Tibetans: Just guest or something more…?

To begin with, a story it would be apt enough to struck nail on the head. Once upon a time, there was a traveler. On his way through the vast desert, he halted at a place and erecting a tent with an idea of spending his night there. A camel out there said, “May I stretch my head inside, as it’s too cold out there?” The traveler agreed. After few minutes, the camel said obsequiously it’s too cold out there; can I stretch my legs inside. Again, the traveler agreed. This flow of intermittent requests went on and finally the traveler found himself under the blue sky. In the story, what happened with the traveler seems to be structuring up for Indians in general and Himachalis in particular. Though there is none denying the fact that India has since time immemorial followed the dictum of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’, meaning – Guest is reverent like God. However, in the changing scenario when our resources are shrinking, more mouths are sprouting to be fed; corruption, red-tapism, water scarcity are conspiring to throw open our entire system into shambles, we can’t go on entertaining our guests at the cost of our native people.

In the changing scenario when our resources are shrinking, more mouths are sprouting to be fed; corruption, red-tapism, water scarcity are conspiring to throw open our entire system into shambles, we can’t go on entertaining our guests at the cost of our native people.

Today thousands of Tibetans are there in Himachal Pradesh, both legally and illegally as well, thereby grabs a considerable area of Himachal Pradesh. And it won’t be strange enough if the coming generations of these Tibetans start considering India there homeland, pushing the native people to the brink and thus encroaching upon the resources, infrastructure which this hill state has in its fold. My recent visit to Dharamshala was an eye-opener with my eyes seeing those Mongolian miens all around the city with sparse sprinkling of native people. Few reliable sources even disclosed the fact that in the recent years, the crime graph has even shoot up and in most of such cases, Tibetans had connection one way or the other. Be it shopping malls, dhabas, or whatever, Tibetans seems to be holding the bridle. Moreover, successive state governments are elated enough to call Dharamshala –Mini Tibet. However, the darker side of this growing Tibetmania either they have failed to decipher, or don’t want to as it has hardly to do anything with their vote-bank.

“Tibetans are there in Himachal Pradesh, both legally and illegally as well, thereby grabs a considerable area of Himachal Pradesh. And it won’t be strange enough if the coming generations of these Tibetans start considering India there homeland, pushing the native people to the brink and thus encroaching upon the resources, infrastructure which this hill state has in its fold.”

What’s happening behind the curtain goes this way – the Tibetans have encroached upon a considerable portion of both Govt. as well as private land, their indulgence in criminal activities has spiraled up many folds. More strangely, they have started living here not like guest but as host. This is not the case of Dharamshala alone; cities like Shimla are also not unscathed. It won’t be wrong to define it travesty on part of the successive state governments that in the capital city Shimla Tibetans have been provided with special arrangements for erecting shops, in the heart of the city, while the police personnel herd native retailers, having no proper arrangement for shops, away from one place to another.
Agreed, Tibetans are our guests, however, policies of successive state governments are sufficient to give them a sense that they are no more guests but hosts. Today avalanches of different challenges are overpowering India one way or other; be it Naxalism, demands for separate states,etc. even a blind person can decipher the covetous policies that china has towards India and it has time and again steamed out this covetousness on the world stage. Importantly, at a time when scars of 1962 Indo-China war are still oozing we need to deeply introspect our policies towards our neighboring countries and their people; otherwise, the day is not far when another jinni in the form of Tibetmania will hold up its head, overcastting the calm azure and this would be ensued by the Red rain!