Follow the Regulations, Forget the Buddha

The Buryat Hambo Lama Itigelov

The story of the Buryat Lama whose body was preserved as if it was mummified, with soft muscles and skin and folding joints, made me think of the new 'regulations' imposed by the Chinese Communist Party to appoint religious instructors in Tibet.
The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported that "to further tighten the noose around Tibetan monasteries and nunneries, the Chinese government has implemented a new regulation that gives the government and Party organs at multiple levels the authority and power to appoint Buddhist religious instructors."
It is called “Measures to Determine Qualification and Employment of Religious Instructors in Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries”. It was published on December 3, 2012 with the approval of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC).
From now on, all religious instructors in monasteries in Tibet must be legally registered to continue teaching Buddhist scriptures (Article 2). 
Further the regulation states that to qualify as a religious instructor, a candidate must meet mandatory credentials, including support for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist system, patriotism, discipline, uphold the dignity of law, safeguard the people’s interests, safeguard national unity, and uphold religious and social harmony [Article 4 (ii)].
A candidate must not engage in activities organised at the behest of private individuals or overseas outfits [Article 4 (vi)] and must obey the Monastery Management Committees [i.e. representatives of the Party]. Monks and nuns as well as lay believers must accept the guidance and supervision of the local people’s government and relevant departments of Buddhist religious affairs [Article 4 (iii)].
Article 5 requires that candidates be nominated and recommended by Monastery Management Committees. Then the candidates’ credentials will be assessed and reviewed first at the county level BAC office. This is followed by another assessment and screening at the prefecture level of BAC. Shortlisted candidates must sit for an examination administered by prefectural branch of BAC.
Small mercy: Buddhist teachers who are over 50 years old and have been teaching for a considerable time, may be exempted from this examination provided they satisfy all the credentials listed in article 4 [Article 4 (iii)]. 
Beijing can't afford to create to much upheaval (or chaos in Chinese parlance) in the hierarchy of the Tibetan clergy.
Article 10 stipulates that religious instructs appointment can last no more than five years after which they must apply for renewed employment. Those seeking re-appointment should undergo the same process of getting clearance and approval from the relevant BAC offices and local religious affairs departments.
Qualified religious instructors should assist the Monastery Management Committees in the management work of education and guidance of monks and nuns, patriotism, unity and progress, maintaining 'normal order' [read Party's order] in monasteries, promotion of religious harmony and social harmony [Article 11 (iii)]. 
The religious instructors are also required to promote national policies and regulations to guide the masses of believers, consciously safeguard national unification, ethnic unity and social stability, and oppose separation [Article 11 (iv)].
Some of the activities which will be awarded immediate dismissal or suspension from employment are listed in article 15:

• Failure to follow orders of monastery management committees;
• Acting on the instigation of overseas outfits and private individuals;
• Spreading separatist ideas and inciting the monks and nuns, as well as lay believers promoting illegal criminal behavior;
• Engaging in activities to destroy ethnic unity and social stability; and for splitting the Chinese motherland.

My question is: would someone like the Hambo Lama Itigelov passed the BAC's test? I doubt. 
And what about realized masters like Dilgo Khentse Rinpoche, Dudjum Rinpoche, Sakya Pandita, Milerepa or Je Tsongkhapa made it.
Probably not, their level of theoretical Marxism was too low.
The Regulations are killing 'Buddhist knowledge', to replace it by Party's discipline.
It is how China is destroying social stability and ethnic diversity.


Buddhist Monk Who Died in 1927 is ALIVE
May 28, 2013
Moscow, Russia — “Exhumation of the body of Hambo Lama Itigelov took place September 10 th, 2002 on the territory of cemetery near the city of Ulan Ude (Russian Federation). He died and was buried in 1927 and the exhumation was performed in presence of relatives, officials, and specialists”.
This was the information that appeared in Russian mass media regarding Buryat Lama who was exhumed from the grave in the beginning of the 21st century. The grave contained a wooden box and there was a sitting Buddhist lama in ‘lotus’ pose. His body was preserved as if it was mummified, however it was not. Soft muscles and skin, folding joints. The body was covered with silk clothes and fabric.
Hambo Lama Itigelov is a real person quite well known in Russian history. He studied in Anninsky Datsan (Buddhist university in Buryatia, nowadays there are ruins only) and obtained degrees in medicine and philosophy (on the nature of emptiness), he created an encyclopedia of pharmacology.
In 1911 Itigelov became a Hambo Lama (the head of Buddhist church in Russia). During the period from 1913 till 1917 he participated in social actions of the Tsar, being invited to 300-year anniversary of Romanov’s house, opened the first Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg, and Nikolai II gave him St. Stanislav award on 19 th of March, 1917.
During the First World War Itigelov created and inspired the organization called “Buryat brothers”. He was helping the army with money, meals, clothes, medicaments, he also built a set of hospitals with lama doctors helping wounded soldiers. For that he got St. Anna award and others.
In 1926 Itigelov advised the Buddhist monks to leave Russia, since ‘the red teaching was coming’ (Itigelov himself never left Russia). In 1927, being 75, he told lamas to begin meditation, since he said he was preparing to die. Lamas did not want to perform this meditation because Itigelov was still alive. Thus, Itigelov began to meditate by himself, lamas joined him and soon he died.
Ititgelov left a testament where he asked to bury him as he was, sitting in lotus pose in the cedar box on traditional cemetery. It was done. There was also a statement, where he asked other monks to exhume him after several years. (This is the exciting point – this means he knew that his body would be preserved).
This was done in 1955 and in 1973 by Buddhist monks but they were scared to tell everybody about this, since communist regime did not leave any space for religion in society. Only in 2002 the body was finally exhumed and transferred to Ivolginsky Datsan (a residence of today’s Hambo Lama) where it was closely examined by monks and, which is now more important, by scientists and pathologists.
The official statement was issued about the body – very well preserved, without any signs of decay, whole muscles and inner tissue, soft joints and skin. The interesting thing is that the body was never embalmed or mummified.
Two years passed. Itigelov’s body is now kept open air, in contact with other people, without any temperature or humidity regimes. How Itigelov keeps this condition, nobody knows.
While similar stories exist throughout the world, this is the ONLY WELL-DOCUMENTED and CONFIRMED CASE OF IMPERISHABLE BODY throughout the whole world. Embalming and mummifying is well known among different nations and peoples – Chili (Chinchora), Egypt mummies, Christian Saints, communist leaders and others. Some bodies were found in permafrost, however when they contacted with oxygen atmosphere they perished within several hours.
However, there are descriptions of such things in Buddhist texts, but there are no confirmed examples. Well, now there is.
For two years after the exhumation of Itigilov’s body it does not perish nor decay, no fungus, no negative things happen to it. Itigelov said before he died that he left a message to all peoples on Earth. This message contains no words. Now it is our turn to understand it.

Xi goes red

A meeting of the Central Committee at Xibaipo

My article One Xi taught a lesson, another fails to learn it appeared in The Pioneer today.


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President Xi Jinping has been talking a great deal of reclaiming the past glories of communism in China and building on it a new ‘dream’ for his country. What if that dream sours, like others did in the past?

The 10th Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party's 8th Central Committee was held in September 1962 in Beijing. It was to be a crucial meet not only because Mao Zedong had decided to attack ‘arrogant’ India, but because it witnessed the first purge which culminated in the Cultural Revolution a few years later.
According to Dr Li Zhisui, Mao’s private physician and author of The Private Life of Chairman Mao: “During the Plenum, Mao retook the upper hand on the Party and his old comrades. He reemphasized class struggle in order to prevent the emergence of revisionism.”
The main casualty of the Plenum was Xi Zhongxun. The Vice-Premier’s mistake was that he was too close to Marshal Peng Dehuai who had dared to criticize Mao’s Great Leap Forward in 1959; further, Xi Zhongxun was suspected to support the ‘Three Nis’, thanks to the Chinese pronunciation: Kennedy (Ken-ni-di), Nikita Khrushchev (Ni-ji-ta), Nehru (Ni-he-lu).
At the time of the Plenum, Xi Zhongxun’s son was a young boy; he was only 9 years-old. He must have been deeply traumatized when his father was sent to the wilderness of Chinese gaols for the next 16 years. Senior Xi would only be rehabilitated by his old Comrade Deng Xiaoping in 1978.
Fifty-one year later, Xi Zhongxun’s son, today China’s President and General Secretary of the Communist Party, exhorts the Chinese nation to return to the good old Communist values.
It is difficult to comprehend, but last week, Xinhua reported ‘Xi urges China to keep red’.
The new Emperor paid a visit to Xibaipo in the northern province of Hebei; it was the old revolutionary base, where from May 1948 to early 1949, the Communist leadership worked on the blueprint of the new Red China.
According to Xinhua, addressing the Party cadres, Xi Junior “urged the 85 million members of the Communist Party of China to work hard and serve the people wholeheartedly to ensure the color of red China will never change.”
Xi warned the Party cadres against the Four Decadences: formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance.
While fighting laxity, mediocrity and corruption, Xi said the campaign should focus on self-purification, self-perfection, self-renewal and self-progression.
Xi called for "thorough inspection, overhaul and cleanup”.
He probably did not have in mind the rectification session of the 10th Plenum, when he said: “Late Chinese leader Mao Zedong's remarks on Party members' work styles prior to the founding of New China in 1949 still have far-reaching ideological and historical significance.”
His recent leitmotiv has been: “If every CPC member and every grass-roots organ …do a good job, the Party will be strong, the country will be strong and people will be strong. Thus, the Party's rule will have a solid foundation."
The President asked the senior provincial officials to take the lead in the ‘Campaign on Mass Line Education and Practice’; Mao Zedong used the word, ‘mass line’ to explain the need for the Party to stay in touch with the ‘masses’.
President Xi’s point is that if the Party is unable to do this, it will die. The ‘chaos’ so feared by the old emperors will then follow. At the same time, he does not want to blindly follow the ‘western’ style of democracy which would, according to him, destroy the ‘Chinese characteristics’ of the Middle Kingdom. He probably believes that the Indian model is not efficient enough.
The new drive is not limited to the cadres, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) too have to “nurture the core values of the contemporary revolutionary soldier” and have to do “a better job in educating, nurturing and molding the soldier’s character”.
This mass line scheme follows a campaign calling for a Chinese Dream, the catchword of the new Chinese leadership. The People's Daily explains Xi’s Dream: “The Chinese dream is a dream for development.” The leadership today believes that China has become the stabilizer of the world economy and following the international financial crisis, its new engine.
For the new President: “The Chinese dream is a dream for harmony. Unfair and unreasonable old international order which has not been fundamentally changed is the most important cause of world chaos and dilemma.”
That is not all, the Chinese dream is a dream for cooperation and finally a dream for peace: “China stands for peace settlement for global disputes and issues and the new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit and cooperation.”
The South China Morning Post quotes Prof. Wang Yukai of the Chinese Academy of Governance agreeing with Xi: “The key to the Party's rule is to improve its capacity to rule and maintain its internal vitality.”
That sounds nice. Chinese like it so much that hundreds of think-tanks, universities, national and regional institutions have started studying ‘The Dream’ and begun publishing comments and dissertations on it.
Even the PLA is praising the Dream. The People's Liberation Daily has even gone a step further: “it is like seeing a ship's mast in the sea, like seeing the radiant sun rise in the east”. The Editor added: "It is the dogma of my belief, the cosmic truth. ...The dream is more important than anything …it is like water that carries the ship; like the wind that sustains the wings.”
It is rare for the Chinese Army to have glimpses of the 'cosmic truth'.
Is it this 'cosmic' experience which guided some Chinese jawans to the Depsang Plain, near Daulat Beg Oldi in the rarefied altitude of Ladakh or in Chumar, when some of them stole ‘dysfunctional’ surveillance cameras from the Indian side of the LAC?
After the Ladakh incidents, one could ask is this dream good for India?
But some voices already doubt the new campaign. Li Haiqing, a Communist Party historian at the Central Party School writes in Study Times, the School newspaper: “The mass line is not an effective substitute that can realise the function of democracy.”
This reminds me of the thoughts of Dr. Li, when looking at the flat ECG of the Great Helmsman who had just passed away: “In the beginning, I had adulated Mao. He was China’s savior, the country messiah. But this had long since passed. My dream of a new China, where all men would be equal and exploitation ended, had been shattered years before. I had no faith in the Communist party, of which I was still a member; [today], an era has ended, Mao’s time has passed.”
President Xi wants to revive the past, it seems a pipedream.
The problem is that if the Dream turns sour, it may have serious consequences for China as well as its neighbours. India should watch carefully.

Chinese soldiers lose sanity controlling peaceful Tibetan protesters

PAP in the background

My article Chinese soldiers lose sanity controlling peaceful Tibetan protesters appeared in NitiCentral.com.

Last week, during their annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns had some wide-ranging discussions. During the two-day talks, Burns asked his Chinese counterpart about the fate of the Tibetans and Uighurs in the People’s Republic. On the last day, when the two leaders held a joint press Conference, Yan Jiechi reiterated that all was well in the Land of Snows: “China has made important progress on human rights. People in various regions in China including Xinjiang and Tibet are enjoying happier lives and they are enjoying unprecedented freedoms.”
Yang was deeply unhappy with the annual human rights report of the US State Department which spoke of deteriorating conditions in Tibetan areas and Xinjiang. He hit back at US, urging Washington to look into its own courtyard: "We hope the United States will improve its own human rights situation."
Mr. Yang may believe that the Tibetan enjoy ‘unprecedented freedoms’, but his own People’s Armed Police (PAP) suffers in an unprecedented manner on the Roof of the World.
This emerges from a secret Chinese document which has recently been smuggled out of Tibet and later translated by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a human right agency based in Dharamsala.
The document, dated October 2008 is called “A Handbook on Psychological Counseling and Protection During Stability Maintenance Work in Tibetan Areas”. It was drafted by the medical staff department of the Sichuan’s PAP Corps. Its objective is to counsel the paramilitary forces doing ‘maintenance stability work in Tibetan areas’, an euphemism for repression of peaceful gatherings on the Tibetan plateau. The ‘handbook’ was prepared to take care of the psychological health of the armed police. Various hospitals and heath institutes participated in drafting the document which explained: “The purpose of this handbook is to create awareness on common psychological problems faced by PAP soldiers in stability maintenance in Tibetan areas and to identify common psychological problems to strengthen the ways and means to handle such problems while carrying out stability maintenance tasks” Because the PAP’s ‘psychiatric wellbeing is needed to maintain stability’.
Well Mr. Yang, even if the Tibetan masses are unprecedentedly happy, your Police forces seem to have a serious problem.
The handbook answers the questions of the stressed jawans in a question and answer format.
First question: How to ease mental stress faced by stability maintenance troops in Tibetan areas?
The answer gives the background of ‘the work’: “Ever since the soldiers began their responsibility of maintaining stability in Tibetan areas, despite all the risks and dangers, on the whole they have kept a determined mind, without succumbing to fear, and made lots of efforts bearing all hardships.”
But it is not so easy to control unarmed non-violent Tibetan crowds. The handbook says: “However, the environment of Tibetan areas is very unique and special, and carrying out activities there entails lots of complexities.”
Indeed, 60 years after the so-called Liberation of Tibet, the Chinese stress out as soon they reach the plateau.
The handbook goes into detail into different cases of severe headaches, nightmares, flashbacks of brutal episodes such as beating (self-immolations had not begun when the manual was written): “if you face unbearable experiences such as insomnia, it would have an extremely negative impact on your responsibility to carry out work successfully.” The unnecessary psychological traumas should be resolved in an appropriate time, says the manual. It explains further: “If you are suffering flashbacks, you should close your eyes and imagine that you are zooming in on the scene like a camera. It may feel uncomfortable. Then zoom all the way out until you cannot see anything. Then tell yourself the flashback has gone."
Perhaps, perhaps not!
It appears now that special teams have been visiting the region, spending months at a time counseling Chinese troops.
The handbook even says that the lack of oxygen at high altitude can worsen the syndrome by "decreasing rational thinking and leading to short temper or depression".
There is a consolation, you will have the support of the masses and praise from the Party, if you “resolutely implement the directives of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu Jintao” and fight the ‘separatists’. Does this really help?
The handbook even provides a phone number (0833-2452776) to call in case of emergency.
The main issue seems to be that the PAP works in a completely foreign environment, with no understanding of the country, the language, the culture or the mindset of the Tibetans. Many of the soldiers live (and sleep) in fear of being attacked; some even see maroon frocks of monks in their nightmares.
Matthiew Akester, a Tibetan speaking scholar who has studied the handbook, explains: “This document provides rarely seen low-level testimony that China’s security forces see themselves as engaged in a taxing counter-insurgency in Tibet, despite the absence of armed opposition, or indeed any substantial threat to their personnel.”
The latest example of unreasoned and needless shooting by the PAP occurred on the occasion of the 78th birthday of the Dalai Lama on 6 July in Tawu County in Kardze Prefecture of Sichuan.
It was reported that at least 9 Tibetans sustained serious gunshot wounds; some of them are believed to be in a critical condition. Horrific pictures of a monk, Tashi Sonam, who was shot in his head circulated on the Net. Apparently, the PAP troops lobbed teargas shells on a religious gathering, and later beat monks and lay people.
The manual clearly explains the symptoms of constant fear of the soldiers who often panic in front of the ‘peaceful’ sight of a crowd burning incense and chanting mantras.
By the way, last week the Commander of the People’s Armed Police in Tibet, Major General Guo Yili, died suddenly of heart attack. He was just 56 years old and had served his entire career in Tibet.
Still not acclimatized? Too much stress? Who knows?

The Henderson Brooks Report again

Lt. Gen. Henderson-Brooks

The Indian Defence Review publishes an article entitled Why Henderson Brooks Report Cannot be De-classified written by Lt. Gen. Prakash Katoch. 
As it quotes me, I am posting it here.
It probably answers my article, 1962 War: Why keep Henderson Brooks report secret?
Unfortunately (or fortunately for me), I am not Assange or Snowden, though I only hope that one day, one Indian General will play the Assange role.
I always wondered why Neville Maxwell, if had a copy of the Report, had not 'declassified' it, posting him on the Net? 

Why Henderson Brooks Report Cannot be De-classified 
Lt. Gen. (Retd) Prakash Katoch

Claude Arpi’s demand to release the Henderson Brooks report is akin to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden seeking asylum in India. Understandably, Wikileaks disclosures of black money stashed abroad by Indians had sent many personalities scurrying for cover. There was flurry of movement to foreign lands, personal jets, and chartered planes, jets lent by birds of same flock, unexplained mysterious absences and what have you. Now that there is some measure of relief, Julian Assange wants asylum here. Where is the guarantee that he will not release another list disclosing how the black money has been siphoned out, to which new destinations, how much has been surreptitiously routed back to India, by whom, and into which developmental, private construction or other projects. Edward Snowden is even bigger threat. That he is already in league with Julian is an established fact, implying Julian can always leak information through Edward. But the bigger threat is what information Edward has swiped from the US NSA’s Prism. Although our Foreign Minister has certified “no data has been stolen” from the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, his own subordinates are not convinced of his credentials as cyber expert. So getting back to Edward Snowden, God knows what secrets this guy may leak out given that even Obama appears so shaken up.

Claude has quoted Neville Maxwell in questioning that even if Jawaharlal Nehru emerges in in bad light in the Henderson Brooks Report, why should it be kept in wraps in a modern democracy like India. He also writes that in 2008, Defense Minister, Mr AK Antony told the Indian Parliament that the Henderson Brooks could not be declassified. Mr Antony claimed that the report could not be made public because an internal study by the Indian Army had established that its contents “are not only extremely sensitive but are of current operational value.” When did the Government of India start seeking military advice on strategic security issues? As to Claude pointing out that the report only generally points out to lack of political direction, which report in India ever has indicted individuals in power?

Claude Arpi has quoted the Henderson Brooks Report in saying, “No major security threat other than from Pakistan was perceived. And the armed forces were regarded adequate to meet Pakistan’s threat. Hence very little effort and resources were put in for immediate strengthening of the security of the borders.” What stands obfuscated was this was ‘whose appreciation’; political appreciation, military appreciation, individual appreciation? Perhaps there could have been no one better to warn Nehru of China’s intentions and in no better form than Sardar Patel’s strategic advice through his letter dated 7th November 1950, excerpts of which are as follows:

“…We have to consider what new situation now faces us as a result of the disappearance of Tibet, as we knew it, and the expansion of China almost up to our gates. Throughout history we have seldom been worried about our north-east frontier. The Himalayas have been regarded as an impenetrable barrier against any threat from the north. We had a friendly Tibet which gave us no trouble. …..Chinese irredentism and communist imperialism are different from the expansionism or imperialism of the western powers. The former has a cloak of ideology which makes it ten times more dangerous. In the guise of ideological expansion lie concealed racial, national or historical claims. The danger from the north and north-east, therefore, becomes both communist and imperialist…….for the first time, after centuries, India’s defence has to concentrate itself on two fronts simultaneously….. we shall now have to reckon with communist China in the north and in the north-east, a communist China which has definite ambitions and aims and which does not, in any way, seem friendly disposed towards us…….”

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1962 and the McMahon Line Saga: a book review

My book 1962 and the McMahon Line Saga has been reviewed by Prof P.M. Kamath in the July issue of the Defence and Security Alert.

1962 AND THE MCMAHON LINE SAGA

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed by Prof P.M. Kamath, former Professor of Politics in Department of Civics and Politics, University of Bombay, currently, Hon. Director, VPM’s Centre for International Studies (Regd), and Adjunct Professor, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University, Manipal. His most recent edited book is, India-China Relations: An Agenda for Asian Century.

China is an extremely fascinating country and so are the Chinese people. Naturally, China provides so many challenges to researchers to explore unexplored areas and issues. Of the several such issues one issue of ever growing interest is Chinese aggression against then a newly independent and a developing country, like India was in October 1962. While that interest was there to study India China war debacle, it has grown in many folds since the nation went through in October 2012 fiftieth year — not a golden jubilee, but a “Black Jubilee”.
Claude Arpi – a French national living in India, has been writing extensively on China, Tibet and Europe. What I have noticed in his scholarly writings, is his abilities to see a foreign / security policy from a domestic political perspective. It is not uncommon for a foreign/security policy maker to use an issue some times to enhance his political power or divert attention of people from his domestic problems.
In this book, the author, after tracing the history of British efforts to open up to Tibet, discusses at length  the origin and implementation of McMahon Line, discusses at length his thesis that Sino-Indian border war was largely a result of Mao Zedong’s effort to reassert his fullest control on policy making towards India.
Though, Indian security establishment then did not know, 1962 was, as author says, a turning point for Mao, who was “depressed over the agricultural crisis and angry with the party elite … he was less able to work his will …was in temporary eclipse, spending most his time in bed.” In January 1962 at a 7,000 cadre conference, Mao came under attack; as a result, decided to temporarily retire. But as the author says: “By the Fall of 1962, Mao would return with a bang. The conflict with India was closely linked with his comeback.”
By September 1962 Mao was in complete control of India policy. India’s swift takeover of Goa, according to some, had its impact on Mao’s thinking. In this background, there was an increased Chinese pressure on India to negotiate. In the absence of Indian readiness to negotiate, on 6 October, China decided to go to war. Chinese then got accurate intelligence that Indians are planning to attack on the Thagla Ridge on 10 October. Mao, then had said: “It seems like armed coexistence won’t work … Nehru really wants to use force … He always wanted to seize Aksai Chin and Thagla Ridge.” He recalled: “We fought a war with old Chiang [Kai-Shek] … fought a war with Japan … one with America … we cannot lose ground … it would be tantamount to letting
them seize a big piece of land … Since Nehru sticks his head out and insists on fighting, for us not to fight with him would not be proper. Courtesy emphasizes reciprocity.” Yes, Nehru and his close advisers, who created a scenario to fight Chinese, without any military, strategic planning on the assumption that China, would not fight with India. You do not fight a war, what China described as a ‘massive attack’
as the author rightly says with “total lack of preparedness of the troops in terms of armament, ammunition, clothing and food supply. Some senior officers in the Army Headquarters in Delhi may have dreamt to ‘throw out the Chinese or take ‘the Thagla Ridge’ but it was a pipedream only.”
All this was done in the name of protecting the McMahon Line drawn by Henry McMahon to define boundaries between British India and an independent Tibet—with Chinese representative participating. Krishna Menon as Defence Minister did not take the trouble to protect McMahon Line in the west when Chinese occupied Aksai Chin. As the author remarks: “Delhi had made a fool of itself by not having noticed the occupation of Aksai Chin for several years …” Krishna Menon thought something had to be done “a sort of psychological and political compensation.” Thus he launched ‘Forward Policy.” While Chinese said they did not recognise McMahon Line, for India, the McMahon Line was sacrosanct; but in the eastern sector, India moved north of it in the Thagla Ridge. Chinese wanted to enforce India’s respect to the McMahon Line as Mao was looking for an excuse. War followed; Sir Henry McMahon must never have envisaged that “hurriedly conducted survey” would trigger a war one day! India could have protected McMahon Line, in the 1950’s by taking a firm stand against Chinese violation of Tibetan independent / autonomous status. McMahon Line’s status is closely linked to Tibetan status. India could have tried to physically demarcate India-China borders based on McMahon maps. Hence, India must take much of the blame for not seeking to transfer McMahon’s “thick red line on a map” on the ground by physical demarcation soon after independence. Let India leaders declassify the entire Henderson Brooks Report on Himalayan Blunder so that nation can know the exact truth.

Stressing in Tibet: why not watch stars

Behind Xi Jinping, Wang Jianping, the PAP Commander
who spent years in Tibet

Two months ago, I commented on a fascinating manual exposing the psychological trauma faced by the People's Armed Police (PAP) in Tibet. 
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) had translated the gist of the manual.
I then thought that a similar manual should be distributed to the Chinese jawans and officers posted for years opposite the Indian troops in Ladakh (in the Ngari Military Sub-Command of the Xinjiang Military Area); those who pitched their tents in Depsang or steal cameras near the LAC.
Today, I wonder if the sudden death (heart attack) of the Commander of the People’s Armed Police in Tibet, Major General Guo Yili is also related to the 'Tibetan' stress.
Guo Yili was only 56 years old and had served his entire career of in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The situation is undoubtedly far more stressing today than 37 years ago when Guo started his career.
In the meantime, Xinhua reported the construction of an observatory expected to become the best astronomical observatory in Asia. 
The observatory will be based in Ngari prefecture (not far from Ladakh), which according International Astronomical Union's President, Norio Kaifu is an ideal place for astronomical monitoring due to its high altitude, transparent atmosphere and mild weather.
Kaifu believes that the Ngari observatory, at an altitude of 5,100 meters above sea level, can compete with Hawaii's Mauna Kea Observatories, the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared and submillimeter astronomy.
The question is: will the observatory be used to watch stars only or will it have a 'dual use' like most of the other infrastructures in Tibet.
Already a 3-meter KOSMA telescope has been built in the town of Yangpachen in Damxung County, about 90 km from Lhasa.
I had also reported new radars in Kampala in Nagartse County of Lhoka/Shannan Prefecture; this particular one not for 'dual use', but for PLA's exclusive use.
In any case, watching stars is good for the stress. 

The Panchen Lama: Inflated figures

Yesterday, on this blog, I mentioned the visit of Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama selected by Beijing to Qinghai Province (from June 30 to July 9).
I wrote that it looked like very few people attended his sermons.
Now, a regional TV station of Qinghai Province affirms: "It's estimated there were more than 100,000 devotees received blessings from the Panchen Lama", adding:"The welcoming ceremonies were all spontaneous. Thousands of devotees held the incense-burning ritual, threw papers with images of horses and sutra, and presented knadas to show their respect to the Panchen Lama."
The truth is probably in between a few and 100,000.
In any case, the figure 100,000 is higher than the entire Tibetan population of the area.

Let us see what happens during the lama's annual visit to the Tashilhunpo.

No reforms in sight in the Middle Kingdom

Beijing-Panchen Lama in Amdo

Many China watchers are disappointed by the first months of Xi Jinping in the hottest seat of the Middle Kingdom.
Though he has been preaching a 'mass line' à la Mao and a new Chinese Dream, there is so far nothing to dream about.
Tibet witnessed the same old 'inspection tours' of the Party bosses. Soon after more repressive measures were put in place, creating more resentment amongst the 'masses'.
It has been the case of Xinjiang, which was 'blessed' by the visits of 4 members of the Politburo in a week time (Yu Zhengsheng, Meng Jianzhu, Zhang Chunxian and General Fan Changlong).
Regarding the latter, I am not convinced that the objective of the visit to the Xinjiang Military District was uniquely to tackle a law and order problem.
As mentioned in my previous posting, General Fan Changlong, the Senior Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission was accompanied by too many generals.
General Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region and Wang Jianping, commander of the Peoples' Armed Police may have come to inspect the unrest amongst the Uyghur population, but General Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA was also in attendance. He is also Secretary General of State Defense Mobilization Committee.
General Liu Zheng, deputy director of the General Logistics Department (GLD) of the PLA was also around. The most intriguing guest was General Du Jincai, deputy director of the General Political Department (GPD) of the PLA. He is also a member of the all-powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.  
Has someone in the area (overlooking the LAC in Ladakh) done something wrong? Stealing cameras from the neighbours? We will probably never know.
In the meantime, the 'tours' continue.
Xinhua reported the visit of the Beijing-selected Panchen Lama ...after his return in Beijing, as usual.
Xinhua says: "The 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu [Gyaltsen Norbu] paid his third visit to northwest China's Qinghai Province from June 30 to July 9."
Note that Yu Zhengsheng was in the neighbouring Gansu province at the same time (after a weekend in Xinjiang, he spent the next one in 'Tibetan-areas'). They could have bounced in each others.
Xinhua continues: "The Panchen Lama hosted a series of Buddhist rituals and gave blessing to thousands of local devotees during his visit to the province, which has a large number of ethnic Tibetan residents. During the tour, the Panchen Lama visited major Tibetan Buddhist temples in Qinghai and was heartily welcomed."
The photos released by the Chinese agencies do not show large crowds. The trip must have been organized in the most discreet manner, not to attract unwanted incidents. A bit of propaganda was probably Beijing's chief motive.
Gyaltsen Norbu stated that he was glad to see the economic and social development of Qinghai, especially the rehabilitation progress in Yushu where a nasty earthquake provoked a lot of damage in 2010.
The young Lama hoped that all Tibetan Buddhists would cherish the hard-earned peaceful society and work hard to promote social stability and ethnic harmony. The usual stuff.
The fact remains that since his arrival in power, Mr. Xi has not managed to improve the 'human' situation; on the contrary, it has worsen in several places.

Punishment continues of those pressing for promised reforms
July 10, 2013
Maya Wang
Global Post
Sacking high-level officials for corruption, slowing growth rates, seething tensions with Japan, a summit at Sunnylands: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first hundred days in office have not been dull.  But are there any clues as to whether his tenure will be different from his predecessors’?
Before his formal assumption of China’s presidency on March 14, many hoped Xi Jinping and the new leadership would take bold steps to move China forward in areas where there has long been paralysis, especially on human rights and political reforms. Xi’s early speeches reinforced these expectations: he portrayed himself as a reformer, promised a more responsive government, issued orders against lavish displays of wealth by officials, and even launched prosecutions against some cadres for corruption.
Xi’s government hinted at reforms to notorious state systems, including the “hukou” residency registration which discriminates against rural migrants, the petitioning system and the Re-education through Labor system, which arbitrarily detains individuals for up to four years without trial. The downgrading of the power of the internal security chief also raised hopes the ballooning “stability maintenance” machinery that ensured the suppression of dissent might finally be curbed.
It’s probably unrealistic to expect Xi to turn around long-standing Chinese government practices within one hundred days.  But it is not unreasonable to hope that a new leadership serious about fundamental reforms would back off punishing individuals who are pressing the government to fulfill precisely those promises.
Two weeks after Xi, who promised to “unswervingly fight against corruption,” became China’s president, four people were detained on March 31 for unfurling banners in a Beijing public square calling on the government to implement a policy to require officials to publicly disclose their assets.
Since that time the police have detained and arrested 11 more for allegedly participating in the same campaign. In early June—just a few months after the head of China’s Political and Legal Committee promised to “stop using RTL” by year’s end—Beijing filmmaker Du Bin was detained in early June for “creating a disturbance” after he released a documentary on the use of gruesome torture in a RTL facility.
While Xi vowed in March to, “always listen to the voice of the people,” the Chinese government has not relaxed controls over freedom of expression or assembly.
In May, the party-state issued a directive to universities ordering them to steer clear from discussing a list of seven taboo subjects including “universal values,” such as human rights, and another one calling on these institutions to strengthen the “ideological education” of young lecturers, according to media reports. In early June, the government rejected applications to protest the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, and harassed those who dared to make such requests. One Jiangsu activist, Gu Yimin, was arrested later in June for “inciting subversion” after filing such an application.
Even more chilling is the use of extra-legal measures and violence against activists even as President Xi promised to “uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.” In May, a group of lawyers attempted to visit an unlawful “black jail” in Sichuan in May and were beaten by thugs.  The police not only failed to protect them but also briefly detained the lawyers for “obstructing official business.”  In April, when lawyer Cheng Hai enquired at a Dalian court the reasons for it to suddenly delay the trial of his Falun Gong clients, he did not get an answer but was instead beaten by police officers.  The targeting of family members to punish individuals for their activism also run directly counter to the spirit of the rule of law, as in the heavy 11-year prison term handed down in June to Liu Hui, brother-in-law of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, and the ongoing harassment of family members of exiled activist Chen Guangcheng.
It is not too late for Xi’s government to begin making meaningful changes.  But if after another hundred days the list of activists and family members who are being persecuted is growing, Xi’s rhetoric will not be credible.   Chinese people are still waiting for real progress, and a failure to deliver political and social reforms is likely to exacerbate the serious “civil unrest” that Xi has warned about.

An absolute fight against Dalai Lama clique ...and in Xinjiang

Yu Zhengsheng arrives in Labrang monastery

While visiting Tibetan areas, today administrated by Gansu province, Yu Zhensheng, the CPPCC's Chairman (and Chairman of the Central Working Coordination Small Group on Tibet) spoke of an 'absolute fight against Dalai Lama clique'.
I had mentioned earlier the unpredictable climatic changes on the Tibetan plateau.
A few days ago, the world media claimed that Beijing had gone for a softer Tibet policy; today, repression and hard words seem to be back.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported: "At least eight Tibetans were injured when Chinese police fired gunshots and used tear gas to disperse about 1,000 monks and nuns who had gathered in a restive county in Sichuan province at the weekend to mark the birthday of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, according to local residents and exile groups."
It appears that on July 6 policemen have badly beaten some Tibetans and smashed the windows of vehicles used to ferry the monks and nuns to a sacred mountain in Tawu county (Sichuan province).
The brother of the nun, Palden Choetso who self-immolated in 2011, suffered serious gunshot wounds.
A Tawu resident told RFA's Tibetan Service that hundreds of police forces surrounded the Tibetans from the Tawu Nyitso monastery and Gedhen Choeling nunnery as soon as they converged at the site of the Machen Pomra sacred mountain to mark the Dalai Lama's birthday and pay respect to Palden Choetso.
The following day, Yu Zhengsheng made an inspection tour of the Gannan Tibetan prefecture in Gansu province. He declared: "For the sake of national unity and the development of stability in Tibetan regions, we must take a clear-cut stand and deepen the struggle against the Dalai clique".
Xinhua stated that Yu reiterated Beijing's demand: the Dalai Lama should openly recognise Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and abandon his separatist activities.
Two points, one Yu speaks of 'Tibetan regions', Beijing does not separate anymore the Tibetan Autonomous Region with the 'Tibetan-inhabited areas' of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai. This change has come progressively but it was officialized during the last Tibet Work Forum. In a sense, it is a positive development.
Second, how can the Dalai Lama recognize that "Tibet has been part of China since ancient time." The Dalai Lama is ready today to find a solution to the Tibetan issue within the People's Republic of China, but it does not mean that History should or can be changed or rewritten.
There will never be an agreement on this.
Another aspect of the Tibetan issue is the situation in neighbouring Xinjiang.
Last week, The South China Morning Post reported: "Two of the country's highest- ranking officials made an emergency visit to Xinjiang yesterday, after an outbreak of violence led to a curfew in the jade-mining hub of Hotan.
The arrival of Yu Zhengsheng, the No 4 member on the Communist Party's supreme Politburo Standing Committee, and Politburo member Meng Jianzhu, secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party, in the far-western region's capital, Urumqi, was an indication that central authorities are taking seriously recent incidents of unrest. Yu, who is chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference and the most senior official in charge of Xinjiang affairs, was also accompanied by Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun."
The Chinese leadership seems so nervous about what is happening in the restive region that hours after a riot broke out in Hotan, President Xi Jinping convened a special meeting of the Standing Committee. The riot followed an incident in Lukqun township, Turpan, in which 35 people were killed, including 11 attackers.
Yu spoke of waging a 'proactive battle' to clamp down on all "violent and terrorist forces in the region. ...Protection of key areas, key institutes and key infrastructure must be strengthened."
It is why the present regime will not offer any concession to the Tibetans; it would have an immediate repercussion in Xinjiang (most probably in a violent form).

Sonam Tashi in Dartsedo hospital (photo TCHRD)

A week after Yu's and Meng's visit, another member of the all-powerful politburo, General Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) also visited Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region "to resolutely combat terrorism and safeguard stability in Xinjiang".
General Fan said: "We must unswervingly fight against terrorists and the 'three forces' of terrorism, extremism and separatism, in order to safeguard ethnic unity." He exhorted the armed police to tighten security measures in crucial areas, intensify patrols, and keep high alert to cope with emergencies.
Xinhua reported that General Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA, General Du Jincai, deputy director of the General Political Department (GPD) of the PLA, General Liu Zheng, deputy director of the General Logistics Department (GLD) of the PLA, General Liu Yuejun, commander of the Lanzhou Military Region and Wang Jianping, commander of the Peoples' Armed Police accompanied General Fan.
While in Xinjiang, the generals probably discussed the border incident with India (in Ladakh). 
Let us not forget that the Ladakh front (DBO, Demchok, Chumar, etc.) falls under the Xinjiang Military District. 
General Fan is, by the way, is far senior to General Chang Wanquan, the Chinese Defence Minister (AK Antony's so-called counterpart).
During the previous weekend, Yu Zhengsheng may have told the local Commander (General Peng Yong, another Yong): "Give them back their cameras".
Now we have only to hope that the returned cameras are not bugged!

Ethnic affairs chief calls for 'absolute fight against Dalai Lama clique'
South China Morning Post
July 9, 2013
Kim Wall
Top ethnic affairs official issues appeal as police reported to have fired on Tibetan gathering
Amid reports that police opened fire on a Tibetan gathering in Sichuan province, the country's top ethnic affairs official has called for "an absolute fight against the Dalai Lama clique".
Yu Zhengsheng, who heads the nation's top political advisory body and is a member of the Politburo's Standing Committee, made his remarks during an inspection tour of the Gannan Tibetan prefecture in Gansu province on Sunday and Monday, Xinhua reported.
"For the sake of national unity and the development of stability in Tibetan regions, we must take a clear-cut stand and deepen the struggle against the Dalai clique," Yu was quoted as saying.
He reiterated Beijing's demand that the Dalai Lama openly recognise Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and abandon any separatist activities, Xinhua said.
His visit coincided with reports from overseas Tibetan rights activists that police had opened fire on a group of monks and others while they gathered to mark the Dalai Lama's 78th birthday in a Tibetan part of Sichuan.
Two Tibetan monks were in critical condition after being shot numerous times in the head at the traditional celebration in Ganzi prefecture on Saturday, according to the US-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India.
Rights activists said hundreds of Tibetans from Tawu township, including many monks and nuns, had gathered at the base of a sacred mountain near the Nyitsu Monastery, when security forces arrived, began shooting and firing tear gas.
At least 10 participants - eight monks, a nun and a layman - were confirmed injured, ICT and the government-in-exile said. One of the injured monks, who is in hospital in Chengdu , was said to have suffered as many as eight gunshots to the head.
The official website of Ganzi prefecture appeared to be down yesterday and an official from the local government said he was not aware of the incident.
The Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of the reports, but the Dalai Lama was using the occasion of his birthday to promote a separatist agenda. "We hope that people can see clearly the true nature of this," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing.
The reports of violence undercut a recent flurry of speculation over whether the new leadership was softening its stance on Tibet.
While military control in the Tibetan regions remain tight, especially during holidays, shootings are extremely rare.
"This does not have a precedent, and may well be the first shooting at a cultural gathering," said Robert Barnett, director of Columbia University's Modern Tibetan Studies Programme. "The big question is what went wrong here? This is a dramatic escalation and very serious."
Additional reporting by Laura Zhou

The Chinese atsaras

AK Antony and State Councilor Yang Jiechi

Have you heard of ‘atsaras’? They are important characters in the Tibetan monastic dance, the Cham. The traditional esoteric dance of Tibet is a sort of initiation for ordinary folks to the highest mysteries of Mahayana Buddhism. Lay spectators and monks assemble once in a year to witness the battle between good and evil.
As the drama reaches its climax and the fate of the heroes can tilt one way or another, a ‘fool’ arrives on the stage, uttering outrageous views, shocking the public, sometime making the public cry, sometime laugh; the clownish appearance of the atsaras reminds the spectators of the relativity of ‘life and death’ and even ‘liberation’.
The Chinese political version of the ‘atsara’ is best enacted by the periodic appearance on the scene of well-trained ‘generals’, who not really important actors in the play, but remind us of the relativity of ‘peace and war’.
Such ‘joker’ is Major General Luo Yuan. He plays an important role when the Chinese government needs to divert attention from its own mistakes or shortcomings or when it needs “to frighten the monkeys by threatening the chickens”.
A website on the South China Sea dispute explains that the prominence of  Luo Yuan “in the media is very much a result of consensus at the top of both the military and the Party that it is beneficial to have a hardline attack dog. The logic is strong: official-ish voices, those of like Luo and other hawkish paramilitary figures such as Major-General Zhang Zhaozhong of National Defense University, add a layer of unpredictability to Chinese foreign policy, à la North Korea’s antics.”
As Defence Minister AK Antony was landing in Beijing, ‘atsara’ Luo Yuan warned Delhi that it should be careful with its words and deeds. Luo threatened: “India is the only country in the world enhancing its military prowess while citing China as a threat perception.” He thundered: “India should not provoke new problems, increase military deployment at the border areas and stir up new problems.”
General Luo, who serves in the Department of World Military Research in the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences reminded the Indian public: “90,000 square kilometres of Chinese territory are still occupied by the Indian side.”
Adding that as a military person, it was his ‘sacred mission’ to protect China's territorial sovereignty.
Luo Yuan’s utterances were a great media success in India in the sense that each and every newspaper or TV channel reported his ‘threat’. He had won the battle to destabilize India’s mild defence minister; and made sure that Antony does not ask too many questions about what happened in the Depsang Plain in Ladakh in April and why the PLA had suddenly decided to set up some tents on Indian territory. Obviously Beijing was embarrassed by its own non-respect of the bilateral border mechanisms in place since 1993.
The ‘joker’ had played his role on the stage, the main characters can continue on a peace-footing.
In February, Luo Yuan had made his debut on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun said that Luo started ‘a big blitz and an ensuing war-in-words, just a true military should do.”
Luo had written that if a conflict erupts, China “Will Bomb Tokyo and take the 130 thousand Japanese citizens in China as hostages.”
Feng Wei, a Chinese scholar at Fudan University and Japan expert commented: “China is large—nothing is too bizarre. It’s not inconceivable that lunatics like Luo Yuan and Dai Xu [a PLA Air Force Colonel known for his militarism] would appear. But even the most extremist, rightist, anti-China military personnel in Japan would not make crazy statements like ‘Bomb Beijing’ that would astonish the entire world.”
General Luo immediately answered Feng and continued his tirade to entertain his ‘audience’.
The blog of the South China Sea dispute explained: “the CCP is so confident of its control of domestic nationalist opinion that it doesn’t feel like it’s playing with fire at all when it allows mass outpourings of support for Luo and criticism of the policy status quo online.”
After his first meetings in Beijing, AK Antony brushed aside Luo’s statement: “My discussions were with the official people." The Times of India pointed out: “Antony's response suggested the Chinese leadership may have distanced themselves from Maj Gen Luo's comments”.
Obviously, the entry of the ‘atsara’ on the stage was only part of the script.
The recent Chinese incursion at Depsang was being discussed in detail, assured the Indian Defence Minister; he was at his vague best. He added that he was satisfied with his discussions with the Chinese leadership. "The [Chinese] PM again reiterated that the new leadership in China gives much importance to strengthening and expanding the relations with India.” Great play on stage!
Perhaps more important but unnoticed by the Indian media, Beijing announced that Tibet has a new Military Area Commander.
Major General Xu Yong, born in 1959 in Shaanxi province took over from Lt. Gen. Yang Jinshan, a member of the powerful Party’s Central Committee.
Xu Yong’s fame came when he directed the rescue operations after the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan (Sichuan). In the aftermath of the earthquake, 69,197 people were confirmed dead and 374,176 injured, while 18,222 listed were as missing.
His predecessor in Tibet has been promoted as a Deputy Commander of the strategic Chengdu Military Region (MR). He will probably oversee the Indian border.
Lt General Li Zuocheng, former Deputy Commander of Chengdu MR replaces Lt. Gen. Li Shiming who was commanding the MR since September 2007.
Interestingly, the Tibet Military Area (or District) has also a new Political Commissar, Maj. Gen. Diao Guoxin who for many years has been posted in Chengdu MR and is therefore familiar with the Indian border.
These are the people to watch carefully in the months to come, as they are the ‘real’ generals dealing with the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.
By the way, what was the purpose of visit to China of Mr. Antony so soon after the trip of Shivshankar Menon. the Special Representative on border issue?

Tibet’s Winter

US Ambassador Locke in Tibet

My article Tibet's Winter appeared today in The Statesman.

Will the cold Winter Wind continue to blow on the Roof of the World or a more refreshing Spring Breeze be felt? With the  current  instability  in  China,  it  is difficult to know in which direction the wind will blow

Xinhua recently filed a report on  'extreme weather in Tibet’. Quoting the Chinese Meteorology Administration, the Chinese news agency said that heavy rain storms had been occurring since June 15 in the western part of Ngari Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region [TAR]. Located north of Uttarakhand, Ngari experienced the most extreme weather conditions; on June 17, an unimaginable 96 mm precipitation created havoc in Purang County; it was a new record for June. The weather was so bad that the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims reached the Tibetan border six days late and the following eight batches of the ‘Kailash yatra’ were cancelled by the Ministry of External Affairs.
But that is not all. At the same time, Tibet seemed to witness another ‘climatic change’, a political one. Can it be a Tibetan Spring? First, an interview of Prof Jin Wei of the Central Communist Party School, published by a Hong Kong weekly generated a lot of speculation. Is China’s policy regarding Tibet changing?
Jin Wei (and Beijing) seemed bothered by the possibility of having two Dalai Lamas in the future (one in exile and one in China); Prof Wei suggested making friends with the Tibetan leader and inviting him to Hong Kong. Prof. Jin even admitted that the ‘Golden Urn’ process of selection for the Dalai Lamas can be manipulated (by who else than Beijing?).
The Tibetan blogger Tsering Woeser (today under house arrest) commented on Jin Wei’s interview, saying it was a trick. Difficult to say, but one can foresee that Beijing’s legitimacy in Tibet may be postponed for several decades if the next Dalai Lama takes birth in India or in the US.

Click here to read on...

New Tibet Area Commander: Maj. Gen. Xu Yong

During the Sichuan Earthquake

As A.K. Antony, the Indian Defence Minister arrives in China for a four-day visit, Beijing announced that Tibet has a new Military Area Commander. 
Major General Xu Yong was born in 1959 in Shaanxi province. He apparently participated in the Sino-Vietnamese war in 1979 as a young recruit.
He later climbed the PLA's ladder and successively became battalion commander, division commander and finally group army commander.
In 2007, General Xu was awarded the rank of major general and a year later, he was given the command of the Thirteenth Group Army.

His fame came he directed the rescue operations after the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan (Sichuan) 
In the aftermath of the earthquake, 69,197 people were confirmed dead and 374,176 injured, while 18,222 listed were listed as missing.
His predecessor in Tibet, Lt. General Yang Jinshan has been promoted as a Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region (MR). 
General Yang is a member of the powerful CCP's Central Committee, which is not the case of General Xu.
Lt General Li Zuocheng, former Deputy Commander of Chengdu MR replaces  Lt. Gen. Li Shiming who was commanding the MR since September 2007.
More information on the new commander in Tibet appeared in an interview in Crienglish.com in June 2008 after the earthquake.
This change of guard on the Indian border (eastern sector) is probably not linked to the utterances of the Major General Luo Yuan, deputy-director general of the world military research department at a PLA academy who told the media: “The Indian side should not provoke new problems and increase the military deployment at the border areas and start new trouble.”
The PLA has 3 or 4 of these loose canons who can be used when required, often to settle their own internal problems. 
The Indian Army is more disciplined. 
Interestingly, the Tibet Military Area (or District) has also a new Political Commissar, Maj. Gen. Diao Guoxin. Born in Jiangsu in 1958, General Diao Guoxin has been for many years posted in Chengdu MR. 
It appears that from 2004 to 2007 June, he was director of the Political Department of the Thirteenth Group Army.
In July 2006, he was promoted to the rank of major general.
In December 2010, he was nominated Political Commissar of the Thirteenth Group Army. He has therefore worked closely with his colleague, General Xu Yong.

Major General Xu Yong
June 20, 2008
CRIENGLISH.com
After the May 12 earthquake, more than 100,000 soldiers were sent to the front lines of the disaster area to undertake the hardest relief efforts. Today, our reporter Zhao Yang will introduce us to the first high-ranking commander to arrive at the epicenter, major general of the People's Liberation Army, Xu Yong.
Xu Yong is a major general in the People's Liberation Army. When the earthquake hit Sichuan, he led his soldiers into the province right away. His prompt reaction made him the first high-ranking military official on the front lines of the rescue effort.
"We arrived at Dujiangyan on the night of May 12, the day the earthquake hit Sichuan. At that point, we didn't know the exact situation in the epicenter. Though the air force had already sent batches of reconnaissance planes, they all failed due to thick fog caused by constant rain.
To give headquarters firsthand information to devise rescue plans, we had to send soldiers into the epicenter on foot. A group of soldiers went in with the plan of reaching the epicenter by road. After they had been gone for some time without effective communications, I decided to lead another group to take shortcuts and try to get to the epicenter soon."
Aftershocks frequently shook the region, worsening the already devastating situation. The soldiers were beset by heavy rain, landslides and falling rocks. Under the extreme conditions, Xu Yong and his well-trained soldiers took two hours to cover just five kilometers of terrain. They finally arrived at the epicenter at nightfall the following day.
Yang Weidong was head of the first reconnaissance group. He was astonished to see his highest commander at the epicenter so soon, wearing only one shoe.
"The road situation was very dangerous. I knew that because I had just traveled it myself … The general is almost 50 years old, so how had he managed to cover the distance in such a short time? Even for a young man, it takes more than ten hours, and the last part of the journey was a real struggle against my physical limits."
Though already exhausted, the soldiers had barely begun their work. Xu Yong was faced with the dual tasks of keeping the command center informed of the local conditions and rescuing as many victims as possible.
"We didn't have time to rest, but if we absolutely need to sleep, we could only sleep for two or three hours a day. At first we had no tents, so we put up shacks or just laid down on the ground to sleep. If we were hungry, we ate cookies and drank bottled water. We didn't get vegetables for days, so many soldiers developed ulcers in their mouths. "
Xu Yong and his soldiers performed their task admirably under the rough conditions. They rescued many lives and opened up air, water, and ground channels to the epicenter for reinforcement troops. They also administered to health problems and epidemic prevention and helped resettle survivors.
But Xu Yong says he owes credit for the work to his soldiers. He says he was touched by their dedication.
"You know, many soldiers are still very young, and it hasn't been that long since they joined the army. But in the face of disaster, they behaved bravely. Buildings could have collapsed at any time, but my soldiers rushed inside to rescue trapped victims. They put their own lives at risk to save others."
No one can deny that Xu Yong's prompt and effective command played an important role in the rescue work. Xu Yong is well-known for his achievements in the army. He was graduated from the People's Liberation Army National Defense University, the highest academy in China for training military personnel. He spends all his spare time reading and doing academic research, and his articles are frequently published in military journals. Xu Yong also takes opportunities to engage with his foreign counterparts.
"I've been to many countries, including Germany, France, Greece and Switzerland, and I've learned so much from them. Switzerland's National Defense System and its model training in the Tank Center, and the Actual Combat Training in Germany all impressed me. "
Xu Yong applied some of these advanced tactics to his rescue work. He used the U.S. "leapfrog tactic" in the rescue work in villages and towns where access was completely blocked off. They dispatched helicopters to "leapfrog" to different relief sites, where they built up helicopter landing fields for subsequent troops while carrying rescue operations. The tactics turned out to be very successful.
Reflecting on what has happened in the past month, Xu Yong says the rescue work has inspired him for his future work.
"Sometimes, though many soldiers were there, we didn't know how to conduct rescue work under complex situations. I saw the key role professional rescue teams played, and I believe all soldiers should learn rescue skills and how to operate rescue equipment. Through these training plans, our army can take on more varied assignments in times of peace."

Where dam is money, and rest be damned

The buried Vishnuprayag hydro-electric project

My article Where dam is money, and rest be damned appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer.

Ask policy planners in Uttarakhand the need for so many dams to be constructed in the State, and they will tell you the structures are necessary for power generation and prosperity. But the policy has backfired terribly.

Click here to read...

From AIDS to Tibet: Jin Wei

Prof. Jin Wei (probably younger)

The name of Prof. Jin Wei has come in the news after she took an apparent softer approach on the Tibetan issue; she suggested that Bejing should talk with the Dalai Lama or his representatives.
But who is Jin Wei?
A publication of the Chinese Academy of Social Science and the International Development Law Organization based in Italy gives us some information.
The 2010 publication is entitled "Mapping Initiatives to Strengthen the Legal Environment for the Response to HIV in China" and deals with AIDS/HIV,  the main expertise of Prof. Lin.
Here some biographical information on Prof. Jin:

Professor Jin graduated from the Department of History at Beijing Normal University in 1982 and obtained her LLM degree (majoring in ethnology) from the School of Postgraduate Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1985.
Professor Jin went on to pursue her doctorate at the Peking University Department of Sociology, ultimately completing her PhD in 2008. Professor Jin Wei is a pioneer in the area of HIV and a leader in HIV-focused training activities.
Professor Jin Wei is the Deputy Director of the Teaching and Research Office of the Social Development Theory Institute, under the School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Central Party School). She is also a supervisor of PhD candidates.

The publication of the Chinese Academy of Science speaks of the activities of  Professor Jin, who has managed the training program for HIV prevention at the Central Party School since 2001. Each semester, the Central Party School invites public health experts, sociologists and researchers working at the forefront of the HIV response to present on HIV prevention and treatment approaches and policy.
Professor Jin has published several books and articles on the subject, such as "Implementation of Policy Advocacy for HIV Prevention in the Central Party School (Study Times, No. 10, 2006);or Strengthening the Capacity of Party Schools to Teach HIV Prevention and Social Policy (Study Times, No. 12, 2007).
Prof Jin has organized several international programs on HIV Prevention. For example, on 27 June 2009, the Social Development Institute of the Central Party School signed a cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation. It was the first time that the Central Party School had a collaboration with an organization outside mainland China.
In June 2005, Dr Peter Piot, then Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNAIDS Executive Director, awarded Professor Jin an Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of her outstanding leadership and continuous contribution in response to HIV and AIDS issues.
Where is Tibet in all this?
It appears that it is only in 2011/2012 that the lady professor of the Central Party School, the most prestigious school in Communist China, started to be interested in 'ethnic' and Tibetan affairs.
In December 2012, Caixin Online reported: "Aid Programs in Tibet Lack Efficiency, Says Scholar".
Reporter Lan Fang wrote: "Central government programs aimed at promoting economic development in the Tibet Autonomous region have had a disappointing effect on the local economy, according to an academic at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China."
He quoted Jin Wei in her new avatar, as director of ethnic religious studies at the Central Party School, saying: "the region continues to rely heavily on cash donations and has failed to create a foundation for sustainable growth."
I had mentioned on this blog that on December 15, 2012, a forum on ethnic minority development was held at Minzu University in Beijing. During the seminar, Jin Wei called for a policy overhaul of the aid programs in Tibet.
She said that in her study of 987 central government aid projects to Tibet between 1984 and 2005, she found that 70 percent of the projects had little immediate effect on boosting economic growth in the region.
She added: "The region still relies heavily on central government funding and other donations. The Tibetan government can only cover 7 percent of its local budget demand."
According to her research, Beijing's funding to the region grew to a total of 13.3 billion yuans by 2009 for 6,300 projects. The efforts have generated some improvements to the living standards of Tibetans in the region, but failed to establish business and industry networks to maintain sustainable development.
She affirmed: "Of the projects included in the study, infrastructure and social development programs accounted for 16.42 percent, transportation and energy-related projects accounted for 52.4 percent and 22.6 percent were projects designed to improve individual livelihoods while 9 percent were related to local business development."
Her conclusions were many of the programs failed because the planners had forgotten the cultural context and relied on government-oriented measures. She said: "The lack of financial incentives and supportive regulations [for the Tibetans] reduced the efficiency of projects."
Now a question arises: what is the connection of this research with HIV/AIDS?
Probably none!  Prof Jin is just versatile.
She recently asserted: "Tibetans' reverence for the Dalai Lama has not diminished even as their living standards under Beijing control have improved, an indication that the government should reassess its approach toward the issue. ...Talks between the Dalai Lama's representatives and the government are the best way to solve the problem."
Let us see what the future will be.

Dam is money, dam is destruction too

Srinagar (Garhwal) before the floods

A win-win situation, they say
In April, I mentioned on this blog that I had visited Srinagar, Garhwal and I had witnessed the immediate consequences of building cascades of dams for short-term pecuniary benefits.
Then I wrote: "Local officials argue that, if the Centre does not want dams to generate power, then Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 crore would have to be annually released as Central assistance. The Center wants power and the State, hard cash; it superficially looks as win-win situation, except for the rivers which have started disappearing at some places".
At that time, I was told that the projects currently underway should increase the hydropower capacity of the State to 12,235 MW. A total of 95 hydropower projects were being built or planned on different rivers converging in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basin of Uttarakhand.
Environmentalists like former IIT professor, Dr. G D Agrawal (his sannyasi name is Swami Gyan Swarop Sanand) or before him Sunderlal Bahuguna had tried to oppose this wild contagion of new concrete infrastructures, but with little result. Everyone was however aware that since 2005, when the Tehri Dam’s reservoir was filled up, the flow of Bhagirathi reduced drastically.
I had concluded: "In the years to come, global warming will radically change the face of the planet; inconsiderate human activities can only accelerate these changes for the worse. Worldwide, it will create tens of millions of ‘environmental migrants’" and I added: "The process is bound to happen in the Indian Himalayas because once the dams are built, there will no more rivers to worship and no more jobs for the local population. They will have to migrate to the cities, with other negative consequences. Many more new ‘lost Sarasvatis’ is the making!"
At that time, my article did not interest any editor.

Two months later
After the June 16 torrential rains, we have not lost rivers (though some changed their course, as seen on the pictures below), but havoc has been created by some of the hydro-power plants.
Understandably, the study of what happened to the dams is not the first priority of the Uttarakhand government and other Central agencies.
It is however worth quoting The Hindu: "The national highway between Dehradun and Srinagar [Garhwal] is currently broken at Byasi and Devprayag, with silt measuring upto 10 ft. covering an enormous area, in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district. According to the residents of Shakti Vihar, an area in Srinagar, this disaster occurred on June 17 at around 3.00 a.m. when the Srinagar dam authorities lifted the dam gates."

Services Selection Board Academy in Srinagar

A resident told the newspaper: "The rainfall on June 16 was so much that the water reached up to our knees, and to add to it, the dam authorities released water without a prior warning.”
The silt came from the debris lying around the dam construction site. The water swept all the debris lying around the dam construction site and deposited it here (downstream), said a resident.
The water level this time was three to four metres higher than the previous floods.
Agencies' report says: "A Services Selection Board (SSB) Academy, a gas godown, a ration godown, a silk farm, hundreds of houses, vehicles, and animals were affected by the massive flashfloods that hit Srinagar."
The main fear of the residents is that during the next rains, the water will again be released from the Srinagar dam without any prior warning.

A CAG Audit
Was it predictable?
In 2009, after studying the Hydro-electric projects in Uttarakhand, a State Audit of the Controller General of Accounts (CAG) explained:

With the creation of Uttarakhand in November 2000, its hydro-power potential was recognized as key to the development of the State. The Government chalked out an ambitious plan to harness its hydropower potential through the concerted efforts of both the State and the private sector. The State policy to encourage generation of hydro-power was formulated in October 2002. The prime aim was to develop the state as ‘Urja Pradesh’, which would cater not just to the needs of the State but also to that of the power starved northern grid.
A performance review of the implementation of hydro-power projects through private sector participation was covering the key aspects of planning, allotment, operation, environment impact and monitoring of the projects revealed that:
Forty-eight projects with a total planned generation capacity of 2423.10 MW had been undertaken by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the State during 1993 to 2006, however, till March 2009, only 10 per cent of the projects with generation capacity of 418.05 MW were complete and operational. The prime reasons for the delays are problems associated with land acquisition, forest clearances and enhancement in project capacities.  ...More grave is the total neglect of environmental concerns, the cumulative impact of which may prove devastating for the natural resources of the State

Has anybody read the Report?
Certainly not the planners and their contractors: 'no time, too much money is involved! and we are working to improve the lives of the people', will say the politicians. Because, as I pointed out in another posting, Dam is Money.
In its Environment Impact, the CAG warned:

• The State’s policy on hydropower projects was silent on the vital issue of maintaining downstream flow in the diversion reach (the stretch of the river from the point of diversion into tunnel to the point where it is released back into its natural stream). The physical verification of four out of five operational projects, showed that river-beds down stream had almost completely dried up, the water flow was down to a trickle, and extremely inadequate for the sustenance of ecology and nearby groundwater aquifers. [Paragraph 5.3.1]
• Given the current policy of the State Government of pursuing hydro-power projects indiscriminately, the potential cumulative effect of multiple run-of-river power projects can turn out to be environmentally damaging. Presently, 42 hydro-power projects are in operation, 203 are under construction or clearance stage, while several others are at the conceptual stage. [Paragraph 5.3.2]
• Negligence of environmental concerns was obvious as the muck generated from excavation and construction activities was being openly dumped into the rivers contributing to increase in the turbidity of water. The projects seemed oblivious of the fact that such

It is what happened on a very large scale in the days following the June 16 and 17 torrential rains. The CAG continues:

• gross negligence of environmental concerns lead to deterioration of water quality and adverse impact on the aquatic biota. [Paragraph 5.3.3]

In the article of The Hindu quoted above, a  resident told the reporter:  “Though residents were saved, cattle were killed under the silt. Quintals of fish that was the river brought along are also rotting under the debris.”
It appears that every person passing by the site could smell the rotten flesh: "This can cause disease but the authorities have not yet bothered to take any action,” said the local source.
Further the CAG pointed out:

• The plantation activity was highly deficient, as 38 per cent of projects reported hardly any plantation; posing severe hazards both for natural ecology and stabilization of hill slopes. [Paragraph 5.4.1]

The CAG concluded: "The individual and cumulative impact on the downstream river flow should be seriously considered to ensure that the projects do not result in disastrous impact on the environment."
Nobody cared. It was a win-win situation, isn't it?

The Vishnuprayag Hydro-electric Project (VHEP)
Another information has triggered through the Himalayan devastation. 
It is about the Vishnuprayag Hydro-electric Project (VHEP).
Vishnuprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, and lies at the confluence of Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers between Joshimath and Badrinath. It is located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. According to Indian mythology, Rishi Narada meditated there and he had a vision of Vishnu himself. 
Two well-known environmentalists, Vimalbhai and Briharshraj Tadiyal wrote on their blog (Ganga matu jansangthan:

In the recent flood [of the] Alaknandaganga (near Badrinath Temple), when the waters rose, dam authorities failed to open all the gates of the dam. Due to this, a 2 km long reservoir was formed upstream of the dam. Pressure from the water broke the dam and went on to wipe out the Lambagad Village market.
Some shops in the Lambagadh market were already washed away when water was released unannounced from the dam in 2012. When villagers asked for compensation from dam authorities, dam authorities threatened to file police cases against them.
This year, water from the upper reaches of Alaknandaganga came unannounced and demolished the Vishnupyrag HEP.
This was the first dam to be built under a Private Public Partnership on the Alaknandaganga. This dam has also destroyed Vishunupryag, the confluence of the Dhouliganga and Alaknandaganga.
We have news that dams on Mandakini River such as Phata-Buyong HEP and Singoli-Bhatwari HEP [are] badly damaged. Small dams on Madhaymaheshwer and Kali river are also badly damaged. These small dams were funded by Asian Development Bank.
The construction of all these HEPs are responsible for big Damage in the whole Ganga valley.
This incident once again strengthens our argument that the Himalayas cannot support big HEPs or other big structures. The government and planners must understand the floods as an indication from nature and stop the madness of HEPs.

But dam is money. 
Will the Government of Uttarakhand continue with its dam policy after the deluge? Will the politicians resist the idea of getting rich quickly? 
Or will they learn from the disaster?
The same situation is bound to happen, probably on a larger scale, in Arunachal Pradesh.
And what about the string of dams being built by the Chinese on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Siang/Brahmaputra) in Tibet?
Is the situation different on the Roof of the World?
It is probably worse due to the higher seismicity.
Because here too, the State needs power 'to grow'.
Further, 'hydro-power' is still classified as 'clean' power! So, let us continue to build dams, will say the Communist or the Indian 'leaders'.
Men think that the Gods are crazy, but it is perhaps not the case!
Sometimes they have to bang the table and say 'enough is enough'.
And if men don't get it, they will bang again!
By the way, is Uttarakhand richer today than 20 years ago?

A few photos of the VHEP, borrowed from http://matuganga.blogspot.in/

 Before the deluge...

Before...

 After...

 After...

The Alaknanda has chosen its original course