March 29, 1999
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THE
DRAGON IN THE LAND OF SNOWS Frozen Turblulence A balanced look at Tibet -- and at India's ambiguity. By Jaya Jaitly THE DRAGON IN THE LAND OF SNOWS
Tibet's history is naturally incomplete. The struggle of its people for the retrieval of an international personality that is recognised as distinct from China's is still unfolding. The Dragon in the Land of Snows is a remarkably balanced presentation of the events that culminated in Tibet's so-called liberation by China and the role played by India, the US, the UK and the UN. To present an objective yet highly human history of modern Tibet, Tsering Shakya has relied upon not just documents from India and the West and on Tibetan records but also interviewed leading Tibetan figures of the early 1950s. Chinese government publications, international radio broadcasts and writings by Chinese civilian and army officials have all contributed to a rich body of rare source material. The book reveals, without rancour, how India failed in its role to defend Tibet's interests despite being expected to do so by both the US and the UK. The Korean War in the early 1950s diverted the world's attention from Tibet's annexation. The UN mistook the first Tibetan government appeal sent to it for the plea of an NGO. India simultaneously suffered from fears of offending China and delusions of grandeur in hoping it could negotiate a Korean settlement. Till today, India's role, while overtly hospitable to the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of exiled Tibetans, has been ambiguous and conflicting. The author analyses the current political battle between the Chinese and the Dalai Lama on the wholly religious issue of the selection of the Panchen Lama. He argues that China's economic development has not addressed the socio-political grievances of the Tibetan people. China has sharpened its campaign to obliterate even the religious influence of the Dalai Lama, thus creating an irreconcilable gap between the two peoples. Superimposed on this is the rural-urban divide. The largely rural Tibetan population is being gradually dominated by the urban migrant Chinese who corner educational facilities and other resources. The author concludes that Tibet's recent history has been affected largely by the complex issues of ideology and power that confront the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Readers of this work and sympathisers of the Tibetan people would wish that the big powers -- and India, as an affected neighbour -- assert themselves and reconcile the aspirations of both peoples before it's too late. THE POLITICS OF CRIME AND
CORRUPTION Another look at the scandal that is Indian politics today By Sudhir Kumar Jha Corruption is as old as civilisation itself. Gibbon's remark in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire -- "corruption, the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty" -- contains only a partial truth. Corruption very much thrives in totalitarian states. Did not Lord Acton say "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely"? Mahatma Gandhi echoed the same sentiment while advising the Congress to shun power. He was ignored and half a century into India's independence, crime and corruption have taken a firm grip on our polity. The politician-businessman connection has given way to the politician-criminal nexus. A chief minister in Bihar allegedly loots his own treasury, a prime minister bribes MPs to save his government. We have all this and more from N.K. Singh, a former CBI officer-turned-politician, in his latest book. The facts contained in the book are based on reliable secondary sources. While presenting to us the Kissa Kursi Ka and St Kitts cases, the author turns autobiographical. He does not forgive Indira Gandhi and Chandra Shekhar for having hounded him out of the CBI. This is not the first book dealing with the murkier side of politics nor will it be the last. A.G. Noorani's Ministers' Misconduct was probably the first book to highlight ministerial corruption during the pre-Indira Gandhi Congress regime. N.K. Singh updates the story and leaves us to ruminate. AFTERWORD... Oxford India's largest selling non- school book author in 1998 (and '97 and '96...) was Jim Corbett. The Tiger Man's six books sell some 10,000 copies a year. |
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The history of modern Tibet, a
continuing tragedy for the Tibetan people, is viewed with sympathy or studied disinterest
by various governments depending on their geographical and political relationship with
China. Most published works on Tibet are histories with either the wholly Tibetan view or
from British records of the colonial days. Popular publications also offer insights into
Tibet's unique culture and religious philosophy. 
