The Honourable Beggars
The donations made by the Tibetans in Switzerland towards a staff medical fund for the Tibetan Government in exile is the most commendable gesture coming from any Tibetan community for some time. With my own six years experience of working in Dharamsala and continuing contact with it, I can without hesitation that the Tibetan administration staff is the most deserving section of the exiled community for such aids. It is to be hoped that other Tibetans settled in affluent societies will also think of coming forward with such practical means of showing their support to the common struggle.
Of course, there are criticism—many of them rightly deserved—against the functionin g of the government and against some of its staff. However, that should not be seen as rejection of the institution of government in exile. To my mind no Tibetan has ever said that his grievances would end if this institution is dissolved. Although there is ample room for improvement in it, the fact cannot be ignored though, but for its existence, the good work done in the last two decades in establishing settlements, schools and means of livelihood exclusively for Tibetan refugees would be difficult to visualise. Everyone knows about the existence of the Tibetan government-in-exile and knows that when it comes to dealing with the question on Tibet, this is the most authoritative institution to turn to. In effect, we have a government here, and it is recognised at least unofficially by all concerned—including Peking.
Thus the importance of the people who many organisation cannot be over-emphasised and it’s time ways are devised to attract more capable person there by making their lives slightly more decent and secure. True, nobody joins the Tibetan government to make money, but this does not mean that they are forever be expected to live the lives of ascetics. Substantial rise in salaries may not be possible at the moment. But Gangchen Kyishong, where the central offices are located, can be turned into a more attractive place to live in without involving a great deal of money and effort.
The Finance Office, for instance would do well to remember that the purpose of the staff canteen should not be to make money for the administration. Of course, the canteen will make a loss if the quality of food there is improved, but this is precisely the kind of losses the administration should be willing to accept. I suspect someone does not realize that “financing the administration” and making life better for its staff are not really two separate things.
The same logic also seems to be responsible for the practice of deducting two per cent of the staff salary as ‘voluntary’ tax. The administration agrees that its pay scale barely crosses the poverty line. What then is the point of taking a further slice from it? To the administration the amount thus collected is almost insignificant but to the individual employee it represents two per cent of his total income out of which he has to meet all his expenses.
For the young people, who every year become an increasing proportion of the staff, there is also an acute need for a place of recreation—with perhaps a library and facilities for various indoor games and social get togethers—where the young staff, after a hard day of patriotism, can relax and enjoy life in ways natural to their age. Not long ago, a large hall, said to be for such purposes, was inaugurated; it is now exclusively used for serious meetings, and any suggestion of using it for recreation is likely to be considered sacriligious.
And lastly, something should also be done about the prevailing fallacy that the nearness of the day of independence is directly proportional to the number of man-hours spent in the Dharamsala offices. Addition of Saturday afternoons to the small number of existing holidays will, instead of having adverse effect on the performance of the staff, quite possibly result in increased efficiency.
The donations made by the Tibetans in Switzerland towards a staff medical fund for the Tibetan Government in exile is the most commendable gesture coming from any Tibetan community for some time. With my own six years experience of working in Dharamsala and continuing contact with it, I can without hesitation that the Tibetan administration staff is the most deserving section of the exiled community for such aids. It is to be hoped that other Tibetans settled in affluent societies will also think of coming forward with such practical means of showing their support to the common struggle.
Of course, there are criticism—many of them rightly deserved—against the functionin g of the government and against some of its staff. However, that should not be seen as rejection of the institution of government in exile. To my mind no Tibetan has ever said that his grievances would end if this institution is dissolved. Although there is ample room for improvement in it, the fact cannot be ignored though, but for its existence, the good work done in the last two decades in establishing settlements, schools and means of livelihood exclusively for Tibetan refugees would be difficult to visualise. Everyone knows about the existence of the Tibetan government-in-exile and knows that when it comes to dealing with the question on Tibet, this is the most authoritative institution to turn to. In effect, we have a government here, and it is recognised at least unofficially by all concerned—including Peking.
Thus the importance of the people who many organisation cannot be over-emphasised and it’s time ways are devised to attract more capable person there by making their lives slightly more decent and secure. True, nobody joins the Tibetan government to make money, but this does not mean that they are forever be expected to live the lives of ascetics. Substantial rise in salaries may not be possible at the moment. But Gangchen Kyishong, where the central offices are located, can be turned into a more attractive place to live in without involving a great deal of money and effort.
The Finance Office, for instance would do well to remember that the purpose of the staff canteen should not be to make money for the administration. Of course, the canteen will make a loss if the quality of food there is improved, but this is precisely the kind of losses the administration should be willing to accept. I suspect someone does not realize that “financing the administration” and making life better for its staff are not really two separate things.
The same logic also seems to be responsible for the practice of deducting two per cent of the staff salary as ‘voluntary’ tax. The administration agrees that its pay scale barely crosses the poverty line. What then is the point of taking a further slice from it? To the administration the amount thus collected is almost insignificant but to the individual employee it represents two per cent of his total income out of which he has to meet all his expenses.
For the young people, who every year become an increasing proportion of the staff, there is also an acute need for a place of recreation—with perhaps a library and facilities for various indoor games and social get togethers—where the young staff, after a hard day of patriotism, can relax and enjoy life in ways natural to their age. Not long ago, a large hall, said to be for such purposes, was inaugurated; it is now exclusively used for serious meetings, and any suggestion of using it for recreation is likely to be considered sacriligious.
And lastly, something should also be done about the prevailing fallacy that the nearness of the day of independence is directly proportional to the number of man-hours spent in the Dharamsala offices. Addition of Saturday afternoons to the small number of existing holidays will, instead of having adverse effect on the performance of the staff, quite possibly result in increased efficiency.
posted by editorla at
9:16 PM
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