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Letter to the editor: Outlook India

By Dawa Tsering | Tibet Sun

Dawa Tsering in an undated file photo. Photographer unknown

To

Mr Vinod Mehta

Editor-in-chief

Outlook India, New Delhi

Dear Mr Mehta,

With all due respect to your esteemed news magazine, I am compelled to point out that the recent article by Chander Suta Dogra, Tocsin on Mount Exile, published in the 7th June issue has, for all the wrong reasons, caused a wave of mass outrage in not only Dharamshala, but across India and in many parts of the world as well.

I am still in shock as to the extent Ms Dogra had gone in churning out a heavily distorted, biased and, in some matters, outright malicious description of issues grappling the Tibetan community in Dharamshala. I am particularly appalled at the way she so deliberately misquoted me, way out of context, and also cooked up several false citations to support her own biased interpretation.

For instance, Ms Dogra wrote that:

... while watching the Dalai Lama felicitate Himachali politicians at a ‘Thank you’ function organised in May by the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Government-in-Exile (TGIE) to mark its 50 years in India, one of its seniormost MPs, Dawa Tsering, was pained to see “the Dalai Lama bowing like a supplicant in front of mere chief ministers”. Later, he told Outlook revealingly, “Everyone must understand that just because we’re here as refugees, you cannot take advantage of us.”

First of all, I must set the facts straight by declaring that I never said anything whatsoever that even remotely sounded like, “Everyone must understand that just because we’re here as refugees, you cannot take advantage of us.”

I am absolutely at a loss for words why Ms Dogra would attribute to me comments I never made. (Mr Mehta, I implore you to kindly refer to the recordings of my interview.)

Similarly, my comments on His Holiness the Dalai Lama felicitating the state leaders were also misquoted entirely out of context. What I had actually said was that I was pained to see His Holiness, who will soon turn 75 years old, still had to attend an extremely hectic schedule of public engagements for the wellbeing of Tibetan refugees.

My comments thus came out of deep concern for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Ms Dogra, however, has caustically adapted my words in a manner that reflected not my concern, but a reckless arrogance and insolence towards the Indian community.

I would like to point out that apart from being a member of the incumbent Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, and a former Tibetan Welfare Officer of Dharamshala, I am also a board member of Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society and Bharat Tibbat Sanyog Manch. It is thus quite natural that I have been at the forefront of numerous public initiatives aimed at fostering the wellbeing and development of both the local Indian and Tibetan communities.

Because of my public service in various capacities, I also enjoy a close acquaintance with a majority of people from both the communities. Which is why, during my interview to Ms Dogra, I cited several concrete examples of how, excepting a few isolated incidents, Indian and Tibetan peoples have gelled in together so harmoniously for over half a century.

I clearly remember telling her that there are Tibetans who are living together with Indian families under one roof, some sharing a common door. I am, therefore, extremely confounded as to why Ms Dogra would deliberately sabotage the import of my comments in such a ghastly manner.

Whether it is of any consequence for Ms Dogra or not, she has abused and squandered the trust and confidence of all those who had graciously accepted her request for interview only because she identified herself as a seasoned correspondent of a reputed magazine. We therefore expected her to uphold a highest standard of professional integrity and work ethics.

That, unfortunately, proved to be a naive assumption.

With highest regards,

Dawa Tsering

Member of Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile

Dharamshala, India

PS This letter has been also emailed to edit@outlookindia.com and outlook@outlookindia.com

Copyright © 2010 Dawa Tsering

Published in Tibet Sun