Buddhist devotees prostrate outside Jokhang temple in Lhasa in an undated file photo. The Jokhang Temple located in Barkhor Square at the center of Lhasa. It was the first Buddhist temple in Tibet.Courtesy of Mythibetour.com
Tibetsun.com
Sutirtho Patranobis
July 7 2016
“In my heart,” the sunburnt Tibetan said of his plans to observe the Dalai Lama’s 81st birthday before quietly fading into a crowd of tourists and believers heading into the Sera monastery outside Lhasa on Wednesday morning.
Elsewhere in the city, the Dharamshala-based spiritual leader’s birthday wasn’t celebrated with any kind of fervour.
Furtively would probably be a more appropriate word to describe how Tibetans marked the occasion across the Tibet Autonomous Region and especially in the capital Lhasa.
The Communist Party of China (CPC)-led government forbids any public celebration of the birthday of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a revolt in the remote region.
At Potala Palace, which was the Dalai Lama’s erstwhile residence, things appeared normal with visitors crowding the 13-storey world heritage structure and military-trained firefighters keeping a close watch on them.
The government has branded the internationally revered monk as a “splittist” and a “wolf in monk”s robes”.
Beijing says he incited a large number of self-immolation cases — more than 140 — in which Tibetans set themselves afire, demanding his return to China and more rights for the community.
The Chinese government is lenient about the Dalai Lama’s mention i n some Tibetan regions, such as Shangri La, where his photos are often displayed in homes.
But not in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Nearly all Tibetans Hindustan Times spoke to in Lhasa on Wednesday remained silent or changed the conversation when it came to the birthday.
One put a finger to his lips. Others said no one was celebrating it — at least not openly.
Lhasa was instead busy completing preparations for the “2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet”, an international seminar with participants from scores of countries and experts on Tibet from across China.
“His birthday is not important to the Chinese. It is not an important date. Do you see any abnormal security in the city? The locals are not bothered,” said Li Xiaojun, director at the State Council, China’s cabinet.
