Interview with Secretary of Department of Home
Kalon Lobsang Nyima, Minister for Department of Home at the meeting |
The Department of Home of the Central Tibetan Administration today concludes its meeting of settlement representatives held in Dharamsala from 28 October-1 November, 2003. A lot of issues have been touched during the meeting which saw a gathering of the representatives and settlement officers under the Department of Home in India, Nepal and Bhutan. tibet.net spoke to Mr. Tsering Dhondup, the Secretary of the department.
Secretary Tsering Dhondup |
tibet.net -What were the issues discussed during the past four days’ meeting?
TD-The meeting was for five days, and during that we had discussed mainly ten different issues. We had given special importance on the need to maintain a close knit Tibetan communities in the Tibetan settlements especially the remote Tibetan settlements. It is important to preserve the Tibetan identity and work towards more development. We also discussed ways to improve the cooperative society’s working, agricultural system. As wished by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and planned by the Kashag, we put a special emphasis on the need to improve the conditions in the Tibetan settlements. So the representatives work as a link between the center and the settlements, develop ways to achieve our goals. We try to find out how best we can implement the policies of the Kashag on ground in different settlements by knowing their respective backgrounds and suitability to the various plans and projects.
tibet.net -How do you rate this meeting? Is it one of the important meetings or a regular briefing?
TD-Very important, all meetings are very important but this is significant in that we are now at the implementation stage. The earlier meetings saw the presentation of Kashag’s policies to the settlement representatives and make them understand the policies closely. Now at this meeting we are talking about ways to implement them. We considered this meeting very important and significant and going by the way things were discussed and the participation of the representatives, I think it was a fruitful one.
tibet.net -What major problems were discussed in this meeting?
TD-Well, the growth of the economy in the Tibetan settlements was the most important aspect that we laid emphasis on. And other important and serious issues we talked about were growing unemployment amongst the Tibetan youths, agriculture, and cooperatives. And one important issue was the budget. We have seen some settlements failing to follow the budget rules and regulations despite it having finalised some ten years ago. So we had a very intensive discussion on the budget rules and regulations, its implementation etc.
Representatives at a discussion at the meeting |
tibet.net -Miao has elected its representative recently, and this was what the Kalon Tripa indicated in his Democracy Day – address last year. Do you think we will see more Settlements electing their own representatives?
TD-This is one of the most important aspects of the action plan designed by the Kashag towards realisation of its objective to ensure closely knit Tibetan communities and prevent disintegration of settlements. Kashag wants the settlements to be self reliant in terms of administration and not completely depend on the centre. From both political and administrative point of view, this is very important. Not only from the point of view of Kashag’s policy, it is important also from our charters point of view since it has a mention in our charter. So Kashag strives to adhere to the charter. Miao is not the first settlement to elect its representative. We have four other settlements in the past which elected their leaders. We will, in coordination with the present representatives, inform our public of the need and reasons for the election of settlement representatives by the settlers themselves. We want our public to know why does the Kashag want them to elect their own leaders and how will it be beneficial in the future.
tibet.net -How would you describe the representatives’ response to the new agricultural policies?
TD-Initially, we faced problems in bringing the crux of the matter or the ideals of the new agricultural policy before the public. Now there is a strong commitment from the public towards Kashag’s agricultural policy. As for the representatives, it is not a matter of whether they are concerned or not, they are representing the administration and are responsible to educate the public about the administration’s policies. One thing that I want to make very clear through this medium is that in spite of this being a policy of the Kashag, there is no compulsion forced upon the public. For the administration, it is a duty to guide the public but the implementation or the right to follow lies in the hands of the public. If they want to practice organic farming, we will provide all possible help we can. Kashag has not passed any order on the public to follow its agricultural policy, please be clear about it.
tibet.net -Why are such meetings not called in major settlements like Bylakuppee, Mungod etc, why always Dharamsala?
TD-It would be good if we could hold similar meetings in the settlements. The settlement representatives are said to be representatives of the Department of Home but they actually represent the entire administration. So the reason why we hold such meetings here in Dharamsala is that the other departments of the Central Tibetan Administration can also use such meetings to interact with the representatives.
tibet.net -When and where will the next meeting take place?
TD-It is good to have as many meetings like this as possible. And to bridge the gap between the centre and the settlements we try to hold such meetings at least once a year. Yes, we do have to consider the financial arrangements for such meetings. But if all goes well, the next meeting will be held next year, and the venue will be Dharamsala as we have not thought of any other place for the reasons I told you earlier.
tibet.net -In view of the alarming rate of unemployment every year, what measures do you plan to take to make sure that the Tibetan youths do not leave their settlements for better opportunities?
TD-On this issue, we had intense discussions. We are facing unemployment crisis in our communities, especially amongst the youth. The Tibetan youths are not getting jobs as per their capabilities and educational qualification. The administration is not able to absorb this lot of unemployed youngsters. But this is not really unemployment. It is because of a failure to understand the concept of dignity of labour. There are so many enterprises, big and small, taken up by Tibetans in the settlements. And they always hire Indians. If the Tibetan youths are absorbed into these enterprises, employment will be generated. There is a strong notion amongst us Tibetans that youths don’t get employment opportunities due to which they leave for urban areas and abroad for better prospects. During this meeting, we had thorough discussions to tackle this unemployment problem with strict adherence and reference to Kashag’s policy guidelines of creating employment opportunities. We will implement those policies gradually.