The next day as I went about with my work, I decided to put on some music. “Apni toh pathshala, masti ki path shala…” went the song. And suddenly, I was transported to a different time. My school days. As the tracks kept changing, I reminisced about the time when I used to listen to these songs. Somehow, I have the tendency of keeping track of time through songs, movies and which class I was in, rather than my age. For example, if I have to remember about an incident from the past, I would recall which class I was in, rather than how old I was at that time. And I tend remember which movie released at a particular time to guess which year it must have been. So anyways, as the songs played, I kept thinking: “I remember this song! It’s from my time!” And this set me thinking. My time? How can ‘my time’ or ‘our time’ be defined?

As I continued listening to the songs, I realized ‘our time’ is the time we spent in school and college. It’s the time when we were carefree, had no worries, and doing crazy stuff with our friends was the main agenda of the day. Hakuna matata. “Exam? Pfff! There’s still a lot of time for them to begin,” we used to think. Until, there was just a month to go, or a week, or even a day (depending upon the studiousness of that particular specie of student). That was the time. Those were the days. Take any generation, the songs we heard in our prime is ‘our time’. That is what defines us. That is what drives us. And no matter how old or mature I become, one titillating whiff of those songs is enough to send me on a trip down the memory lane. What say?

I tend to ignore, my inner wisdom,
The sub-conscious voice of reason and rhythm
I look around for solace and comfort,
Getting lost in life’s dessert

But there lies within me an inherent power,
That shows me the light, even in the darkest hour
Giving me with the strength to cross the sea,
No matter how strong the waves may be

I fail to realize the key lies within,
Waiting for me in the recycle bin
A calm mind is all I need,
To solve the riddles and succeed

~Sarthak

Members of TSAM at a protest rally in Chennai

There are many reasons why the Tibetans, most of them students, chose to come to India. The highly unstable political situation and insecurity are the major reasons. Parents fearing for the lives of their children sent them across to India so that they would be safe. Other Tibetan students still recall the time when they ‘escaped’ with their parents. There are many others who were not so fortunate and escaped with a guardian appointed by their parents to ferry them safely to India. The journey itself had been perilous and full of danger.
Many students still recall the hardships during their journey through the jungle and mountain paths to reach a safe place. The escapees had been too young to understand the implications at that time. They had just been asked by their parents to leave. Little did they know how long they would be separated from their parents and when they would be able to return to their village and see them again.

There are some students who last saw their parents 10 years ago. They had escaped when they were 12 or 14 years old with a few belongings. The rigid Chinese policy and the unstable situation in Tibet have ensured that the escapees remained in India. The only contact with their parents is through a phone call. But even this single simple call is fraught with danger. All the calls are monitored and tapped by the Chinese authorities. If even a hint of politics or threat is detected in the conversation, the person in Tibet is harassed by the Chinese authorities and threatened with imprisonment.

The students in Chennai have mobilized themselves and formed a Tibetan Student Association of Madras (TSAM)for their cause of freeing Tibet . They have held protests and rallies for their cause. Tenzin Dolma, a student of Loyola College said, “The government has been sympathetic towards our cause. But they are afraid of China and do not provide us full support. If we hold protests, they do not give us permission to hold them at central locations and make sure that it’s held at a remote place like an under bridge. In case we do get permission, they insist that we finish it off quickly and don’t take much time.”

There are other dilemmas which the Tibetan students face. Identity is one such problem which the students haven’t been able to overcome. Since the students are refugees, they are not citizens of India. Tibet due to its unstable political situation is not officially considered as an independent country. The students who stay in India carry a Refugee Certificate (RC) which has to be renewed every year. This is done at the centre where the certificate is made e.g. in Himachal Pradesh, Bangalore, etc. Therefore the students travel all the way to their respective centers to get their RC’s renewed. The location of the office can be changed but the students prefer not to do so because they feel that they are here only for a short period of time of three or five years, depending upon the academic courses being pursued.

The students who were born in India have the option of applying for Indian citizenship. But most of them prefer not to take it. They dream of going back to their villages in Tibet when it attains freedom and utilizing all the education and experience they have gained while staying in India. But there are some tried to apply for Indian citizenship. Dyki, a student of Loyola College said, “Applying for Indian citizenship is not easy. There are a lot of formalities which have to be fulfilled. Even if the formalities are completed, the citizenship is not provided that easily. Namgyal Dolkar has been a huge inspiration for us in this regard.”

Namgyal Dolkar is the first Tibetan to be provided Indian citizenship. But attaining this wasn’t easy. Although born in India, Dolkar was initially declined citizenship and termed stateless. But she approached the Delhi High Court. With the help of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986, Dolkar won her case on December 22.

It is as Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything.” With the Tibetans’ in exile being able to voice their opinions openly, a free Tibet is no more an elusive dream but a reality of which the whole world is responsible for.

For Kunchok Dolma, a Tibetan student studying in Ethiraj College, education is not just about gathering knowledge or getting good marks. “For me, education means having the right to study in my own language,” she says.  Dolma, an escapee from Tibet came to India because she did not have the right to study in her own language and was forced to study in Chinese, imposed on her by the imperial nation.  Dolma escaped from Tibet when she was in standard IV. “I came to India in 2001 because we were forced to study in Chinese and the situation there was very unstable. I also knew that his holiness Dalai Lama would help and support us in India which gave me courage,” says Dolma.

Dolma’s escape from Tibet had not been easy. Her parents had been worried about the safety of their 5 children, including her. They asked a relative who had been staying in India for the past 10 years to come and take the children safely across to India. Consequently, Dolma and her 4 siblings started their journey to India on April 14, but unfortunately got caught by Chinese military and were imprisoned. The condition of the prison and the behaviour of the jailers had been atrocious. The only food that was served to them was timmo, a dish made out of wheat, which was served in scant quantity. More rations were given to men than women. The prison room itself had been very small. “In that suffocating confined space, 25 people consisting of 5 women and 20 men were stuffed together. It was a very uncomfortable experience,” recalls Dolma. The people could not sleep properly due to space congestion and hunger. But they were finally released by the Chinese authorities in March and resumed their journey to Nepal.

There are many others like Dolma who escape from Tibet every year to get away from the cruel Chinese regime. There are guides, who help the people to escape to India. These guides are generally monks who risk their lives to help the children reach India safely. “The guides charge around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan to help people cross over to India safely,” said Dolma. Dolma had been lucky in this regard. “Since my guide was a distant relative, he did not charge us anything,” she said. If the guides are caught by the Chinese military during the journey, the punishment is life imprisonment. The journey is made in a fugitive manner. Generally the escapees travel during the night and hide during the day to avoid detection.

Though a lot of students have escaped from Tibet due to the unstable and hostile circumstances, they still dream about going back to their country once it attains freedom. Meanwhile, they try to best utilise the democratic freedom provided to them by India. They have the freedom to express themselves and vent out their feelings and discontent without the fear of Chinese authorities arresting or harming them. Dolma says, “My dream is to become an English teacher and teach other students in Tibet. But I do not know when I will get this opportunity and when my dream will be fulfilled.”