?…as far apart as the earth and sky?, a highly evocative idiom that liberally peppers Tubten Khetsun?s book, Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule, could well be the defining depiction of the Tibetan and official Chinese accounts of the period following the People?s Liberation Army (PLA?s) march into Tibet in 1950. The book under review was originally published in India in Tibetan language under the title Dka? sdug ?og gi byung ba brjod pa (An account of painful events). It thus appears to be originally intended for the literate Tibetan audience. Subsequently, the Columbia University Press took it up with the help of Matthew Akester?s brilliant translation to bring it to the western and English readership in 2008 and finally Penguin India brought it out toward the end of 2009.
The author of the book under review, despite his admission as such, (pp 297) is not from the ranks of the ordinary Tibetans. By virtue of being the nephew of a senior government official, he belonged to the ranks of the minor aristocracy of Tibet as the brief family history at the start of the book informs us. He became involved, at the age of 18 years, in the Lhasa uprising of March 10, 1959. As rumours of Chinese plans to eliminate the Dalai Lama engulfed the city, Tubten Khetsun was among those who formed a defensive cordon around Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, during which he was captured by the PLA. One-third of the book recounts the author?s experiences as a prisoner. Shorn of literary flourishes, and consistently austere, there is a calm, detached manner in which Tubten Khetsun describes his ordeal as also that of his fellow inmates in the different prisons he was sent to. A stark, but highly visual, description of an angry PLA official (pp 230) particularly remains etched in one?s mind, with due appreciation of the translator?s skills and understanding.
Khetsun?s narrative is a stylistically dispassionate critique of People?s Republic of China?s policies (PRC), as also the methods adopted by the PLA, to ?liberate? the Tibetans from the old, feudal despotism and backward economic conditions. It tragically resulted in the large-scale destruction of Tibetan culture?monasteries, temples, works of art as also the destruction of the natural habitat and environment?a fact that is now amply documented and corroborated from multiple sources. In the process, some stereotypes get further entrenched.
Nonetheless, it documents a period in Tibetan history (1959-1980) that has so far not figured much in political histories of the PRC. Of particular value is the perspective of an educated Tibetan on the trajectory of political events that swept the rest of the country, such as the Cultural Revolution, the Lin Biao Affair, the Socialist Transformation, the Sino-Soviet tensions, and how they played out within Tibet. Then there are some noteworthy statements regarding Tibetan hopes for an Indian victory in the 1962 conflict with China, (pp 127) which could provide some insight into the sources of the PRC?s suspicions of India. Certainly, one closes the book somewhat better informed about a period that needs to be researched more thoroughly. There are also sufficient nuances throughout the text that convey a sense of the problems of the social hierarchies and the disparities in living conditions which can legitimately lead to questioning the materialistic and modern versus the spiritual and ancient binary that dominates the analysis of Tibet under the PRC?s rule.
The book could well prove of immense importance to future researchers, given the innumerable places, people and dates that are cited. Khetsun leaves us with many thoughts but the most recurrent one is that a solely or even primarily, materialistic/developmental response to a profoundly cultural/spiritual scenario, cannot be the yardstick of success indefinitely.
?The writer teaches at JNU