Tibet Today brings Tibet closer to you

Editorial

I am not here to celebrate or to write about Kiran Desai and her novel. I am here to discuss about our ‘Inheritance of Loss’. The inheritance of our Tibetan Journalism in English Language.

I must admit I don’t have any knowledge on the craft of writing, neither the art of story telling. And worst my indulgences in the world of journalism. Yet strangely, the most satisfying thing that occurred to me is my preoccupation in the world of journalism.

Why we Tibetans should take up a pen and write a simple thing from our personal notes to letters concerning the future of our nation? The answer lies in our blurred history. We knew little about the political history of our nation. Our forefathers never wrote about themselves, about event of the times, about their future progeny. In contrary to that our neighbours, particularly the successive dynasties of China had recorded and chronicled our past history. The price of the mistake is immense for us and it will have its curse for many future generations.

For long Chinese were plotting to seal our fate through fake claims, distorting history and laying traps. Our shortsighted ancestors were partly to be blamed for the error. Today we have become a victim of history, a history very much ours yet written by others. This is our inheritance of loss. Painful. Isn’t it?
Since coming to exile, even prior to it, many western explorers and writers have stereotyped our image and our existence through their fabled distortion, dreamful myth and worst their arrogant depictions of having understood the core essence of Tibet by relying on their superficial impressions. Today we are struggling to come out of these superficial characters cast or rather imposed on us.

In the darkest period of our history, it becomes immensely important for us to articulate, to define and to interpret our existence and events in our own words, through our own perspective. Only we could write and portray correct depictions about ourselves. None others can.

In our era, the Tibetan writing in English is gradually acquiring its essence and designation. More and more print media coming to churn views and news in our society. This is truly an unmistaken statement by Tibetans to take up our affairs in own words and through our own periscope. We have for so long let others to decide and write our destiny. Not now. We have made a sounding departure from our dark past. Writing and articulating is an act of assertion, an act of self-empowerment and an act of shaping our destiny and future.

Unfortunately, in some corners of our journalism in English language, we have still not shed our dependence. There are many foriegn journalists or writers who write our Tibetan experiences by their whims and fancies. In the past centuries, Manju Gongma had chronicled our history; in return we lost our nation and independence. Now this Gopser Journalism in its charitable best, but where will it take us to?

However, let the wisdom prevail. I am not writing off their roles yet they cannot be our architects. We must wield the magic wand and put them to task. They may be our oarsmen but we the unquestionable captain of the ship and for the ship to stand still.

Our exile community is in the period of great transformation, from bustling Dharamsala to ill-fated Majnu Ka Tilla to quiet Tibetan settlements to Tibetan coolies in the western world. It is a similar story everywhere. Making a sense of Tibetan nationhood is never an easy task and those of us who observe society from a close proximity. Who else can write about our trials and jubilations if not we? Isn’t this our inheritance of the present and destiny of tomorrow?

With this emotive outburst recollected in tranquility, I wish my readers to have a fruitful and a good year ahead of them. Happy Losar for all of you!

Chukora Tsering Agloe
The Editor
chukora@gmail.com