Attempted Autonomy for Tibet: It’s Time for a Focus Shift

Abstract

Since the Chinese government opened Tibet’s borders to tourists in 1985, there have been several instances in which visitors find folded-up letters slipped into their palms whilst roaming the territory; letters addressed to the UN proclaiming the independence of Tibet, oppression by the Chinese, and loyalty to the exiled Dalai Lama, as noted by The Tibet Journal, a scholarly collection which features articles on Tibetan history. The conditions for this phenomenon have not always been the case, however. Historically, the nation of Tibet existed as a peaceful, Buddhism-oriented nation, until it was absorbed militarily by the newly established People's Republic of China (PRC)’s 1950 invasion. As an article from The Journal of Asian Studies, a scholarly and multidisciplinary journal focusing on topics within Asia, explains,  this invasion was staged in response to Tibetan leadership making calls for official international diplomatic recognition, which was necessitated by China’s outwardly expressed entitlement to the sect, as a result of hundreds of years of entangled history. Anupma Kaushik, Professor of Political Science at Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University, explains how the Chinese have since taken to suppressive and harsh methods to forcefully integrate Tibetans into Chinese society such as the intimidation, imprisonment, torture, and killing of lakhs of Tibetans, as well as the attempted erasure of thousands of years of Tibetan culture and history.