History of the Tibetan Movement

Tibetans in Exile

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 Tibetan refugees crossed the Tibetan border into neighboring India, Nepal and Bhutan in the first year following the March 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. The Tibetan Government in Exile, given a seat in Dharamshala by the Indian government, set up refugee reception centers, and provided support for enormous refugee camps in Himalayan regions of India, as well as in central and south India. Tibetans continue to make the dangerous journey across the Himalayas on foot to escape Chinese government repression, pursue educational opportunities denied them in Tibet, and freely practice their religion and culture. The Tibetan exile population is now estimated at 150,000, the majority in India and Nepal, but also in large numbers across Europe, in Canada and the U.S., and elsewhere.

The Tibetan Government in Exile (TGIE) is a parliamentary democracy. All Tibetans in exile over the age of eighteen can vote. In addition to the TGIE, Tibetans have assembled a large and well-coordinated campaign to reassert Tibetan sovereignty, with a large number of non-governmental organizations and support groups [see below]. Tibetans have garnered the support of people around the world, successfully advanced their cause through modern public relations and lobbying strategies, and maintained Tibetan culture, religion, language, and customs to a high degree. Tibetans in exile long to return to a free Tibet and have struggled tirelessly for an end to China’s occupation of Tibet.

Armed Resistance

The small and poorly-equipped Tibetan army made a valiant effort to defend Tibet from the invading People’s Liberation Army in 1950 and 1951, but were easily crushed. For the next twenty years, there was periodic armed guerrilla resistance to Chinese rule, but to little avail. Besides sporadic acts of sabotage, there has been little evidence of Tibetan guerrilla activities since the early 1970s.

Tibet Movement

In addition to a variety of departments within the Tibetan Government in Exile, several non-governmental organizations have been founded over the years to promote the welfare of Tibetans and advocate for an end to the Chinese occupation. These include the Tibetan Associations, Tibetan Women’s Associations and the Tibetan Youth Congress.

In the seventies, eighties and nineties, as the Tibetan exile community grew in the west, Tibetans were joined in their struggle in increasing numbers by non-Tibetan supporters. Small Tibet support organizations began to spring up in countries around the world. Several organizations grew and developed large memberships and profiles, initiating successful projects and campaigns that brought renewed awareness to the Tibetan plight.

From the mid-nineties to today, the many scattered and loosely-connected Tibet support organizations have evolved into a strong and effective international movement. Tibetans and their non-Tibetan allies work in partnership, coordinating campaigns for the release of political prisoners, and to prevent international support of China’s occupation. In recent years, the Tibet movement has scored many important victories, securing the release of dozens of political prisoners, stopping International Financial Institutions (such as the World Bank) from collaborating with the Chinese occupation, and sabotaging efforts by multinational corporations to exploit Tibet.

The Tibet movement continues to grow and gain strength. According to Gandhi’s famous axiom about social justice movements, “First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win,” the Tibet movement is in the third and next-to-last stage, as shown by the excerpt below. And the Tibet movement shows no sign of slowing down or giving up.

The Chinese government on the Tibet Movement (what they call the “Dalai Groups”):

“Since last year, the Dalai groups, with support from anti-China western forces, have undertaken campaigns to cut off the World Bank loan to our population transfer program in the Tulan county of Qinghai province, to disrupt PetroChina’s entry into the American stock market, to prevent our entry into WTO, to obstruct the granting of US permanent trade relations status to China, and to get people in different countries to boycott our goods…

In a short time, it is difficult to reverse the present situation where the enemy’s fortune on the international arena is running high and ours low. Our struggle for the international public opinion will be more rigorous and complicated than ever before. Our external propaganda work on Tibet will be very difficult. Therefore, we must work hard and make improvements.”

- from a leaked Chinese government memo from the Chinese Communist Party’s Ninth Meeting on Tibet-Related External Propaganda, April 9, 2001