why Tibet?

Tibet is an occupied country. This is the single, most crucial fact to remember in any work for the movement.

Today, India and China share a border that is almost 4000 kilometres long, one of the most heavily guarded international boundaries in the world. Six decades ago soldiers along this frontier were few and far between. What changed? China invaded Tibet.

Scientific research has revealed the Tibetan glaciers to form the third largest reserve of water after the North and South Pole, hence the name often associated with Tibet: Third Pole. China’s complete disregard for natural resources, as displayed in their rampant mining of minerals in the Tibetan plateau, has caused serious damage to the fragile ecosystem. Some of the most severe cases of global warming are experienced in Tibet. The coercive settlement of nomads, whose thus far sustainable existence allowed them to live in harmony with natural processes, has caused greater soil erosion, depletion of vast expanses of grasslands, and instability in environmental cycles.

for more info on rivers in Tibet, and China's construction of dams visit: http://www.meltdownintibet.com/f_riverbyriver.htm 

The rivers originating in Tibet feed close to 500 billion people in Asia. The direct access to these rivers that China has gained as a result of its illegal occupation of Tibet poses serious threats to not just India, but other South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. There is not a single water treaty in place to share the waters of these rivers. Global climate change is clearly a danger that the world faces, water shortage, in particular, being a key point of concern. Tibet is a significant component of any dialogue on climate change. Except, no one talks about it.

The issue of Tibet today is not solely the responsibility of the Tibetans. Indeed, it is a reality that all of us have a stake in.

Students for a Free Tibet, India (SFT) is one of the 650 worldwide chapters of the international Not-for-Profit organization Students for a Free Tibet. SFT India was founded in the year 2000 as a loose network of young activists and students based in Dharamsala. Today, it has grown to a nation-wide campaign for the Fundamental Rights of the Tibetan people. The vision of SFT is to make the occupation of Tibet too costly (economically, politically and socially) for Beijing to maintain. We use non-violent direct actions to attain our goals. My involvement with the Delhi chapter of SFT India is very recent: since June 2010. Since then I have been involved in advocacy work, outreach campaigns, action camps and non-violent public protests. As an active member of SFT Delhi, I am engaged in organizational and networking tasks, setting long-term and short-term goals, identifying targets, brainstorming, taking decisions, strategizing, and planning the little details of campaigns to make them most effective. SFT India particularly aims at harnessing wider Indian support.

Working with SFT has revived my hope in change, and made me aware of the great power of non-violence. Growing up in a country that reveres Gandhi (indeed does little else), where most view ideas of non-violence and compassion as outdated and signs of weakness, experiencing the gradual, yet sustained success of non-violent direct actions within the Tibetan freedom struggle is over-whelming.

It is quite reasonable to believe that a fight for a perfectly just society appears to be a utopian ideal. It is the injustices that can easily be resolved that demand our urgent attention. It is such injustices that we question and fight in our support of the Tibetan freedom struggle.  

Mining and the Brahmaputra

Beginning in 1999, the Chinese Government conducted a secret 7 year survey of the Tibetan plateau in search of mineral deposits. With an investment of $44 million, the survey led to the discovery of many deposit sites including a seam of copper and gold deposits along the Yarlung Tsangpo (the Brahmaputra in India) gorge.

The Chinese government set about facilitating contracts for extracting deposits from this site (Shethongmon mine). A property option agreement was signed between China NetTV Holdings and a Canadian Company, Continental Minerals.

DIRECT CONSEQUENCES

The primary process of copper and gold mining requires large quantities of water of which the obvious source would be the Yarlung Tsangpo.

The ore is found in conjunction with arsenic laden pyrite. After grinding, the rock is washed with acid that helps separate the ore from the rock. The remnant of this process is a highly acidic mixture consisting of arsenic and cyanide. At times, the process of ore separation is not completely successful with portions of the ore being left behind. This will cause copper contamination when it reaches the groundwater.

INDIRECT CONSEQUENCES

Siltation –An excess of siltation leads to flooding, a problem already existing in areas along the Brahmaputra. In this project, siltation will happen in the following two ways: first, 300 million tonnes of rock have to be first removed, before reaching the 182 million tonnes of ore, and second, in order to carry out mining, intense deforestation is required to get to the rock containing ore.

Melting of glaciers (Deglaciation) – The Brahmaputra is only one of the two rivers that are perennial because of their origin in glaciers. Intense mining activities indirectly lead to environmental changes that speed up the melting of glaciers immensely. As the glaciers retreat, the volume of water in the rivers will increase at first causing widespread flooding. They will then go in to a rapid decline reducing the volume and flow of the rivers, making them merely seasonal. According to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) climate report, at the current rate of temperature rise the Himalayan glaciers could completely disappear by 2035.

Any industrial mining activity involves the usage of machinery over a long period, and thus the use of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are a major source of greenhouse gases.

The second largest contributor to global warming, Black Carbon has already caused a 7% increase in glacial retreat a year. Black Carbon emissions originate from coal powered stations and diesel engines. A railway line has been built through the Shethongmon mine to carry the ore from the mine site to the smelter. An estimate has been made that approximately 210,000 tonnes of ore will be transported to the smelter. With a single train being able to carry a maximum of 5,000 tonnes at once, this will mean 42 trains a year or one train a week will be required to carry the ore. Once functional, the fuel will lead to the emission of large amounts of black carbon and thus glacial melting.

Other environmental changes – The Tibetan plateau serves as an "airshed" for the Asian continent. The northern jetstreams flowing over the Plateau determine the timing and force of the seasonal South Asian monsoons in India. Deforestation on the Plateau will delay and weaken the summer monsoon, endangering the livelihood of millions of farmers who depend on these rains. 

(with inputs from Reecha Das and Ananya Ramani, SFT India interns)

climate change rally

Today, Thursday 9^th December, SFT Delhi did a silent march in Delhi University, North Campus. The Global Climate Change Summit taking place in Cancun, Mexico is scheduled to come to a close tomorrow. Any talk of climate change, we feel, is incomplete without talk of Tibet. The aim of this march was to raise awareness about the critical role of Tibet in any dialogue concerning Climate Change. 

SFT Delhi student volunteers

We used two banners which emphasized Tibet as the ‘Third Pole’. We also handed out pamphlets containing factual details of the major Asian rivers originating Tibet, rapidly melting glaciers, China’s merciless construction of dams, mining, deforestation, soil erosion and other forms of environmental degradation. The resettlement of nomads in Tibet was also highlighted. The lifestyle of the nomads is ideal for conservation of the environment. The coercive restriction of movement of nomads is directly affecting the Tibetan grasslands. All these points were discussed at the start of the march. 

The march commenced from the Arts Faculty at two o’clock in the afternoon. Our route covered most of the colleges in North Campus: St. Stephen’s, Hindu, Hansraj, Kirori Mal, Ramjas and Shri Ram College of Commerce. There were close to fifty students taking part in the march. There were many Indian supporters, particularly from the North East. Most marchers carried placards reading different slogans: ‘Tibet’s Glaciers are Melting, South Asia is Drying’, ‘Tibet’s Rivers are the Lifeline of Asia’, ‘Stop Mining Tibet’, among a few. En route, many passers-by stopped the student volunteers to enquire about the march. Pedestrians were seen pausing to read the banners and placards. The protesters received encouragement from various people, from rickshaw pullers to busloads of school children to strangers on the road.

Placards 

The marchers returned to the Swami Vivekananda statue in Arts Faculty where everyone gathered to wrap-up the protest. SFT India Grassroots Co-ordinator, Shibayan Raya opened the discussion with some comments on the aim of the march, climate change in general, with specific emphasis on Tibet. He also thanked the volunteers for their support and effort, and briefed the gathering on SFT Delhi’s forthcoming events. 

rangzen festival

sft delhi and the gandhi study circle, st. stephen's college organized a two day festival (27th and 28th october) on tibet that drew students in large numbers. the festival was held at st. stephen's college with a combination of diverse events in an attempt to portray to students the cultural, social and most importantly political relevance of tibet.

the festival opened with a yak dance and opera that became very popular.
yaks in the main corridor!

    

 tingmo and meat stew!
 the tibetan food stalls quickly ran out of food. 

the photo exhibition kit, with write-ups on the history of tibet, the growth of the community-in-exile and the freedom movement, was strategically placed at the entrance to the main corridor so as to attract walkers by. Many students and teachers were seen curiously inspecting the panels.

     

the most poignant exhibition of the gross cruelties of the Chinese govt was the Great Wall of Shame, a photo-exhibition displaying detailed accounts of murder and human rights violation by the CCP. Many were overwhelmed by the graphic details of the photographs, while some questioned the tibetan students at the site about the photographs.

           

prof. srikanth kondapalli
there were two inspirational talks by Mr. Vijay Kranti and Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli strongly emphasizing the threat India faces. the interactive session with Ven. Bhagdo and Tsewang Dhondup, their brutally honest accounts of their experiences moved many to tears. 

        

hearing the personal accounts of tibetan students who came from tibet, over the himalayas, was particularly touching.

       

the closing event of the festival was the dance performance by tibetan students showcasing traditional nomadic, and modern dance styles.