C. II.2. Tibet

Volume One -> C. Popular Resistance in Communist Regimes -> C. II. China and Tibet, from 1947 -> C. II.2. Tibet

Tibet has a long history as an effectively independent Buddhist state, but was claimed as part of China by the Chinese Communists, who occupied Tibet in 1950. Under the 1951 Agreement, signed by the Dalai Lama, the Chinese promised to respect the role of Buddhism and the authority of the Dalai Lama. Since then Chinese policy has reflected its internal politics. For example during the Cultural Revolution monasteries were destroyed and practice of Buddhism forbidden, but under Deng Xiaoping limited religious toleration returned. In general, however, China has sought to modernize Tibet, promoted Chinese immigration and suppressed dissent.

Since fleeing to India in 1959, the Dalai Lama has been the key figure in exile and engaged in negotiations with the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama himself is strongly committed to nonviolence, but some of the exile organizations advocate violent revolt. Resistance inside Tibet has at times been violent, as in the 1959 uprising, but has also included nonviolent protests by monks and nuns.

Barnett, Robert ; Akiner, Shirin, Resistance and Reform in Tibet, Bloomington IN, Indiana University Press, 1994, pp. 314

Barnett also contributes an essay to Lehman, Steve ; Barnett, Robert ; Coles, Robert , The Tibetans: A Struggle to Survive New York, Powerhouse Cultural Entertainment Books, , 2004, pp. 125 , a primarily photographic record.

Donnet, Pierre-Antoine, Tibet: Survival in Question, Delhi and London, Oxford University Press and Zed Books, 1994, pp. 267

Examines Tibet from 1950 to early 1990s, including the 1959 uprising, the role of the Dalai Lama and protests in the 1980s (see chapter 4, ‘The revival of nationalism’, pp. 93-107).

Grunfeld, Tom, The Making of Modern Tibet, Revised edition, Armonk NY, M.E. Sharpe, 1996, pp. 352

Discusses the role of the Tibetan diaspora, and intrigues by the Indian government, the Chiang Kai-shek government of Taiwan and the CIA, as well as internal developments from the 1950s to 1995.

Kelly, Petra K. ; Bastian, Gert ; Aillo, Pat, The Anguish of Tibet, Berkeley CA, Parallax Press, 1991, pp. 382

Selection of documents and personal accounts, including eyewitness reports on demonstrations in Lhasa in 1988 and 1989.

Lama, Dalai, My Land and My People, London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1962, pp. 253

Autobiography of his earlier years.

Lama, Dalai, Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama, London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1990, pp. 308

Schwartz, Ronald D., Circle of Protest: Political Ritual in the Tibetan Uprising, London, Hurst, 1994, pp. 263

Shakiya, Tsering, The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet since 1947, London, Pimlico, 1999, pp. 574

Account by authoritative Tibetan historian of Tibet under Chinese Communist rule and changing Chinese policies, and the role of the Dalai Lama. See too Shakiya, Tsering , Trouble in Tibet New Left Review, 2008, pp. 5-26 , for discussion of widespread unrest that erupted in March 2008 after initial protests in monasteries were suppressed.

Smith Jr., Warren Jr. W., Tibetan Nation: A History of Tibetan Nationalism and Sino-Tibetan Relations, Boulder CO, Westview Press, 1996, pp. 732

The Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950 and subsequent changing Chinese policies and Tibetan responses are covered chapters in 9-15. Various protests in 1980s are noted in chapter 15.

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C. II.2. Tibet

A Guide to Civil Resistance

Volume One

Volume Two