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OBITUARY — LHASANG TSERING: A TRUE PRACTITIONER OF THE DALAI LAMA’S DEMOCRACY

By Vijay Kranti

Losing a friend whom you adore and love immensely is not an ordinary loss. Passing away of Lhasang Tsering is a personal loss for me for so many reasons. He was among that very first bunch of Tibetans who became my friends during early months of my association and love affair with Tibet 54 years ago. Actually it was this very group of young men who etched the impression of Tibet and her struggle on my heart and mind. This gang comprised of Lodi Gyari, Tenzin Geyche, Jamyang Norbu, Sonam Topgyal, Tendzin Choegyal (Ngari Rinpoche) and Lhasang Tsering who became my darling friends from our very first meeting. Interestingly, all of us were in the same age-bracket : early twenties or mid-twenties. But the unfortunate part of this story is that among seven of us four have already played their current inning and passed on to their next lives. Lhasang is my latest loss. 

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Universities bordering Tibet, set up to train new gen cadres to run Tibet for China, now ordered to escalate assimilation, promote Han Chinese racist chauvinism, cancel Tibetan identity, says Gabriel Lafitte, Gabriel Lafitte who is an environmental researcher, writer, and activist who has specialised in Tibet and China-Tibet relations

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Perseverance and closure of an Independent Tibetan School: 30-Year Journey of Jigme Gyaltsen Ethnic Vocational School

By Ginger Duan

In July 2024, Jigme Gyaltsen Ethnic Vocational High School, which had operated independently for 30 years, announced its closure. Known as the best Tibetan-language educational institution and a private welfare school in the greater Tibetan region, it has now come to an end. The author of this article once served as an IT technician at the school, handling numerous digital archives and witnessing the establishment, struggles, development, and eventual forced closure of this institution on this land. Now living overseas, the author learned of the school’s shutdown. However, due to censorship, former colleagues and Tibetan friends could not convey their sorrow. The author took up the pen to write this detailed recollection.

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HOPES AND DANGERS OF NEW TIBET-CHINA DIALOGUE: A FRIENDLY WARNING

By Vijay Kranti

Repeated claims by the senior most Tibetan exile leadership about ‘back channel’ talks being in progress with Beijing are an indication of a new round of Dharamshala-Beijing dialogue taking shape to settle the seven decade old conflict between the two sides. In his recent media statements Penpa Tsering, the ‘Sikyong’ (Tibetan title for the elected ‘President’ of the exiled Tibetan diaspora) has revealed that some behind the scene talks are being held with the Chinese leaders with the help of a third country. It’s understandable that the Sikyong refused to divulge either the name of the ‘third country’ or the identity of officials involved from either side. But his claim that these talks started with the initiative of the Chinese side deserves serious attention and calls for a deep clinical scrutiny of what prompted President Xi Jinping to restart these negotiations after having rejected every single point on which the Dalai Lama side has been resting its case for settlement of the Tibetan issue with Beijing.

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