FOUNDATION FOR NON-VIOLENT ALTERNATIVES

FOUNDATION FOR NON-VIOLENT ALTERNATIVES

WHO WE ARE

The Foundation for Non-violent Alternatives (FNVA) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, public policy organisation, established to undertake the objective study and analysis of India's security that is directly linked with developments in contemporary China and Tibet. 

OUR BASIC PRINCIPLES 

FNVA’s principles are grounded in the belief that every cultural and religious tradition has appropriate non-violent methods for positive political, economic and social change at the local, national and the international level. Importance of food, shelter, health, opportunities for a livelihood and a clean environment for our future generations cannot be denied as these are aspects that are essential elements for our existence, as is rule of law, peace and respect for diversity and dignity of the individual in his political, social, economic, religious and cultural rights. 

WHAT WE DO

FNVA is a significant organisation for the objective study of Tibet, Tibetan affairs and their related security implications for India. Our work is primarily focused on policy and decision makers in government, and politics with the objective to draw the government’s immediate attention on its policy on China, Tibet, Taiwan, Southern Mongolia and East Turkestan and eventually influence and help shape policy in this area, through dialogue, webinars, seminars, research, translation of original materials in mandarin to english, policy briefs and publications.

Developments taking place on the Tibet have direct geo-political implications for India as well as for its future Tibet policy. It is evident that the frenzy of development both infrastructure, military and economic is not directed at uplifting Tibetans, but rather it is an attempt to consolidate and validate their occupation of Tibet, and through it, to strengthen its presence in the region and on India’s border. Tibet is a national security issue for India. It has both domestic and external implications. Internally, India needs an action plan to deal with about 1,00,000 Tibetan refugees in India. Externally, Tibet is the resource of waters for Indian rivers, and is of immense geo-strategic importance being located contiguous to the entire Himalayan belt, where, in places, Chinese are making steady inroads in terms of influence. The problems between India and China cannot be discussed without involving Tibet.

Thus, Tibet and the Indo-Tibet border issue, China’s encroachment and active economic and military engagement in India’s neighbourhood and more recently transboundary river water issue, are the main foreign relations concerns of  India vis-à-vis China. While, in 2018, Chinese officials, diplomats and members of the Chinese Government (controlled) think-tanks have listed the following main items of concern, these are in order of priority: 1)Dalai Lama and Tibet issue 2) The border dispute with India, and c) India’s Geo-political ambitions. 

With the occupation of Tibet for over seventy years, the preservation of  its rich and unique cultural and civilisational heritage is under serious threat. The onus therefore lies on those living in freedom to undertake the responsibilities in whatever manner to ensure Tibet’s culture, environment,  its rich heritage as well as the rights of the individual under international law are protected. This also applies to peoples of the occupied territories of Southern Mongolia and Eastern Turkestan. Peace policies therefore must examine and bring to the fore the unjust pillage of natural resources, oppression of peoples, violation of human rights and support ethical business.

Patrons

Patron
Mr. B P Singh
Dr. B. P. Singh was appointed in 1964 to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)and belonged to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. After his initial postings in North-East and Assam, he moved to the Union Home Ministry. Over the past four decades, Dr. B.P. Singh has held a variety of important positions , namely, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forest (1993–95), Culture Secretary (1995–97) and Home Secretary (1997–99) in Government of India. As an international civil servant, Dr. B.P. Singh served as Executive Director and Ambassador at the World Bank during 1999-2002 representing India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and was one of the founder members of the Development Gateway Foundation (DGF) and member, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Washington D.C. He was then appointed as the Governor of the State of SIKKIM. B.P. Singh obtained his Master’s degree from the Oxford University and became a lecturer in the Post-Graduate Department of Political Science at Patna University at the age of nineteen. Singh hails from a family of activists for Indian independence.
Patron
Ven. Samdhong Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche
Ven. Samdhong Rinpoche is an eminent and distinguished scholar, teacher and philosopher and a life-long campaigner for Gandhian principles. He was the founder director of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies,(Deemed to be university) Varanasi He was the Chairman of the Tibetan Parliament in exile for over a decade and was the first directly elected Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. He was a Member Drafting Committee, Charter for Tibetans in-Exile, and the future Constitution of Tibet. During his tenure as both as a speaker and as a Kalon Tripa, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche laid down a strong foundation for a democratic system of governance for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. He has held several important posts including religious, cultural and academic both in India and overseas.
Patron
Late Mr. Soli Sorabjee (2009-2021)
Soli Sorabjee (2009-2021) was admitted to the bar in 1953. In 1971, Sorabjee was designated Senior Advocate of the Bombay High Court. He served as Solicitor-General of India from 1977 to 1980. He was appointed Attorney-General for India on 9th December 1989 upto 2nd December 1990, and then again on 7 April 1998, a post he held until 2004. In March 2002, Soli Sorabjee was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his defense of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. In March 2006 he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), "for service to Australia-India bilateral legal relations" He was the chairman of Transparency International and Convenor of the Minority Rights Group. He has served as Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights Commission since 1997, a member of the United Nations Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities since 1998. Sorabjee served as member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. Soli J. Sorabjee was also President of the United Lawyers Association, Vice-President of the Human Rights Committee of the International Bar Association, Vice-President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Executive Committee member of the International Association of Constitutional Lawyers and member of the Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament Law of the International Law Association. He is also a Patron of the Media Legal Defence Initiative, a UK-based charity.
Patron
Late Chief Justice Mr. J.S. Verma (2009-2013)
Late Chief Justice Mr. J.S. Verma (2009-2013) was an Indian jurist who served as the 27th Chief Justice of India from 1997 to 1998. He was the chairman of National Human Rights Commission from 1999 to 2003, and chairman of the Justice Verma Committee Report on Amendments to Criminal Law after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. He remains one of India's most highly regarded Chief Justices and eminent jurists.

Advisory Board

Advisor
Mr. Claude Arpi
Claude Arpi born in Angoulême (France) in 1949. His real quest started in 1972 with a journey to the Indian Himalayas. Since then he has been an enthusiastic student of the history of Tibet, China and the subcontinent. Claude Arpi regularly writes on the history, geopolitics and environment of the region as well as on the Indo-French relations. Some of his publications are: Tibet: When the Gods Spoke. India Tibet Relations (1947–1962), Part 3, Will Tibet Ever Find Her Soul Again? India Tibet Relations (1947–1962), Part 2 Tibet: The Last Months of a Free Nation. India Tibet Relations (1947–1962), Part 1 1962 and the McMahon Line Saga India and her neighbourhood: a French observer's views Born in Sin : The Panchsheel Agreement, The Sacrifice of Tibet Cachemire, le paradis perdu, Éditions Philippe Picquier, (in French) Il y a 50 ans : Pondichéry, Éditions Auroville Press Long and dark shall be the night : the Karma of Tibet The Fate of Tibet: When Big Insects Eat Small Insects
Advisor
Dr. Michael van Walt van Praag
Michael is an international lawyer, mediator and advisor in intrastate peace processes, and he teaches international law and international relations. He is Executive President of Kreddha, an international conflict resolution organization and Senior Fellow at the Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies of Golden Gate University Law School, San Francisco. He was Visiting Professor of Modern International Relations and International Law at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton until 2015. Michael has facilitated peace processes and advised parties to negotiations in Africa, Asia, the South Pacific and the Caucasus. He served as UN Senior Legal Advisor to the Foreign Minister of East Timor during the country’s transition to independence, and has been legal advisor to the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration since 1985. His publications include Tibet Brief 20/20, co-authored with Miek Boltjes (Outskirts Press, scheduled for October 2020); Sacred Mandates: Asian International Relations Since Chinggis Khan (co-authored/edited with Timothy Brook and Miek Boltjes, Chicago University Press, 2018); and The Status of Tibet: History, Rights and Prospects in International Law (Westview 1987).
Advisor
Prof. Siddiq Wahid
A renowned academic, Siddiq received his PhD in Inner Asian Studies as well as a Master’s in Education from Harvard University, after a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Political Theory from Gustavus Adolphus College. He has taught Central Asian Studies and Comparative Literature at Harvard University and at Metropolitan University, USA. Siddiq has lectured widely in South Asia, Europe and the United States. He has also authored a book on Ladakh, has written on Central Asia, the Tibetan civilization and the Kashmir conflict, and has edited a book on Tibet’s Relations with the Himalaya” published by the Foundation for Non-violent Alternatives. He can provide in-depth insight into Indo-China relations. He was formerly Vice Chancellor of Islamic University, Kashmir; Gulab Singh Chair Professor of History, Jammu University and Director, Institute of Kashmir Studies, Kashmir University.

Trustees

Trustee
Mr. O.P. Tandon
Mr. O.P. Tandon has been involved with the Tibet movement especially with its political leadership for over 25 years. He was tasked to set up and establish the Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre (TPPRC) in New Delhi, a research and policy advocacy centre of the Tibetan Parliament in exile. Besides undertaking foundational work in support of the democratic functioning of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, he assisted in shaping an organised structure for the entire Tibetan Administration through as many as three Pay Commissions. He also assisted in strengthening the functioning of the Election System and laying a standard procedure to enable voting amongst the entire Tibetan people spread all over the world. He has published papers and edited several publications. Earlier, he served the Banaras Hindu University as a Faculty and later as its Registrar for nearly three decades.
Trustee
Ambassador Ranjit Gupta
He was a member of the Prime Minister’s National Security Advisory Board for the term 2009-2010. Amongst his postings during his 39 year career with India’s Ministry of External Affairs was Head of India’s Representation in Taiwan from May 2000 to May 2003. He was Ambassador-in-Residence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been delivering lectures at think tanks, universities and other academic institutions in India and abroad and participating in conferences primarily relating to India's relations with the Gulf Region; Southeast Asia and East Asia including in particular relating to ASEAN, China, Myanmar, Taiwan and Tibet and India’s ‘Look East’ Policy; and, India’s National Security Challenges. He has been participating in Taiwan related activities primarily through interaction with visiting delegations from Taiwan and writing on Taiwan related subjects. He has lectured and written about India China relations in a variety of fora fairly regularly.
Trustee
Ms. Rebon Banerjee Dhar
Ms. Rebon Banerjee Dhar has worked for 17 years with one of the leading German Foundations devoted to “Freedom” and funded by the German Government. During this time she was responsible for the Foundation’s Tibet work world-wide. She undertook to organise and shape the then nascent International Tibet movement under the banner of the ‘Tibet Support Groups’ and thereafter about six Parliamentary conferences in support of the Tibetan’s freedom movement. She also formulated several policy documents and long term policy projects for Tibet’s political movement and future plans pertaining to strengthening the Tibet movement internationally and domestically in India. She was also active in conceptualising and organising several projects for theTibetan Government-in-Exile. She was involved with the training of young Tibetans, both men and women, in the field of lobbying, public speaking and leadership. She has edited a number of publications and international conference proceedings. After relinquishing her job with the German Foundation, she along with others established an institution the Foundation for Nonviolent Alternatives (FNVA ) to be able to continue to work for Tibet on a larger and a broader canvas.
Trustee
Ambassador Shyam Saran
Ambassador Shyam Saran is a former Foreign Secretary of India and has served as Prime Minister’s Special Envoy For Nuclear Affairs and Climate Change. After leaving government service in 2010, he headed the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a prestigious think tank focusing on economic issues (2011-2017) and was Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board under the National Security Council (2013-15). He is currently Life Trustee of India International Centre, Member of the Governing Board of the Institute of Chinese Studies, a Trustee at the World Wildlife Fund (India). He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his contributions to civil service.
Trustee
Prof.Srikanth Kondapalli
Prof.Srikanth Kondapalli, Ph.D, Dean School of International Studies JNU. Dr Srikanth Kondapalli is Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also an Honorary Fellow at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He served at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi for nearly 12 years. He is a specialist in Modern Chinese History. He was a student of Chinese language at the Beijing Language & Culture University; a post-Doctoral Visiting Fellow at People’s University, Beijing from 1996-98 and a Visiting Professor at National Chengchi University, Taipei in 2004.
Trustee
Mr. Tempa Tsering
Mr. Tempa Tsering was born in Tibet. He fled to India in 1959 along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1973, he joined the Tibetan civil service, as an interpreter and office secretary at the Tibetan Settlement in Bylakuppe, South India. He continued to serve the Tibetan administration in various capacities and finally as the Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations DIIR where he did commendable work of organising the Tibetan Support Groups ( TSGs) all over the world. From 2000 to 2011, he served as Kalon (Minister) in charge of the Dept. of Home and later as Kalon, Department of Information and International Relations. He also served as the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi until his retirement in 2016.
Trustee
Late Mr. Krishan Varma (2014 - 2021)
A civil servant who superannuated as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India in September 2012, Varma is known for his outstanding career spanning 35 years, where he held several key appointments within and outside India. He is an expert on China and proficient in Mandarin. He has been a frequent guest speaker and panelist on subjects related to national security, connectivity in India’s North East region and China. He has received several coveted awards and commendations from the Government of India in recognition of his meritorious and distinguished service to the country over the years.

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Kate Saunders

Kate Saunders is a writer, journalist and Tibet specialist. She has written a book about the Chinese prison camp system, numerous reports about aspects of contemporary Tibet and articles for publications including The Sunday Times (London), Washington Post, and The Guardian. Kate previously worked as Research and Communications Director of the International Campaign for Tibet, working with Tibetan researchers to monitor new developments in Tibet.

SENIOR RESEARCHER

Tenzing Dhamdul

A Tibetan born in Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India. Completed schooling in English and Tibetan medium schools in different regions of India. Recipient of the Sikyong Scholarship in the year 2015 - 1st Tibetan boy to get 95% and above in the AISSE.

Completed B.A Honors in Political Science at the Hindu College, Delhi University. Completed M.A. in Politics with Specialisation in International Relations at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Was an executive of the Tibet Forum-JNU (2019-2021). 

Many of his writings have been published in various newspapers and sites including the Caravan Magazine, the Taipei Times, the Diplomat and the Taiwan Times etc. He has appeared in several interviews and podcasts both video and audio. He hosts FNVA’s Podcast series ‘Unsilenced: Voices of Young Tibetans’. Most recently he co-authored an Issue brief for FNVA titled ‘Thread of Beads: An analysis of China’s renaming of 62 locations in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh since 2017’. He is interested in East Asian politics and governance and is engaged in Tibet and its relations with China.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Rinzin Namgyal

Rinzin Namgyal is a Tibetan born and raised in India, originally from the Phuntsokling Tibetan Settlement in Odisha. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Chinese Studies at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi, where he also completed a Master’s degree in East Asian Studies, specialising in China. Namgyal completed his undergraduate studies at Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi.

He is a V-TAGger, and his writings have been featured on prominent platforms such as Tibet Rights Collective, The Himalayan Dak, and Investigative Journalist Reportika. He has also been interviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA) Tibetan & Chinese and The Eastern Sky Podcast.

Namgyal has participated in numerous international conferences related to global security and China, including the Raisina Dialogue, the Global Conference on New Sinology, and China’s New Global Initiatives.

Tenzin Lhatso

Tenzin Lhatso hails from Varanasi, India and completed her schooling from an English medium school. She has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Delhi. 

She is also an active member of VTAG (New Delhi) and is committed to raising awareness about Tibet and the Tibetans, especially highlighting the dire situation when it comes to Human Rights in occupied Tibet.

ALUMNI

Chok Tsering

2012 – 2015

Chok Tsering is a research associate cum program coordinator at Foundation for Non-Violent Alternatives (FNVA) since February 2012. He has recently completed his M.Phil in centre for Inner Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prior to joining FNVA, he worked at Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) as a research intern in China Research Program. His interest of study lies in ethnic minorities in China, nationalism and sub-nationalism studies, democracy and China’s internal social and political movements.

Divya Sarkar

2014 – 2015

Divya Sarkar graduated from Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan in 2012. She has just completed her M.A in Chinese language from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She was a student at Harbin Normal University on HRD scholarship for a year. Her special interest lies in “Determinants of Chinese Psyche about India”. She is working as a research associate at Foundation for Non-Violent Alternatives (FNVA) since July 2014.

Rinchen Dhondup

Summer Intern (30th May - 15th July 2023)

Rinchen Dhondup, is a Tibetan born in Tibet and brought up in India. He currently pursues his Masters of Arts in International Studies from Christ University, Bangalore and is a member of RTYC Bangalore.

He previously studied at the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education and was a student council member of the Boys Hostel and a member of their music band as well. His interest of studies lies in understanding the complexities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in particular their socio-politico-economic functioning.

VISITING FELLOW

Fiona McConnell

Fiona McConnell is a Research Fellow at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. From Belfast, Northern Ireland, Fiona did her undergraduate degree in Geography at University of Cambridge (2004), and obtained her Masters and PhD at Queen Mary, University of London (2010). Intersecting with scholarship in political geography, critical international relations and political anthropology, Fiona’s research focuses on issues around issues of sovereignty, state practices and the (re)pluralising of political space. She has a particular interest in how communities officially excluded from formal state politics are nevertheless engaging with aspects of statecraft, with her doctoral research focusing on the sovereign practices of the exile Tibetan government based in India. She is currently working on a book manuscript which develops the idea of rehearsal and the state, and has ongoing projects on the practices and pedagogy of unofficial diplomacy and geographies of peace.

CONTACT DETAILS

ADDRESS: 143, 4th Floor, Uday Park,
New Delhi-110049 (INDIA)

Tel: (+91) 11 – 41022551

Email: [email protected]

www.fnvaworld.org

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