A Tibetan Perspective On Tibet
This book represents an important milestone in the corpus of literature on Tibetan and Inner Asian studies because it avoids the pitfalls of Orientalism and at the same time transcends the limitations of apologia. This achievement is a result of Mr Norbus personal background: he represents the post-1950 generation of Tibetans schooled in modern institutions and is not romantically clergy-oriented in his views.
The first nine chapters are a virtual tour de force of Tibetan culture through the experience of a Tibetan who has assimilated his traditional inheritance with present-day experience. More importantly, the author is able to articulate this thought in the context of political realities for Tibet today. Mr Norbu demonstrates these qualities by his overt rejection of a parochial, both geographically and mentally, understanding of Tibetan society; by consciously capitalising on his Sakyan heritage and presenting a non-Lhasa-centric perspective; and by his comfortable inclusion of Tibetan Muslims into the ambit of his descriptions of the society.
One of the hazards of historical interpretation by a citizen of an occupied land is that in condemning the excesses of occupiers, he risks appearing a romantic who condones his nations past, including its evils, without qualification. The second part of The Road Ahead (Chapters 10 to 18) is a study in the skillful art of walking the middle path. This art is illustrated by Mr Norbus inimically disarming style: I am in sympathy with most of the reforms that the Chinese Communists carried out in Tibet, but I would question their ulterior motives (p 216)
But statements like this are not meant to gloss over hard criticism of Tibetan society prior to invasion or a passionate rejection of occupation. The author is unambiguous in his criticism of the Tibetan aristocracy and leaders. It is they, whose interests in preserving the status quo of the power structure, he believes, led to a weakened response to Chinese invasion. Indeed, he does not hesitate to demonstrate a quiet anger at the aristocracy even in exile: ...the (volunteer) foreigners treated and nursed (the refugee children) like real parents, without a patronizing air or any sign of revulsion at our unhealthy state; whereas our own kin, the sons and daughters of Tibetan aristocrats and wealthy Tibetans.... did not come to help us. Perhaps they were ashamed of us. (pp 214-15)
However, his criticism of his own people is not to be mistaken for laxity where the Chinese are concerned. In fact, what makes his attack on the PRC pointed, is the rigour of his not falling into the trap of cliched (albeit accurate) criticisms of the regimes policies in Tibet. Rather, he digs deeper to point out the sinister character and depth of the destruction that has been wrought in Tibet. Two examples are worth noting. One, he mentions the introduction of a new political language into the Tibetan vocabulary which insidiously transforms the very context of communications in the country, giving birth to the civil religion that is the hallmark of so-called secular societies. Similarly, he incisively re-examines the character of events like the cultural revolution by observing that this was not random mob behaviour, but selective destruction. Thus, valuables were carted away from monasteries before the arrival of mob frenzy, and the Ganden Monastery was razed to the ground because it was the seat of the government, whilst its rivals, Sera and Drepung, were spared. Such a well-planned destruction shows that the Chinese Red Guards in Tibet were not just ideological fanatics, but also Han nationalists bent on the Sinicization of Tibetans. (p 276) That the nationalist is also a rationalist when it comes to planning the cultural extinction of a people should have a chilling effect on the reader.
The last two chapters form its contribution to the political dialogue on Tibet. Many aspects of this section can be commended. One of them is an objective and well argued account of the Xth Panchen Lamas political resistance to the Chinese. Mr Norbu presents a contrapuntal, and yet complimentary, approach to the Dalai Lamas resistance to the same adversary. In doing this, he does a service not just to the memory of the Panchen, but also to the argument of resistance to occupation from within, a considerably more hazardous position. Two, in a constructive suggestion, he engages in dialogue with Chinese dissidents by discussing the practicability of the Federal Constitution with confederal characteristics with reference to Tibet. In doing so, he moves the struggle for its freedom forward, albeit not without some skepticism over key points in the draft Constitution. Then he offers a cogent definition of the problem confronting any struggle for self-determination. It articulates a paradigmatic model which could be of universal value in our understanding of many conflicts around the world today.