January 21: He last visited the city in the avatar of a spiritualist. This time round, however, the Dalai Lama spoke as the political leader of nearly six million Tibetans.Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, charged the Chinese government with indulging in cultural genocide in Tibet under the guise of their ongoing programme of "political education" in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries. "Monks and nuns are arrested if they show the slightest signs of resentment," he told press persons on Wednesday, adding that the number of monks and nuns fleeing Tibet had increased in the last two years.He emphasised, "Protecting Tibetan culture, and not political status, is my top priority," adding that he was not seeking independence for Tibet even though he was being accused of this by the Chinese government. He said the main task of the special coordinator recently appointed for Tibet by the US government was not to hold negotiations but to enable them between Tibet and China on the basis of the middle path, a policy followed by late Chinese president Deng Xiaoping. He hoped that this coordinator could help develop mutual trust with China, since there had been no progress in talks with that country for nearly 17 years now due to mistrust on the Chinese side.However all is not lost, as he predicted the winds of change were sweeping the globe. "Things in China are changing," he said, referring to recent cases of Chinese intelligentsia petitioning the Chinese government over Tibet.The spirit of Mao's cultural revolution was being revived, he warned. He also termed as unfortunate the resettling of Han Chinese in Tibet, since they were depriving locals of their livelihood. Severe restrictions were being placed on the Tibetan culture, and Tibetan Buddhism was being openly criticised in the last few years, he said.Later in the evening, the Dalai Lama gave away the prestigious Diwaliben Mohanlal Mehta Award to 10 eminent personalities from all over India for excellence in social service.
