You must have seen Tibetans in your city spreading blankets on the streets, selling potions, animal horns, and woollen clothes. These are people we see so frequently but of whom we know very little.
These Tibetans have been refugees since 1959. Many of them can only imagine their homes, their beautiful homes, amidst the snow-clad Himalayas. And the hope of going back home one day is perhaps what keeps them going.
Tibet is unique, with its own language, culture, food, dress, customs and history. It was a happy land ruled by the Dalai Lamas. It was an independent, peaceful state until the invasion by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1949. A lot has been written about the land, the fictional valley of Shangri La, a sort of paradise on earth, of the Dalai Lamas, the spiritual and temporal leader. Little is known of its political history.
Vanishing Shangri La: History Of Tibet And Dalai Lamas In 20th Century , by K.N. Raghavan, Customs Commissioner, Kochi, is a compelling and comprehensive work that traces the history of Tibet from the close of the 19th century, from when the 13th Dalai Lama assumed charge, detailing the structure of the society to major events that took place through the years.
“It was my friend Dr. M.K. Muneer, Minister for Social Welfare and Panchayats, who was responsible for igniting this Tibetan interest in me. He gifted me a book on the subject and also kept checking on whether I got started,” says Raghavan.
This is his second historical work after Dividing Lines: Contours Of India-China Conflict that takes an interesting relook at the 1962 India-China war.
Divided into seven elaborate chapters Vanishing Shangri La provides general information about Tibet followed by the political history of the land beginning from 1895. “From my reading, from the sources I managed to gather, the history of modern Tibet commences with the ascension of the 13th Dalai Lama as the spiritual and temporal leader of the State in 1895,” explains Raghavan who quit a medical career for the Civil Services.
Like in his previous work, Raghavan has drawn heavily from a horde of books and articles.
“This was perhaps my biggest challenge. My earlier work was written while posted in Singapore, which helped as I had access to some great libraries. Life and work were was more predictable too. This time I had to gather all the reference books from whichever source I could. Moreover, the unpredictable nature of work here made writing a real test. It took me nearly three years to complete this work.”
There are nuggets of information in this exhaustive work of history that makes interesting read. It records the 13th Dalai Lama’s failed association with Russia, his exile and return, his shrewd sense of diplomacy, his successful attempts to drive out the Chinese from Tibet, of how he built up a strong army that managed to quell internal and external disquiets. “He was responsible for to ushering in a whiff of modernity into the traditional society of Tibet. A hydro electric plant, telegraph lines, sending sent four young students to England to expose them to training and studies there, initiating ed measures to set up a modern police force and to started using a motor car, the first ever to be brought to this Himalayan State.”
The book provides insight into Tibet during the very crucial interval between the death of the 13th Dalai Lama and the coronation of the next; the condition of the Lama after China takes control of Tibet; the situation in Tibet after Dalai Lama’s flees to India and struggles of the Tibetan community in exile. It also narrates the attempts made by the Chinese, first during period of Mao and later during Hu Yaobang, to win over the Tibetans and how their failure has made succeeding generation of Chinese leaders wary of finding a solution to the Tibetan imbroglio. The Dalai Lama’s efforts to engage Beijing through the Middle Way Approach have not borne fruit either despite his clarification that this amounts to giving up the demand for autonomy.”
Also included is an interview with the 14th Dalai Lama, the cast list of characters who make an appearance and the books he has referred to. “I got an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama in Delhi and talked to him for some time. I had a couple of nagging doubts, which he very humbly and politely answered. I asked him about the spread of education and the growth of democracy and democratic institutions in his tenure, I asked him on the move to reach out to the American public after President Richard Nixon stopped supporting Tibetans and the challenges in to implementing the Middle Way Approach. His answers provide a clue to what lies ahead for Tibet. And, the Dalai Lama was gracious enough to agree to write the foreword to my book.”
Instead of simply recording the history of a land and its people, Raghavan attempts a peep into the future. He arrives at a prophetic conclusion. “The history of mankind,” he writes, “teaches one that struggles for upholding the dignity of human beings have never met with failure: sooner or later the principles of liberty, equality and justice have triumphed over the brute forces of authoritarianism and injustice….” And Raghavan goes on, “Tibetans should find sustenance from these historical facts as they struggle through their winter of unhappiness; the season of spring filled with success and cheer is bound to follow sooner than later.”
Vanishing Shangri La will be released by Tempa Tsering, representative of the Dalai Lama at IMA Hall on March 4 at 6 p.m. Tempa Tsering is a former Kalon (Minister) of Central Tibetan Administration and is married to Jetsun Pema, sister of the Dalai Lama.
