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Tibetan PM reminds youths of refugee status
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Tibetan PM reminds youths of refugee status
The Tribune[Friday, July 14, 2006 14:00]
By Vibhor Mohan
Dharamsala, July 13: The re-elected Tibetan Prime Minister, Mr Samdhong Rinpoche, here today called upon the Tibetan youth to give up their lavish lifestyle, as they should keep in mind that they were refugees and should work hard.
In an interview with The Tribune in his office at the headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, he said, “I do not subscribe to taking financial aids from sponsors and voluntary organisations and by now, we should have become self-reliant. But the Tibetan community continues to depend on financial aids”.
“I had made an unpopular statement nearly five years back that the Tibetan youths were not facing the problem of unemployment but the problem of unwillingness to work. Things have not changed in these years,” he added.
“A lot of Tibetans have become lazy and have adopted an affluent lifestyle, as if they have forgotten that they are refugees. I am a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi and firmly believe that we should understand what are our needs and should not indulge in an affluent lifestyle,” he added.
The Dalai Lama, he said, had thought of a long-term strategy for the Tibetan community, along with Jawaharlal Nehru. All Tibetans were allotted lands in the settlement areas and they could take up agriculture and lead a decent life. But this was not being done and the land was being used only for cash crops and the Tibetans had to purchase food items from the market.
Besides, he said, all Tibetan settlements had co-operative societies and these could do a lot of business for the community. “So, the idea is that we should concentrate on agriculture and small-scale industry so that we become self-reliant,” he said.
Mr Rinpoche added that steps would be taken to promote the Tibetan alternative system of medicine along with ayurveda. “The use of acupuncture has proved very successful in the Tibetan settlements in southern India in curing chronic diseases,” he said.
He further said the government-in-exile was working on implementing the new educational policy in Tibetan educational institutions. This included holding refresher courses for teachers so that their knowledge was updated.
A health policy was also being chalked out and awareness regarding the prevention of diseases would also be given importance, along with treatment. “We plan to make greater allocations for carrying out awareness campaigns for the prevention of diseases like AIDS, cancer and tuberculosis,” he said. |
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