Dharamsala, August 8
The new Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile), Lobsang Sangay, who will inherit the powers of the Dalai Lama, was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Commissioner Ngawang Phelgyal Gyechen this morning. The Dalai Lama was also present during the ceremony.

Sangay said a just and speedy resolution of the Tibet issue was in the interest of Asia. “For thousands of years, the Tibetan people served as responsible guardians of the environment in the world’s highest and largest plateau that is the source of 10 major rivers, which contribute to the livelihood of more than two billion human beings. China’s damming of rivers that originate from Tibet will undermine the livelihood of millions of people downstream in Asia.

It is for this reason that millions of people in Asia want to see that the Tibetan people are restored their traditional role of being the responsible guardians of the environment of the Tibetan plateau. This transcends politics. It touches upon the well-being and the welfare of Asia,” he said.

Sangay said when China invaded Tibet in 1959, it promised the Tibetan people a socialist paradise. First roads were built and along these roads were carted Tibet’s untapped and abundant mineral and other natural resources to China. Forests were cut. Countless priceless statues and cultural artefacts housed in destroyed monasteries and temples made their way to China.

In short, the socialist paradise that the Tibetans were promised turned into colonialism, with Tibet’s resources being used to fuel China’s development. The Tibetan people resisted this development with determination but the resistance was crushed with military might. This was the Tibetan experience of China’s socialist paradise, he alleged.

He highlighted his plans for revamping the education system for the Tibetans in exile. “In the months ahead, we will establish a Tibet policy institute that will serve as an intellectual platform to envision, develop and execute policies that will strengthen Tibet. We will also establish ‘sister shichaks’ (settlements) to strengthen solidarity between Tibetans in India and the West,” he said. Sangay, however, said he supported the middle-way approach advocated by the Dalai Lama for the resolution of the Tibet issue.

He said, “Following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama advocates ‘ahimsa’. I, too, subscribe to it.” The Dalai Lama who was present at the swearing-in ceremony said his decision to hand over power to an elected leadership was the need of the hour.

He said his decision had now settled the issue about the future of the Tibet struggle after him. The outgoing Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, showered praise on the Dalai Lama for singlehandedly carrying forward the Tibetan struggle for past more than 50 years. Targeting certain youth organisations of Tibetan exiles, he said a few people who raised doubts and scorned at the Dalai Lama’s visionary steps, should not be taken seriously. He said the issue of Tibet would be resolved sooner or later in tune with the vision of the Dalai Lama.

His parents lived on an acre of land in a refugee settlement in Darjeeling. The family was so poor that it had to sell one of its three cows to send Lobsang Sangay to a Tibetan refugee school, financed by the Indian Government. From there, Sangay went to Delhi University and won a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard Law School. For the past 16 years, he was in Harvard undertaking research in international law. He returned to India to take up the political leadership of the Tibetans living in exile after winning an election.