New Delhi: Former Indian diplomat Phunchok Stobdan’s comments on Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama on TV news channel in the backdrop of the ongoing border tensions between India and China have irked the Thiksey and Diskit monasteries in Ladakh, which have demanded an “unconditional apology” from him.
The All Ladakh Buddhist Association and the Ladakh Gonpa Association have also called out Stobdan for “hurting the sentiments” of the community, with the Merchant Association of Leh calling a strike Monday in a “display of solidarity”.
What Stobdan said
Stobdan, India’s former Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, had raised questions about the Dalai Lama’s silence on China’s transgressions in eastern Ladakh.
“Dalai Lama has to speak and cannot keep focussing on his prayers while China eats away the land (in Ladakh). It doesn’t work like that. We have let him create a government in Dharamsala. He should offer a clarification that this is not Tibet’s land; it is India’s,” Stobdan had said during a show on Hindi news channel Aaj Tak Friday.
“Is he doing it in collaboration with China? What is it? There is some confusion in the strategy,” Stobdan had said.
He questioned the real motive behind China’s attempt to cross the LAC, especially in the Galwan river valley.
“The question is why are Chinese coming there? Who told them it is their land? Chinese are far from there. That land belongs to the Tibetans. Why is Dalai Lama sitting idle in Dharamsala? Why is he not explaining it? He his hiding,” said Stobdan, also the author of the book The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas: India and China’s Quest for Strategic Dominance.
He added that China wants to “change the narrative” by attempting to push the LAC through repeated transgressions.
“We (India) also want to do it (change the narrative). We also decided that after abrogating Article 370 we will take Aksai Chin. This is not about LAC… We kept talking about it but never made any progress. But they kept coming in,” Stobdan said.
“Not anymore. LAC is a perception. This is going on for the last 70 years. We will not tolerate this anymore,” he said.
Stobdan alleged that the real reason why the Chinese are now reacting is because “we have now become offensive, because we are now building roads, constructing infrastructure there and doing deployment. This is our Forward Policy and we need to be firm on this. If we have to fight we will, if we have to die we are ready for it”.
‘Highly objectionable’
The Thiksey and Diskit monasteries issued a statement Sunday, calling Stobdan’s statements “highly objectionable” and demanding an “unconditional apology”.
“His Holiness (Dalai Lama) is not only an epitome of peace and ambassador of humanity, but also the most respected spiritual leader of hundreds of thousands of Buddhists around the world,” the monasteries said in a press release.
The Merchant Association of Leh has called a strike and decided to close down all shops there Monday as “a symbolic display of solidarity”.
“We condemn such usage of blasphemous language hurting the sentiments of all Buddhist communities around the world,” the association said.
Also read: China’s muscle-flexing in Ladakh doesn’t mean there’s a war coming, says former NSA
Kushok Bakula, Thupstan Chhewang, and the current Ladakh MP, JTN, won the UT status for Ladakh.
I think P. Stobdan envies their achievement and feels left out from the Ladakhi political and cultural mainstream and wanted to become a HERO by bullying a peaceful monk publicly on the TV. But it backfired!
P Stobdan is not a proper foreign service diplomat. He was just an average analyst at Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis. Just before retirement, the government gave him just one post as an ambassador in a very remote, undeveloped country called Kyrgizstan.
The reason the government gave him that one post as an ambassador is likely because the real foreign office diplomats did not want to take up ambassadorship of Kirgizstan and thereby lose the chance to be posted as ambassador in a more important country.
I know him very well from our days of studying in Mongolia in the late 1980s. I know his character and his academic level very well.
He is neither a diplomat nor an expert on anything. He is just a person filled with hatred and inferiority complex, especially towards Tibetans.
Surely stobdan is a chinese paid spy, who wants to stir the region of ladhak. Look at USA lots of protesters are chinese, they speak mandarin and they destabilize the region. Surely the cops who killed the Afro-American are chinese paid dogs and likewise this Stobdan too is a paid CCP dog. Wake up india. JAI HIND JAI TIBET
It’s a pity for Stobdan to have such poor judgment to treat his holiness such way. H. Holiness concentrates his life in India giving up his political status, educating younger generation of tibetans and giving lectures in universities worldwide how important is rich ancient Indian culture of Nalanda. I am just wondering how Stobdan got such status as diplomat.
It’s regrettable that former Indian diplomat does not take on account that his holiness the Dalai Lama is a refugee guest of India like all tibetans. I would guess that New Delhi would not like to see his holiness making or comment on border issues. H. Holiness has always reminded that’s India’s problem. If India has recognized Tibet as independent country back in 1959, actual problem would not occur continuesly
Sure i will you dalai lama i know are working for china ans your golden child and your pan chem lama pedofils and your black bone bracelet seller of stars and globalky bashing the head in of your competition your crime network of drugs amd international frailud and embezzlement and your devaluing the bodies of your monks and inhumaity of their dead bodies and entrappment of spirits in a nirvana you turned demonic no i will mever apologize to your use of buddhism to refer to us as animals and use of things lime fkeas ticks bed bugs etc when crippling us with radiation chemical weapons. Biological and parisites even our genetic material in enforced sterization and torture no i will never apologize you are and rinpoche evil. Evil entities in this world and the truth is stronger than your lies and justice always prevails in your working with international crime network in your hatred jealousyand attempts at supremacy and wanting to be god
His book, the so called “Great Game” is purile and childish. He is trying to cause needless controversy where there is none. To name call a simple Buddhist monk is hineous and uncalled for. He may have been an ambassador but his thinking does him no credit.
Phuntsok stobdan is anti Dalai Lama. Either it’s Article or his books . Always Write negative statement on his holiness the Dalai Lama . He has great fear that his holiness has huge influence on himalayan region buddhist .
If anyone read his book [The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas] his knowledge and research on Himalayan Buddhist are completely wrong and baseless.He is completely disgraced to Ladakh community.
Phunchok Stobdan, doesn’t India consider Tibet a part of China? Not one nation ever supported or supports a Free Tibet, now some of these countries are shiting their pants as China slowly goes for their throats. Spastic reactions such as PS’s is understandably. He should probably ask the India Government about its policies on Tibet, maybe he will understand His Holiness The Dalia Lama’s caring with his normal life.
“The question is why are Chinese coming there? Who told them it is their land? Chinese are far from there. That land belongs to the Tibetans. Why is Dalai Lama sitting idle in Dharamsala? Why is he not explaining it? He his hiding,” said Stobdan
P. Stobdan should have urged the India government to recognize Tibet as a sovereign nation so the Dalai Lama could say that land historically belonged to Tibet and now is a part of India. How can Dalai Lama speak for Indian gov’t/territory when the Indian gov’t time and again consents China’s narrative of Tibet being part of China?
Tibet and Tibetans since even before Chinese invasion in 1959 upto now have called for Tibet’s independence being India’s protection. Nehru didn’t bother just as the following governments do not. If India had stood for Tibet’s independence, P. Stobdan wouldn’t have to call out for the Dalai Lama to speak for his country. Tibetans always maintained that with Tibet as a buffer state, India wouldn’t have to constantly worry about border issues. Nobody listened. There is still time. High time India stood for Tibet – for the better of Tibet and India itself!
Jai Bharat, Jai Tibbat!
By the way, Dalai Lama is a religious figure… how do you expect him not to pray? P. Stobdan must know better, no?
It’s regrettable that phuntchok Stobdan , a former Indian diplomat to not understand that his holiness is refugee guest of India like all Tibetans. I don’t think that New Delhi would like to see any comment from Dalai lama about the border issues. His holiness said numerous times that it is India’s problem. If India has recognised Tibet as independent country in 1959, the actual problem would not occur.
He should not have said those insulting things about Tibetans and his holiness. Do your research and look up what his holiness the dalai lama represents and stands for. Tibet has never been a part of China and it was wrongfully invaded by the Communist government of China. The Central Tibetan government in exile has been fighting for freedom for more than sixty years now and his holiness the dalai lama has always said that Tibetans will fight against china in a peaceful middle way approach. He has now transferred all his political power to the president of the central Tibetan government in exile and only has the spiritual authority or responsibility. All his life he has been fighting for freedom and survival of Tibet from the clutches of the Chinese government. Please think before you speak.
He should not have said those insulting things about Tibetans and his holiness. Do your research and look up what his holiness the dalai lama represents and stands for. Tibet has never been a part of China and it was wrongfully invaded by the Communist government of China. The Central Tibetan government in exile has been fighting for freedom for more than sixty years now and his holiness the dalai lama has always said that Tibetans will fight against china in a peaceful middle way approach. He has now transferred all his political power to the president of the central Tibetan government in exile and only has the spiritual authority or responsibility. All his life he has been fighting for freedom and survival of Tibet from the clutches of the Chinese government. Please think before you speak.
He said we are ready to fight and die for it. Aha Quiet aggressive but polotition like you are one who will run the fastest and hide in ur hole while brave soldiers will pay there life for ur political benefits. Shut up moron!
I think former Indian diplomat Phunchok Stobdan has spoken from a place of bitterness and sheer stupidity. It’s like he came out of a cave and had no idea whatsoever of the Tibetan political affairs in the first place. I am a person of both chinese and tibetan heritage but raised in India and America. I don’t consider myself to be a religious person so whatever I write here comes from a place of logic, which Phunchok sadly lacks. The Dalai Lama has been fighting for Tibetan autonomy for decades as a political figure. His efforts have landed on deaf ears in the CCP and the world at large. Phunchok makes it sound as if the Dalai Lama has a lot of authority over the CCP. I’m speechless by his ignorance and shocked that such a man was a diplomat. I wonder what the requirements were for that position. Second of all, in 2011 the Dalai Lama gave up all political role and is simply the religious head. Phunchok must have been hibernating all this time and hence little knowledge is dangerous!
What is wrong really? When the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader of the Tibetans blows hot and cold about the atrocities committed by the Chinese, he leaves some Tibetans miffed. I remember during a visit to Dharamshala, after our tour of the monastery where His Holiness also stays, we went around the market to but the usual trinkets and souvenirs and entered a shop. The lady did not have the usual stuff that could be seen in the other shops. Surprised, we asked her why she did not sell the stuff that the others were displaying. She said firmly, “These people are selling Chinese goods. Made in China, which kills our people and culture. It is sad that our own people don’t mind selling Chinese goods to make more money. If we don’t take a step to help our own people in Tibet, but support the Chinese, even indirectly, how can we expect others to help us? If you want to buy those goods, please buy them there, but I will not sell them in my store.” The message hit home and I am sure there are many Tibetans in Indian and elsewhere who prefer a more direct action.
As an Indian concerned about the Chinese incursions and constant display of superiority, I certainly don’t expect the Dalai Lama to make statements on the recent incident at Ladakh. I am sure the Indian Government will also not want him to, because it complicates matters. But, what the Dalai Lama should certainly do is give Tibetans the guidance, the belief they can live freely in their own country one day. As a spiritual and temporal leader, he cannot abdicate that responsibility. There have been times when he has not done that. Former Indian diplomat Phunchok Stobdan’s statement must also be seen in that light. There may be many who do not agree with the way the Dalai Lama has handled the issue of China treating Tibetans and other regions. As a spiritual leader he may certainly have his limitations, but as a leader of a people, he must offer them hope.
How could any sane person believe His Holiness is acting in concert with the Chinese government.
The Thiksey and Diskit monasteries issued a statement only? It can lead to some other communal and religionism controversial, do you know? Didn’t expect such improper research on such reputed platform Nayanima Basu