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"When the Chinese Communist armies marched into Tibet in 1950 and occupied the
eastern part of it, I and my people found ourselves in a helpless and almost
hopeless situation. We appealed to several of the leading nations of the world,
and to the United Nations, to intervene on our behalf, but our pleas for help
were rejected. It was many centuries since Tibet had been a military power, for
we believe in the path of peace and have tried to follow it ever since the
wisdom of Lord Buddha was brought to our country from India over a thousand
years ago; and since our national life was devoted to our religion, our material
resources were very small." (His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet in 'My
Land and My People') //


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Why Tibet?

TIBET, the inspiration behind the ideal of 'Shangri-la' or Paradise on Earth,
has a rich and vividly unique culture of its own. Ruled by the Dalai Lamas since
1642, and for centuries before that by a succession of religious kings and other
priestly rulers, it is one of the few nations in the world with such a long
history of continued independence.

"For many Tibetans material life was hard, but they were not the victims of
desire, and in simplicity and poverty among our mountains, perhaps there was
more peace of mind than there is in most of the world," so says His Holiness the
XIV Dalai Lama in his autobiography 'My Land and My People'.

Tibet was a peaceful, independent state when, in 1949, it was invaded by China
in an act of unprovoked aggression. In 1959 His Holiness the Dalai Lama was
forced to seek political asylum in India, along with his entire government and
tens of thousands of ordinary Tibetans. Since then Tibet has never been the same
and the lives of all Tibetans has changed entirely. Faced with brutal oppression
and treated as second-class citizens in their own country, many Tibetans still
risk their lives to join their leader in exile. Here they are confronted with
another problem — the sad predicament of refugees everywhere. To say the least,
the fate of the vast majority who remain in Tibet is far worse.

Throughout the early decades of the occupation, tens of thousands of Tibetans
were killed and many more sent to prisons and concentration camps. During this
period more than 6,000 temples and monasteries — including vast Buddhist
universities and ancient libraries — were looted, burned and destroyed. Even
today, despite some cosmetic changes, largely for the benefit of tourists or
visiting dignitaries, Tibetan religion and culture has not recovered from the
decades of suppression and continues to suffer from neglect and discrimination.
Rampant and indiscriminate exploitation of Tibet's vast natural resources is
also threatening the fragile ecological balance of the Roof of the World.
However, the single biggest threat to the survival of the Tibetan people is
China's policy of population transfer aimed at reducing Tibetans to an
insignificant minority in their own country by sending in millions of landless,
and jobless Chinese. The distinct cultural ties between India and Tibet — the
most obvious being the spread of Buddhism from India to Tibet in the seventh
century — is perhaps too well known to bear repeating here. The trade and
economic ties between the two countries is perhaps even older. It is equally
important to remember that India maintained independent relations with Tibet
throughout our shared history. Never, until China's military occupation of Tibet
after 1949, has India ever shared a common border with China. Today India spends
more money to defend our northern border with Chinese occupied Tibet than we do
to protect our border with Pakistan. Even in the case of our western border,
much of the problem is linked to the political, economic and the military
support that China gives to Pakistan.

Joined together by almost the entire length of the mighty Himalayan range —
India and Tibet are also inseparably linked in a physical sense. With such an
extensive common frontier, the environmental changes on one side inevitably
affects the other. It is for this reason that China's destruction of Tibet's
fragile environment — not only through indiscriminate deforestation and mining
but also by dumping nuclear and other toxic wastes — should be a major concern
to every Indian. The implications of having China as our permanent northern
neighbour or even the single issue of any of the rivers flowing from Tibet to
India becoming polluted by toxic waste is too serious to be left to chance.

Friends of Tibet believes that all the issues raised above are of a global
nature — not only in terms of the principles involved but also in terms of their
impact. It is no longer just a question of helping an oppressed people and
supporting a peaceful and friendly neighbour. Today the question of Tibetan
independence is inseparably linked to India's long-term future.

Let us act now to make Tibet free!
⋯
Facts About Independent Tibet
By Jamyang Norbu (Tibetan Novelist and Historian)



BEFORE the Chinese Communist invasion of 1950 Tibet was a fully functioning and
independent state. It threatened none of its neighbors, fed its population
unfailingly, year after year, with no help from the outside world. Tibet owed no
money to any country or international institutions, and maintained basic law and
order. Tibet banned capital punishment in 1913 (mentioned by a number of foreign
travelers) and was one of the first countries in the world to do so. There is no
record of it persecuting minorities or massacring sections of its population
from time to time as China and some other countries do — remember Tiananmen.
Although its frontiers with India, Nepal and Bhutan were completely unguarded,
virtually no Tibetan fled their country as economic or political refugees. There
was not a single Tibetan immigrant in the USA or Europe before the Communist
invasion. //


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Foreign Military Invasion not ‘Peaceful Liberation’

ON the dawn of 6th October 1950, the 52nd, 53rd & 54th divisions of the 18th
Army of the Red Army (probably over 40,000 troops) attacked the Tibetan frontier
guarded by 3,500 regular soldiers and 2,000 Khampa militiamen. Recent research
by a Chinese scholar reveals that Mao Zedong met Stalin on 22nd January 1950 and
asked for the Soviet air force to transport supplies for the invasion of Tibet.
Stalin replied: "It's good you are preparing to attack Tibet. The Tibetans need
to be subdued."

An English radio operator (employed by the Tibetan Government) at the Chamdo
front wrote that Tibetan forward defences at the main ferry point on the Drichu
River fought almost to the last man. In the south at the river crossing near
Markham, the Tibetan advance guards fought heroically but were wiped out,
according to an English missionary there.6 Surviving units conducted fighting
retreats westwards, in good order. No unit fled or surrendered. Four days into
the retreat, one regiment was overwhelmed and destroyed. Only two weeks after
the initial attack, the Tibetan army surrendered. The biography of a Communist
official states "Many Tibetans were killed and wounded in the Chamdo campaign."
and "...the Tibetan soldiers fought bravely, but they were no match for the
superior numbers and better training" of the Chinese forces. According to the
only Western military expert who wrote on the Chinese invasion of Tibet "...the
Reds suffered at least 10,000 casualties."

It was not a peaceful liberation of Tibet as Beijing claims. In 1956 the Great
Khampa revolt started and spread throughout the country culminating in the March
Uprising of 1959. Guerilla operations only ceased in 1974. "A conservative
estimate would have to be no less than half-a-million" Tibetans killed in the
fighting. Many more died in the subsequent political campaigns, forced labor
camps (laogai) and the great famine. The revolutionary uprisings throughout
Tibet in 2008 and the brutal Chinese crackdown clearly demonstrate that the
struggle continues today. ◼



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National Flag



THE modern Tibetan national flag was adopted in 1916. Its first appearance
before the world was in National Geographic Magazine's "Flags of the World"
issue of 1934 and other publications, and was reproduced in the early thirties
in cigarette card collections in Europe. The flag was probably too new and
unknown to appear in the very first flag issue (1917) of the National
Geographic, but Tibet did receive mention in an article on medieval flags in
that same issue. According to an eminent vexillologist, Professor Lux-Worm, the
national flag of Tibet was based on an older 7th century snow lion standard of
the Tibetan Emperor, Songtsen Gampo. It should be borne in mind that over 90% of
the flags of the nations in the UNO were created after WWII, including the
present national flag of China. //



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National Anthem

THE old Tibetan national anthem or national hymn, Gangri Rawae or "Snow Mountain
Rampart" was composed in 1745 by the (secular) Tibetan ruler Pholanas. It was
recited at the end of official ceremonies and sung at the beginning of opera
performances in Lhasa. When the Tibetan government came into exile in India, a
more modern national anthem, Sishe Pende ("Joy and Benefits") was composed. The
lyrics were written by Dalai Lama's tutor, Trichang Rimpoche who was considered
a great poet in the classical nyengak (Skt. kaviya) tradititon. ◼

Maps of Tibet



The World With Tibet: The world map showing Tibet as an Independent country was
released by Venerable Geshe Lhakdor, Official Translator of HH the Dalai Lama on
December 10, 2007 — World Human Rights Day — by giving a copy to Rohit Singh,
Friends of Tibet Campaigner who conceptualized 'The World With Tibet' education
campaign.



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MANY pre-1950 maps, globes and atlases showed Tibet as an independent nation
separate from China. Some of the earliest maps on record of Asia show Tibet
(variably spelled as Tobbat, Thibbet, or the Kingdom of Barantola) as separate
from China or Cathay. A map of Asia drawn by the Dutch cartographer, Pietar van
der Aa around 1680 shows Tibet in two parts but distinct from China; as does a
1700 map drawn by the French cartographer Guillaume de L'isle, where Tibet is
referred to as "Kingdom of Grand Tibet." A map of India, China and Tibet
published in the USA in 1877 clear represents Tibet as distinct from the two
other nations. An 1827 map of Asia drawn by Anthony Finley of Philadelphia,
clearly show "Great Tibet" as distinct from the Chinese Empire. Probably the
largest stained glass globe in the world (in Boston), based on the Rand McNally
1934 map of the world, clearly shows Tibet as a separate nation.

Following the publication of the great atlas commissioned by the Manchu Emperor
Kangxi and created by Jesuit cartographers, some European maps in the mid-1700s
began to depict Tibet as part of China. The Jesuits could not personally survey
Tibet (as they had surveyed China and Manchuria) since Tibet was not part of the
Chinese Empire. So they trained two Mongol monks in Beijing and sent them to
make a secret survey of Tibet. Similar clandestine surveys of Tibet were
conducted by British mapmakers using trained Himalayan natives and even a Mongol
monk. An American sinologist has observed that, like European colonial powers,
China could be said to have used cartography to further its "Colonial
Enterprise" in Tibet and Korea. ◼

Tibetan Currency

BEFORE the Chinese invasion, Tibet had its own currency based on the Tam and
Srang denomination system. The earliest coinage used in Tibet was silver and
struck in Nepal under a treaty agreement. A joint Chinese-Tibetan currency (the
Ganden Tanka) was issued when Manchu forces occupied Tibet. After the Chinese
army was expelled in 1912, Tibet minted its own coin using Buddhist and Tibetan
designs. Paper currency was only introduced into Tibet in the early 20th
century, but according to the numismatist Wolfgang Bertsch, they were "small
works of art." A unique aspect of Tibetan banknotes was that the serial numbers
were handwritten by a guild of specialist calligraphists, the epa, to prevent
forgery.

Even after the Communist invasion, Tibetans successfully undermined Chinese
efforts to take over its currency. Official Chinese currency only came into use
after the departure of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government from Tibet in
March 1959. ◼



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Tibetan Passport


The historic Shakabpa Passport was issued by the then Government of Independent
Tibet in 1947 to the Finance Secretary Tsepong Wangchuk Dedhen Shakabpa who was
leading a trade delegation to China, the United States and Britain. On this
passport, visa and transit visa were issued by countries like the United Sates,
Britain, India, France, Italy, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. However,
this document got lost from the Tibetan community in 1992 and there were rumours
that it had been sold to antique dealers and reached into the hands of Chinese
government officials. After 13 years of mystery and search, Friends of Tibet
located it with an antique dealer in Nepal, and later bought it for an
undisclosed amount and was later presented to HH the XIV Dalai Lama in 2004.
Today this document remains to stand as an important proof of independent status
of Tibet legally recognised by other countries before China's invasion of Tibet
in 1949. // More about Shakabpa Passport



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THE Tibetan government issued its own passports to travelers entering its
borders or (the few) Tibetans who traveled abroad. Before WWII, the term
passports covered visas and travel documents in general. The earliest record of
a Tibetan passport issued to a foreign traveler is in 1688 to an Armenian
merchant, Johannes. The Tibetan government gave its approval for the first-ever
Everest expedition (1921). Charles Bell, the visiting British diplomat in Lhasa
wrote "I received from the Tibetan Government a passport in official form, which
granted permission for the climbing of Mount Everest." The subsequent Everest
expeditions of 1922, 1924 and 1936 also received passports from the Tibetan
government. Passports were sometimes issued for scientific undertakings: the
Schaeffer expedition of 1939, Tucci's expedition of 1949 and the plant hunter
Frank Kingdon Ward in 1924.

President Roosevelt's two envoys to Tibet in 1942 were presented their passports
at Yatung. The Americans Lowell Thomas Jr and Sr visited Tibet in 1949, and were
issued "Tibetan passports" at Dhomo. "When the Dalai Lama's passport was spread
out before us, I could not help thinking that many Western explorers who had
failed to reach Lhasa would have highly prized a document like this." The first
modern Tibetan passport with personal information, photograph and space for
visas and endorsements was issued in 1948 to members of the Tibetan trade
mission. It was modeled on the international one-page fold-out model of 1915.
Britain, USA and seven other countries issued visas and transit visas for this
document. ◼

Treaties

ONE of the most important treaties between the Tibetan Empire and the Chinese
Empire dates back to AD 821-822. The text, carved in Tibetan and Chinese on a
stone pillar near the Jokhang temple in Lhasa states that 'Great Tibet' and
'Great China' would act towards each other with respect, friendship and
equality. As an independent nation, Tibet entered into treaties with neighboring
states: Bushair 1681, Ladakh 1683 and 1842, Nepal 1856 and so on. Tibet signed a
number of treaties and conventions with Britain culminating in the Simla Treaty
of 1914 by which British India and Tibet reached an agreement on their common
frontier. India's present-day claims to the demarcation of its northern border
is based on this treaty which was signed by Tibet — not China.

In January 1913, Tibet and Mongolia signed a treaty in Urga, the preamble of
which reads: "Whereas Mongolia and Tibet having freed themselves from the Manchu
dynasty and separated themselves from China, have become independent states, and
whereas the two States have always professed one and the same religion, and to
the end that their ancient mutual friendships may be strengthened..."
Declarations of friendship, mutual aid, Buddhist fraternity, and mutual trade
etc. follow in the various articles. The Tibetan word Rangzen is used throughout
to mean "independence".

A Tibetan Bureau of Foreign Affairs was established in 1942, which conducted
diplomatic relations with Britain, USA, Nepal, independent India and China. ◼

Witnesses to Independent Tibet

THE fact that Tibet was a peaceful, independent country is attested to by the
writings of many impartial western observers who not only visited pre-invasion
Tibet, but even lived there for considerable periods of time — as the titles of
some of their memoirs seem to proudly proclaim: Twenty Years in Tibet (David
McDonald), Eight Years in Tibet (Peter Aufschnieter), Seven Years in Tibet
(Heinrich Harrer). The premier scholar on Tibet, Hugh Richardson lived for a
total of eight years in Tibet, and his many writings reveal a country that was
functioning, orderly, peaceful and with a long history of political independence
and cultural achievement. Another great scholar and diplomat, Charles Bell,
regarded as the "architect of Britain's Tibet policy," was convinced that
Britain and America's refusal to recognise Tibetan independence (but which they
sometimes tacitly acknowledged when it was to their advantage) was largely
dictated by their desire "to increase their commercial profits in China."

It is almost certain that none of the official propagandists who demonise Tibet
in Chinese publications had witnessed life in old Tibet. In fact, none of
Beijing's Tibet propagandists in the West (Michael Parenti, Tom Grunfeld, Barry
Sautman et al) had visited Tibet before 1980. They often misrepresent old
Tibetan society and government with select quotes from English journalists and
officials (LA Waddell, Percival Landon, Edmund Candler, Captain WFT O'Connor)
who accompanied the British invasion force of 1904, and who sought to justify
that violent imperialist venture into Tibet by demonising Tibetan society and
institutions.

The only Chinese official with scholarly credentials who spent any length of
time in old Tibet was Dr Shen Tsung-lien, representative of the Republic of
China in Lhasa (1944-1949). In his book Tibet and the Tibetans, Dr Shen writes
of a nation clearly distinct from China, and one that "...had enjoyed full
independence since 1911." He writes truthfully of a hierarchical, conservative
society "fossilised many centuries back" but whose people were orderly,
peaceable and hospitable — but also "notorious litigants," adding that "few
peoples in the world are such eloquent pleaders." Shen also mentions "Appeals
may be addressed to any office to which the disputants belong, or even to the
Dalai Lama or his regent." ◼
⋯
March 9, 1999: Beginning of Friends of Tibet




Founded by Sethu Das in 1999 with just one member, Friends of Tibet (India)
started its activities as an email club — informing people about the latest from
the Chinese-occupied Tibet and from the Tibetan community in exile in India. The
website of the organisation was inaugurated by Venerable Yeshi Togden, president
of Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet, an association of former political prisoners
from Tibet on March 9, 1999 at Dharamshala — the seat of the Tibetan
Government-in-Exile. Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the
issue of Tibet through direct action and its activities are aimed at ending
China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of
Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence.
Friends of Tibet is also one of the principal organisers of World Tibet Day
around the world. (Photo: Ramesh Kumar PS) //



Friends of Tibet Committee Members with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet
(1999): (L-R) Jaqueline Meier, Lobsang Tsering, Tenzin Tsundue (General
Secretary), Prashant Varma (Organisational Secretary); Sethu Das (President),
Purnima Phansalkar (National Coordinator), Harsh Piramal and Reshma Piramal
(Vice President). (Photo: Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) //



Team Friends of Tibet with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet (2018):
(L-R) Vijay M Crishna, Smita Godrej, Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Sethu Das, Arun
Gandhi, Tushar A Gandhi, Sunil Sridhar and Santosh Kangutkar with HH the XIV
Dalai Lama on December 12, 2018. (Photo: Office of HH the Dalai Lama) //


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Friends of Tibet, PO Box 16674, Mumbai 400050, India.
Mobile: +91.9061354354 +91.9400354354
Email: freedom@friendsoftibet.org Web: www.friendsoftibet.org

Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through
direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet
and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued
struggle of the Tibetan people for independence. Friends of Tibet is also one of
the principal organisers of World Tibet Day around the world.

⋯

Digital Support: Design & People, India + Ibiblio Digital Library & Archive
Project, University of North Carolina, USA
⋯