Col J P Singh, Retd
79th Birth Anniversary
His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, was born on 6 July 1935 in a small village called Taktser or Amdo, in Qinghai province of Northeastern Tibet to a family of farmers and horse traders as Lhamo Dondrub. His religious name is Tenzin Gyatso. The revered monk turns 78 on 06 July 2013. He represents Tibet religiously, spiritually and politically. Besides being the religious head of Tibet, he is the ruler as well. Today he is the longest lived ruler of Tibet and most respected spiritual leader of the world with the legacy of relentless peaceful struggle for freedom and justice for the Tibetans since 1959. While relentlessly crusading for the freedom of his countrymen from China, he continues preaching Buddhism, peace and non violence world over. In India he preaches Buddhism from Maclodganj, Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh which he has adopted as his second home.
The Dalai Lamas are believed to be the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of compassion and the enlightened ones who chose to take rebirth in their own country to serve humanity. Dalai Lamas are head monks of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism which otherwise means ‘Ocean of Wisdom’. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply stating, Kundun, meaning the Presence.
He was recognized as the reincarnation and the rebirth of 13th Dalai Lama when he attained the age of 2 years through a well defined traditional selection process led by reputed lamas of the nation. This revered 14th Dalai Lama began his monastic education at the age of six at Lhasa. At the age of 24, he took the final exam and passed it with honours. He completed Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy when he was 25. In 1950, when he was 16, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power as Head of State when Tibet was being threatened by the might of China. He spent most of hiss time in Potala Palace at Lahasa. In 1954 he went to erstwhile Peking, now Beijing as head of the state and discussed bilateral relations and future of Tibet with Mao-Tse-Tung, Chou-En-Lai and Deng Xiaoping. His interactions with Mao-Tse-Tung were purposeful and educative. His Holiness developed lot of respect for the top Chinese leader and considered him as a fatherly figure. But the relationship did not last long. During his visit to India in the year 1956, to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti, he had a series of meetings with Pt Nehru and Premier Chou En-Lai on bilateralism and political as well as economic conditions in Tibet. Ironically when His Holiness was aspiring for help and support from China, it occupied Lhasa militarily in 1959, forcing Dalai Lama to flee into India. He was received ceremonially as Head of the State at Indo – Tibet border. He was given political asylum as head of the state, the privilege he enjoys till date. Since 1959, he has resided in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh; aptly; known as ‘Little Lhasa’ for last 54 years; now the seat of power of “Tibetan Government-in-Exile’.
Right from the early years of his exile, His Holiness has been appealing to the United Nations and the Western world for help for seeking Tibet’s freedom from Chinese control. UN General Assembly adopted three resolutions in1959, 1961 and 1965 favouring return of Tibet to Tibetans which China vehemently defied. His Holiness continues to present new initiatives to China and U N to resolve the Tibetan issue. Ironically, China outrightly rejects the idea of dialogue process with His Holiness. At the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987, he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first step towards resolving Tibet issue. This plan calls for (i) designation of Tibet as a zone of peace, (ii) an end to the massive immigration of ethnic Chinese into Tibet (iii) restoration of fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms (iv) abandonment of use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production and dumping nuclear waste and (v) earnest negotiations on the future of Tibet. In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a draft constitution for Tibet which assures a democratic form of govt; being practiced by his govt in exile.
Since his forays into the world since 70s, His Holiness’ reputation as a scholar and man of peace has grown steadily. In recent years, a number of Western Universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and Doctorate Degrees upon him in recognition of his distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and non-violent leadership in the service of mankind. He was awarded 1989 Noble Peace Prize in recognition of his tireless non-violent crusade of over 30 years to end China’s occupation and suppression of his Homeland.
During 1990 – 2001, systematic archaeological excavations were undertaken by Archaeological Survey of India at Ambaran, near Akhnoor to authenticate the evidence of existence of Buddhist establishment on the Northern bank of Chenab River. The painstaking excavations discovered that an ancient Buddhist Monastic Establishment did exist there. During the course of excavations, the foundation of eight spoked Stupa was accidentally found. It was similar to the ones found in other parts of North India. On being informed and presented photo exhibition of this discovery, His Holiness showed keen interest to visit Ambaran to see himself the existence of this unknown religious establishment of his religion. He visited this site at Ambaran, first visit of this type in the known history of Jammu, on 16 November 2011 and spent lot of time at the site appreciating the work done by ASI. Present excavations are in very small area. Possibility of existence of much bigger Buddhist establishment at Ambaran was predicted by His Holiness during this visit. Scanning of the wider areas around this site at Ambaran, consequent to this visit, may reveal the existence of yet another unknown great centre of Buddhism in North West India. This discovery of ancient Buddhists complex is certain proof of prevalence of Buddhism in Jammu 2500 years ago, later on abandoned for some reasons, yet unknown for which the research is on. We will know the historical and religious facts soon.
On the 52nd anniversary of exile in 2011, His Holiness expressed his desire to abdicate his political power in favour of democratically elected Prime Minister while retaining only the spiritual leadership. Despite protests by Tibetans world over against this decision, His Holiness’ repeated appeals, in the best interest of Tibetans, was finally accepted and the political transition took place smoothly. We pray that he succeeds in his non-violent crusade of getting Tibet liberated by throwing China out from his Homeland and the entire world stands with him in his peaceful struggle. Jammu region and the religious tourism has immensely benefited by the visit of His Holiness to Ambaran. With the revival of Buddhism at Ambaran, Jammu area will be a focus of world over research and study of Buddhism in J&K.
His Holiness has dedicated his life to the cause of Tibetan people as well as world peace, non violence and communal harmony. He is known as one of the shinning religious and spiritual leader of the world, which we as Indian are immensely proud of because since 1959, he is more or less an Indian. Hope our generation will pass on tragic stories of forced exile of such a noble soul and persecution of his peace loving subjects to their progeny. May he live long to continue his struggle for freedom and justice to his subjects.
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