By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, June 16: Chinese authorities have announced a ban on Tibetan language classes in primary schools throughout the Kham Kardze region, effective from 2024, according to rights group freetibet.org. The ban, issued by the Kanzi Prefecture Bureau of Education in March, has raised concerns over rights of Tibetans in preservation of their culture and identity.
The notice, which was sent to all schools in the region, explicitly instructed recipients not to share or publicize the information on social media platforms. According to an anonymous source cited by the research group, violations of this directive could result in punishment as per state law.
While the decision was made several months ago, its revelation to the public has been delayed. The anonymous source cited by Tibet Watch explained, “This notice has been sent to all the schools, and they have been instructed not to share or post it on social media, etc. Anybody doing such will be punished as per their State Law.”
The source also revealed that the Kanzi Prefecture Bureau of Education attributed the decision to a higher authority of education offices, but no official reason has been provided for the prohibition of Tibetan language classes in middle schools from the following year.
These actions are consistent with a concerning trend of Chinese authorities shutting down Tibetan classes and schools across Tibet. The removal of Tibetan language classes in primary and middle schools deprives Tibetan children of a vital aspect of their cultural heritage and identity. The lack of an official explanation for this ban has further intensified worries among observers. Language is recognized as a key element in preserving cultural traditions, facilitating intergenerational understanding, and safeguarding a community’s distinct identity.
International human rights organizations and Tibet advocacy groups have expressed profound concern regarding the systematic dismantling of Tibetan language education by Chinese authorities. They view these measures as a threat to the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Tibetan people.
One Response
There is no affront and indignity greater than banning our own language in our own country!!! Through out history, the oppressed have born the brunt of the oppressor! Be it the blacks in Africa, America, Britain, France or the aboriginals of Australia, the Māoris of New Zealand or any oppressed people across the world! Ever since 23rd May 1951 when Tibet was forcibly occupied by communist China, Tibetans have become the victims of the evil Chinese communist apartheid regime! The CCP mafia which is a ruthless and lawless entity which is now going berserk with its criminality occupying lands and seas that doesn’t belong to it at random. It’s setting up clandestine police stations across the world and committing aggression on every neighbouring country while supporting terrorists like Laskar-e-Taiba leader Shahid Mahmood! For the Tibetan people this evil cult has brought death, destruction and mayhem to Tibet. Our monasteries were ransacked and razed to the ground like the Taliban did to the Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan. An estimated 1.2 million Tibetans were killed as a direct result of the Chinese invasion and illegal occupation. It has sought to colonise Tibet with millions of Chinese colonisers and obliterate the Tibetan population. Our natural resources have been plundered and our monasteries pillaged! Now, it’s even denying the right to learn our own language! This is in fact illegal according to their own constitution which claims to enshrine the rights of all “nationalities the right to preserve” their own language! This goes to show their constitution is not worth the paper it’s printed on. It also goes to prove that even though the Chinese communists claim to be anti-colonialism, they are in fact worse colonialists than the white colonists of the bygone age. The white colonists robbed their victims of their mother tongue owing to their imperialist attitude of superiority over them and the CCP is doing the same! The CCP cult’s other reason behind banning of Tibetan language is to destroy the identity of the Tibetan people. If the Tibetan language is obliterated, Tibetans will be no different from the Chinese through total assimilation. Even though such condemnable act amounts to ethnic cleaning, the CCP is not bothered because it is a criminal syndicate which has no respect for anything! Tibetans have to fight on every front to stop the evil CCP’s attempt to destroy our most precious mother tongue which is our human right to learn and speak like any other human being. This also shows beyond a shadow of doubt that the CCP has no respect whatsoever for our language, culture, religion or the Tibetan people. It goes to demonstrate that it is hell bend to obliterate Tibet and it’s people from the face of the earth. It’s time Tibetans take a hard look at the present policy of casting our lot with the devil and instead work for independence. Poorly educated and even more poorly informed Tibetans can’t think out of the box other than the one they are familiar with which has now become not only worn out but impossible to achieve its purported goal of preserving Tibetan culture, religion and language. The hope of co-existence with China has been evaporated! The only way forward is total independence and prepare for any eventuality. Liberation movements are mushrooming across the world! Communist China is not a permanent outfit. It’s demise can come at any time. It may very well come after a disastrous campaign to take Taiwan by force. It may come as a result of growing discontent in China owing to economic melt down. More than sixty percent of rich Chinese have fled the country. Among them are 13,000 millionaires who are also turning a clean heel from the communist regime. Chinese people are getting fatigued by the cruelty of the regime because it only seeks to protect itself and has nothing but apathy and contempt for the Chinese people! The regime has no legitimacy and is no different from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Such a regime which is hated internationally and despised by its own population cannot survive for long! It will take one spark before it morphs into a conflagration which will consume the evil regime.