was short, he made a very good observation by saying that the current Chinese leaders are presently emphasizing on the importance of constitution and the rule of law. If they stick to their words, then it may generate a possibility in resolving the Tibet problem. This gave me space to acknowledge that despite painfully traumatized by the Chinese intruding forces for more than 5 decades, Tibetans are keeping faith in hope and optimism. Mr. Thubten Samphel, former Information Secretary of the Central Tibetan Administration confirmed that the hope is the best friend of the Tibetans.1