Well, I think that the discussion has been derailed somewhat.
Here's what the issue with Tibet is.
Nobody disputes that Tibet is part of China. Never mind who invaded whom and when. Even the Dalai Lama does not advocate independence for Tibet. Please read the second paragraph.
Tibetan independence movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tibet has been a very backward region for centuries, with no infrastructure and low technology penetration. It needs industry, infrastructure, development and modern administration. Kudos to the Chinese for that.
The issue is- The SYSTEMATIC ELIMINATION OF TIBETAN CULTURE.
>Tibet has been flooded by Han Chinese; they are actively encouraged to live, settle there and culturally dominate the Tibetans. It is a systematic cultural dilution.
>Tibetan Buddhism is one of the world's oldest and best preserved philosophies. The Chinese state is very wary of Religion as a rule, which is slowly changing now. These insecurities have lead to large-scale repression (a cliched word, sorry about that) of Tibetans.
>Many, many Tibetans have died. There is NO PROTEST ALLOWED, however peaceful.
>I can go on and on about what has happened in Tibet...maybe some of it is untrue, but anyone on this forum would be a fool to refute that China has been very heavy-handed in Tibet. That too, against unarmed monks-male and female.
> China can erase this blot on itself by just giving the Tibetans some degree of say in their own administration, but no.
The question to my Pakistani friends is:
"Do you really know what your Chinese friends are up to in Tibet? Do you care? Or do you only care about those oppressed people who are of the same faith as you?"
There will be an obvious comparison to Kashmir. India has blundered in Kashmir, no doubt about that. The difference is that we had a corrupt, inefficient administration there for 45 years after Independence before all hell broke loose and there was an ethnic cleansing-of Hindus in Kashmir.
India does not try to eliminate Kashmiri culture or curtail religious freedom of Kashmiris. There have been many free and fair elections and Kashmiris have been given the chance to elect their own government and make their own policies. Army/police brutalities do occur, though. It is a tragic and unfortunate fact.
THAT, my friends, is what this thread is about. Care to comment?