Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 20: Well-known Tibetan writer and poet Rongwo Gendun Lhundup, who completed a four-year prison term on November 9, has been released but remains under tight surveillance, according to a report by Tibet Times, a Tibetan media outlet based in Dharamshala. Details about his current health and well-being remain unclear.
Gendun Lhundup, a former monk of Rongwo Monastery in Rebkong (Ch. Tongren) County, was detained by Chinese security forces on November 11, 2020, shortly after the publication of his poetry collection Khorwa (Samsara). On December 1, 2021, the Xining Intermediate People’s Court sentenced him to four years in prison and an additional two years of deprivation of political rights, accusing him of “inciting separatism.”
Widely known by his pen name, ‘Lhamkok’ (Eng. Shoe), Gendun Lhundup is celebrated for his literary contributions, which include works such as The Grey Flute, Poetry of the Great Deity, Black Rosary, Life’s Melody, and The White Volume. Among his notable poems is The One Born in the Pig Year, regarded by many as a tribute to the Dalai Lama, who was born in the Tibetan astrological Year of the Pig in 1935.
Born in 1974 into a nomadic family in Rebkong County, Gendun Lhundup has earned widespread respect among Tibetans for his deep commitment to preserving the Tibetan language and culture. He was the administrator of the Tibetan-language website Tsenpo, which was shut down in October 2021 after former political prisoner and language rights activist Tashi Wangchuk highlighted its inaccessibility on social media. Gendun Lhundup also traveled extensively across Tibet, teaching and engaging in discussions about Tibetan culture.
Tibetan intellectuals like Gendun Lhundup continue to face persecution under China’s policy of forced cultural assimilation. This policy targets individuals advocating for the preservation and promotion of Tibetan language and culture, labelling them as “inciting separatism,” “endangering state security,” and “harming ethnic unity”, among others. Alongside Gendun Lhundup, other intellectuals, such as Sabuchey, have been detained and silenced for their efforts to protect Tibetan identity.
