Tibet Cold War

Words: 992
Pages: 4

For centuries Tibet has been shrouded in controversy due to the ongoing dispute between the Chinese government and the Tibetan government (now in exile) concerning who exactly (and rightfully) owns this clouded “rooftop of the world”. The majority of the world’s population either still view Tibet as an exotic get-away nestled amongst the Himalayas were extreme-hiking would perhaps be a fun hobby, or as a peace-loving country filled with Buddhists monks clothed in maroon robes, led by the 14th Dalai Lama. These misconceptions and idealistic beliefs have hidden the truth of what is actually happening in Tibet, and what has been happening since the Chinese take over in 1949. I became interested in the topic of Tibet after studying the Cold War, …show more content…
I watched the film “Seven Years in Tibet” and met with Pamela Evans, an inspiring source of information, who had recently met with members of the Tibetan Government in exile. Mrs Evans referenced numerous sources to work from after our meeting, one was a section of notes from her latest visit to the Tibetan government in exile, another was a book on the History of Tibetan culture and religion and a final book entitled, ‘Demystifying Tibet’ by Lee Feigon, a renowned …show more content…
Each Dalai Lama differed drastically in their rule of Tibet and as a result through the past centuries Tibet’s nature, society and living standards differed drastically. In 1642, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso was the first Dalai Lama to have absolute control over Tibet. The Fifth Dalai Lama unified and governed Tibet through trying times; he excelled in diplomacy and like all Dalai Lama’s was highly religious. Most if not all Dalai Lama’s, through their rule and spiritual guidance, allowed for Tibet to prosper. By 1945 1 in every 3 men in Tibet were a Buddhist monk and religion was a strong part of its society. Although Tibet was considered ‘backwards’ by many first world countries due to its traditional and basic way of life, the people were content.
Mao Zedong led an invasion into Tibet in 1949 (that continued until 1950), and effectively took over Tibet during this period using sheer military force. Since then the Chinese government has controlled Tibet, under the belief that they liberated the Tibetan people from near poverty and ‘civilised’ them by providing both first world education and jobs. Moreover the Chinese government believes that Tibet has in fact always been a part of China, and that Mao Zedong’s invasion in1949 was merely a reclaiming and uniting of two provinces of