The issue of Tibet

NYT had an article by Pankaj Mishra that profiled the Tibetan youth leader Tenzin Tsundue. It makes for an interesting read on how the tibetan refugees living in India view their homeland which is as distant from them today as it was when their previous generation had crossed over. There is growing resentment on the non-violent method preached by the revered Dalai Lama which they say is leading to a cultural liquidation by the Chinese aided further by the highway being built to Lhasa bringing along millions of Han chinese. This is fear is manifested in the claims of many that Tibetan culture is on its way to extinction if efforts at preservation are not made by the government-in-exile. The Dalia Lama, though he remains the spiritual leader is said to be losing grip in the new generation of youth agitators exemplified by Tenzin. What the future will bring is hard to say, but its good to see how some people still have a cause that they are passionate about, that they will fight for in ways more than just physical. Sometimes it makes one wonder whether the life they lead is hollow for the lack of such a cause or if they sold themselves out the day someone assigned them a 8 hour day job that became the focus of their lives. Che was one such figure who evoked such a reaction. On a slightly different note, I am linking two books written some years back by Humphrey Hawksley, a British Foreign Correspondent, about the Sino-Indian-Pak war scenario in the nuclear age, that are worth a read. It was all about the tibetans in the opening scene of Dragon Fire. The other book is Dragon Strike