Towards a Financially Sustainable CTA

After months of political theatrics in the Tibetan Diaspora following His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s official announcement to retire from active politics, the dust now seems to have, more or less, settled on yet another historic episode in the evolution of our exile movement. While I have my reservations about the manner in which some of the changes were brought about, I am, in general, quite pleased by the scale and the sophistication of deliberations that took place in the aftermath of His Holiness’ March 10th statement. That said, one of the key issues which I thought was conspicuously missing from these, otherwise wide-ranging, discussions was the issue of long-term financial sustainability of the new Dalai Lama-less Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It is with an intention to stir a debate on this critical issue that I have decided to write this piece.

There is no hiding the fact that our exile administration’s dependence on the person of His Holiness is not limited to political leadership; it stretches to, among other things, financial matters as well. It is a lesser-known fact that nearly a quarter of the CTA’s annual revenue comes from the coffers of the Dalai Lama’s Private Office. Now that His Holiness has already renounced all his decision-making powers, I think it would be grossly inappropriate for us to continue to look up to Kundun to bear the brunt of the CTA’s operational costs. Thus, in the next few years, in line with our goal to transform the CTA into a completely self-sustaining body, I think measures must be taken to gradually relieve His Holiness of this last remaining responsibility too.

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Implementing The Dalai Lama’s Master-Plan: Problems & Prospects

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama officially announced his decision to stand down as the chief executive of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) on the eve of the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising earlier this year, it understandably sent shock-waves throughout the Tibetan world and triggered pangs of anxiety in the upper echelons of the exile administration. But despite the ensuing general hysteria, His Holiness stuck to his guns. He first turned down separate requests from the Kashag and the Chitues to reconsider his decision, and then recently, to everyone’s dismay, rejected the title of “the ceremonial head of state” proposed at the last month’s Special Meeting of Tibetan representatives. That said, His Holiness went out of his way, in his every other public appearance following his March 10 statement, to put to rest- once and for all- most of the initial frenzy and rumours surrounding the issue of his retirement. What was particularly reassuring was his pledge to step in if and when the exile movement encountered extraordinary difficulties necessitating his direct involvement. (Watch the Dalai Lama explicate reasons for relinquishing all temporal and administrative prerogatives ascribed to him under the 1991 Charter of the Tibetans in Exile below).

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An Inspirational Poem by Dr. Harivanshrai Bachchan

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती। 

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है।
आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती। 

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,
जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।
मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,
बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।
मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।
जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।
कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती। 

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Why Dr. Lobsang Sangay’s Stance on Self-Determination as a Policy is a Pragmatic One?

[The first section of this article, apart from providing a brief justification of our right to self determination, explains the basis of this right in international law, and sheds light on other competing norms which restrict the scope of this right and recent trends which are expected to positively influence its observance. Given the length of this article, I advise readers who are already well-versed on these matters to skip the first section altogether and begin reading from the section titled “The Impediments & the Stumbling Blocks”. Many thanks!]

Tibet, Self-Determination & International Law

The right to self-determination is a well-established norm of international law. The common article 1 of the two human rights covenants states: “All people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” That is to say, the right to self determination provides a disaffected group which satisfies the definition of a “people”, the freedom to decide upon its political future by choosing from a continuum of possible options ranging from independence to a multitude of internal arrangements short of independence such as autonomy, free association and integration. It is, thus, customary to speak of two variants of this collective right i.e. external self-determination which when exercised leads to secession of the territory inhabited by the disaffected people from the metropolitan state, and internal self-determination which affords the said group greater say in regulating its political, economic, social and cultural life whilst remaining a part of the metropolitan state. Self-determination is, therefore, a procedural right which is ordinarily accomplished through a referendum.

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