The Little Mountain Democracy That Sustains Tibet’s Refugee Nation – The New York Times
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The Little Mountain Democracy That Sustains Tibet’s Refugee Nation
Tibetan leader abandons role as spiritual and political leader of Tibet. He devolved power to an elected Parliament based in the Indian Himalayas. He believed it would help Tibetans withstand Beijing’s efforts to crush freedom.
It was part natural inclination, part strategy.
On visits to neighboring India, he had been charmed by its nascent republic’s culture of open debate. He also knew that too much power had been vested in one man as both the spiritual and political leader of Tibet.
So, over the decades, he gradually devolved his own power to an elected Parliament based in the Indian Himalayas, and then retired his political role completely in 2011. Creating a robust structure not dependent on a single leader, he believed, according to senior monks and officials close to him, would help exiled Tibetans withstand Beijing’s efforts to crush their movement for freedom and autonomy.