I am more of an Indian, except for my chinky Tibetan face”…wrote Tenzin Tsundue in his essay “My Kind of Exile”, which won the Outlook/Picador Prize for Non Fiction. Apparently, the nation in question does not think so.
Tsundue has been slapped with a gag order “forbidding him to leave the territorial jurisdiction of Dharamshala Town until November 25, 2006. The letter, issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Police, threatens Tsundue with prosecution under the Foreigners Act of 1946 if he fails to obey the order. When asked what prosecution would mean, the Additional Superintendent of Police, Santosh Patial, replied: “Deportation to Tibet.”
That the UPA government’s foreign policy is hijacked by its Communist allies should now be clear. Owing to pressure from the Left, the UPA government declined to invite US President Bush to address a joint session of parliament. This act of ungraciousness was accompanied by the entire Left/liberal brigade making a nuisance of itself during Bush’s visit. But different rules apply for President Hu’s visit—the Communists are batting for Beijing as usual, and the government deems it necessary to repress those who are opposed to China.
Update2- Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny shares his thoughts on the silencing of Tenzin Tsundue.
One of the interesting comments Tsundue made at that time was in response to the danger he faced as hotel security officials were threatening to drop a materials lift above his head on him, when he refused to come down: “‘I did not worry about the threat being carried out, knowing that I was in India and not in China,’ he said.�
While I am glad that the Blogsphere is picking up this story, why is the Indian media so silent?
Update3- Some more voices- Amit Varma here and Spacebar here. Amit makes the point that even without the Communists, Indian government’s record in respecting individual freedom is not great. True, but Communists make it worse, especially when it comes to China.
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