Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 4: Members of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation board of trustees, foundation members, four Indian and two Filipino recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and about 60 other guests had an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Dalai Lama’s palace in Dharamsala on Wednesday.
During the audience with Tibetan spiritual leader, Susanna B. Afan, president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, launched a seven-volume series to mark the 65th anniversary of the award. The titled “The Greatness of Spirit: Stories of Love, Courage, and Service” is a collection of narratives that showcase the courage and selfless service of 326 individuals and 22 organizations in Asia who have received the Ramon Magsaysay Award since 1958. The seven-volume book series highlights the impact of altruistic actions and the difference they make in communities.
Following the audience, Cheche Laze, the CEO of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, stated that the audience with His Holiness was both highly blessed and an unforgettable memory.
Speaking to the media, Aruna Roy, a previous recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award in the year 2000, said, “I first met His Holiness when I was 10 years old, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet him many times since. For me, he is the greatest human being alive today. He has become one of the most important figures in my life, and following his guidance, I continue to aspire to help those in need with love and compassion.”
T.M. Krishna, one of the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients, stated, “His Holiness is a special figure in this world who always speaks about love, compassion, and non-violence. This audience with him was a blessed and unforgettable moment.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1959 at the age of 24, making him the youngest recipient of this honour. The Ramon Magsaysay Award was His Holiness’s first international recognition.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation was established in 1957 in memory of the late Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, who was known for his commitment to justice and human dignity. The foundation recognizes individuals and organizations in Asia who demonstrate transformative leadership and embody the spirit of the late president.
One Response
Thank you Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for awarding the first such award to HH The Dalai Lama! Communist China was a pariah then for invading Tibet and exporting communism to Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Phillipines along with Malaysia and San Salvador were the First Nations to voice their disapproval of communist Chinese invasion and subsequent illegal occupation of Tibet. I was a school going child then but never forgot the Ramon Magsaysay award to our revered leader. I was a child and knew little about international politics nor anyone was able to tell me the significance of this award. Our foster parents (I was an orphan) didn’t even know a word of English except “Yes” “No” and “Thank you”! I remember that the Phillipines was supporting Tibet but didn’t know how it was doing it. We had no way of knowing anything about the UN since, there were no newspapers among the Tibetan exiles. Tharchin Babu probably was producing his Melong (མེ་ལོང་) but we had no access to them nor we were proficient enough to read even Tibetan let alone English! We were just children who loved to play. I did see the photo of a young HH Dalai Lama with the caption Ramon Magsaysay. I just thought it must be something very special but other than that I just didn’t know. It made me happy though! I thought the world was with us against the Chinese invaders. Today, we can see the communist Chinese doing the same thing to Phillipines what it did to Tibet and the Phillipines leaders of the time detected the danger of Chinese communism to them as well as the entire world. The Malay leader Tunku Abdul Rahman was also supportive of Tibet because they saw that communist China was a Imperialist in the garb of communism and it has never shed its imperialist ambitions. The Malaysians, Phillipines, San Salavador and other Tibet supporters were coxing the Tibetans to get India’s support to make any impact since Pandit Nehru was a respected world Statesman and India was respected by the Afro-Asian nations as a reliable partner to offset communist Chinese influence in the region. Alas! Pandit Nehru has made it a point that befriending communist China was the bedrock of his foreign policy. The Tibetan appeal by Shakabpa Wangchuck Deden (the ex-Finance Minister of independent Tibet) went on deaf ears! He met Pandit Nehru personally and appealed for support but Nehru rebuffed him. Today, Communist China has illegally occupied not only Tibet but the west Phillipines Sea, which is well within 200 miles of Phillipines maritime boundary! It is occupying it against international law and international maritime adjuntication. On July 12, 2016, arbitral tribunal adjunticating the Phillipines case against China ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Phillipines and rejected any legitimacy to china’s claims but the CCP rejected the tribunals ruling and illegally occupies west phillipine Sea. The illegal occupation of Tibet by communist China and its illegal occupation of west Phillipines sea are exactly the same as Israeli occupation of Palestinian land! The occupiers are using naked force to legitimize their ill-gotten land and sea! On the other hand, Joe Biden has gone backwards by trumpeting communist Chinese disinformation about Tibet. The Indians have at long last realized their unforgivable mistake of cozying up to the Chinese communists and helping them legitimize the occupation of Tibet by word of mouth and adding signature on documents! Now, it seems that all the hyped bonhomie has all but evaporated and the two most populous countries are staring down for a possible military conflict. India’s Defense Minister Rajnikant Singh has told the army to be ready for the unexpected! India has learnt a hard lesson over the last seven decades that they cannot deal with communist China. The devious ways of the CCP and the Indian way of Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs” are odds with each other. The Indians expect the other side to respect the agreements they signd with the Chinese but for the Chinese truth has no value. It’s all about deception to hoodwink the other side and they will ignore all agreements if it doesn’t suit their designs! It was agreed between India and China that none of the soldiers on the Indo-Tibet-border carry weapons to avoid escalation and maintain tranquility but the Chinese armed themselves with primitive nail-studded batons and killed 20 Indian Jawans at Galway Valley in June 2020! It was agreed that no party should transgress each other’s territory but the Chinese occupied 2000 sq km of Indian territory on the LAC. These collisions have deeply annoyed the Indians. It may have given them the idea that the Chinese occupation of Tibet is a never ending headache and insolvable problem without looking for a fresh tactic which makes them to delve into the history of the region and how the geopolitical balance changed after Tibet was occupied by communist China! Few Indians are now finding that without considering the buffer that kept India safe for centuries, India will never be safe from Chinese encroachments, salami slicing and bullying tactics besides the heavy burden of maintaining a heavy presence of Indian military personnel and hard wares in the high Himalayas! Owing to this conclusion, some books have come out about Tibet by Indian writers and diplomats. Tibetans should never give up on our country but steadfastly campaign for independence which is beneficial for both Tibet and India. India has no interest in supporting autonomy for Tibet because it would still keep the foreign policy and border disputes with the Chinese occupier. India prefers Tibet to be like Bhutan which is a sovereign nation which has the best relationship with India. Coming back to Phillipines, the previous leader Rodrigo Duterte caved into China and ignored the international tribunal’s favorable verdict and sucked up to China and ignored the US.He even called President Obama, “a son of a bitch” to placate China! In the end he got no economic benefits to speak of which was the reason he gave up the west Phillipines sea. Now, the new leader Marcos Junior is fighting against the Chinese and he is getting help from the US, Japan. Australia and even India at least verbally! This goes to demonstrate that you get what you want by fighting and not capitulating! You don’t gain anything by being a compliant lackey! Chinese power is not perennial. It is bound to diminish like any power and end up in the dust bin of history! To jog your memory, Tibet was a great power from 7th to 9th century but look at us now! This is the nature of all empires!