Tag Archives: Tibet

Centre watch, Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Frontiers, Media politics, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Violence/Conflict

‘The situation in Ngaba is getting worse’: An interview with Tsewang Rigzin of the Tibetan Youth Congress

2 Comments

Guest post by T RIYAS BABU

Lobsang Sangay meets Tibetan activists in Delhi

It all started on March 16 this year when a Tibetan monk named Phuntsok set himself ablaze in protest against China marking exactly three years since the bloody crackdown by Chinese troops on the people of Ngaba County of Tibet in 2008. Chinese government tightened security and its stronghold on Ngaba in general and Kirti monastery in particular. Tibetans allege the authorities even blocked food supplies to the monastery in an attempt to starve around 2,500 monks. They say many have been arrested and a large number are missing. Continue reading ‘The situation in Ngaba is getting worse’: An interview with Tsewang Rigzin of the Tibetan Youth Congress →

Bad ideas, Frontiers, Media politics

The Flea Market of the Indian Media: Dibyesh Anand on the Karmapa story

9 Comments

Guest post by DIBYESH ANAND

India prides itself for having a free and vibrant media. A recent story around Tibetan exile leader Karmapa lama has exposed the Indian media scene as closely resembling a chor bazaar. One where uninformed assertions, distorted facts, libelous statements, ad hominem attacks, and lazy analysis are recycled again and again to create a sensation.

The remarkable convergence in how the different channels and newspapers covered the story of police raids and findings of unaccounted foreign currencies at Karmapa’s temporary establishment near Dharamsala is conspicuous. In the media, the unaccounted money is however presented in salacious and sensationalist manner. Money is not the focus, the Karmapa’s alleged China connection is. A possible financial irregularity of $1.6 million is a non-story in India where scams, schemes and scandals of billions erupt with the regularity of tides. The story becomes one of Karmapa as a probable Chinese spy. Continue reading The Flea Market of the Indian Media: Dibyesh Anand on the Karmapa story →