Fighting the dragon

My interest, or rather curiosity, on Tibet and its plight started during my first visit to Manali (HP, India). The compound wall of the Tibetan monastery in Manali had an inscription that would generally be considered rebellious - "Free Tibet from the clinches of China", made by the Students for free Tibet. I made a mental note to check up on the entire history sometime later. And while doing so, I also got to watch the movie '7 Years in Tibet', which again prompted me to read the splendid book by the same title.

The book stands high up there as one of those marvelous books of human struggle, determination and courage I've ever read. From those days, I try to follow the developments and what Tibetans try to do to make the world notice of their plight and struggle. Of course, given a chance, I'd jump at the opportunity to visit the roof of the world (Tibet) and the Forbidden City (Lhasa).

Image Courtesy: 'Friends of Tibet blog' - one of those blogs that I *try* to follow.

As anyone who knows a little about Tibetan culture would say, it's one of the most simplistic cultures in the world. Tibetans are very peace loving and simplistic - which is exactly why China had absolutely no problems taking over an entire country without creating as much as a whimper. It was like being a nice guy and someone just ran over an 18 wheeler on you for being nice.

The biggest problem that Tibetans face today is that not many in the world know of their real plight. And all because they are the 'nice guys' who wouldn't cross the line of morality (which I guess is wired in their religion and culture) to prove a point or two. On the other hand, struggles such as that of LTTE are known to the entire world and there's recognition of the world. What happens next is a different story, and one that's better left untold.

Now, the moral of this story - I guess it doesn't pay to 'be nice' all the time. The world would swallow us and we wouldn't even know about it. Sometimes it pays to be crude and be dodgy, if that is the way the world works.

The latest initiative by Tibetans is 'One world. One dream. Free Tibet 2008', and to create a real ruffle before the Olympics 2008 to make China look nasty before the eyes of the world. All this even as China bulldozes into the world economic scene. Let's see what's in store...