Politics

We have now had class for two full weeks. My grammar teacher has been MIA since the third day of class. No one at the school has offered any info as to the reason for his absence, but we discovered through various channels (one of them being are substitute teacher, who is Tibetan) that he is in fact in jail because he was at a candlelight demonstration, or vigil, or something (it’s not clear) at the stupa. I’ve heard various rumors: that it was a vigil for the monk who immolated himself in Sichuan some time ago, or that it was somehow related to Saka Dawa…we basically don’t know anything. Every class has a foreign (English-speaking) shedra employee who also sits in on the class and helps teach when necessary, and ours has not offered any information. We don’t want to make her uncomfortable by asking about it. On the other hand, we also feel like we might be missing out on some important information.

The situation regarding the Tibetan community here appears to have shifted quite drastically in the last few years and is obviously the result of Nepal’s growing dependency on China. There are (at least) three English language newspapers printed in Kathmandu, and I have been reading at least one every day since I arrived. There have been several articles about the Chinese government’s insistence that the Nepali government control Tibetan political demonstrations. The head of the summer program here also came around to our classes to talk to us about the Dalai Lama’s birthday, which is this Wednesday. It sounds like she gave the various classes (there are three levels of Tibetan, plus Sanskrit, Nepali, and Buddhist Studies) significantly different information, so we’re a bit confused. She just told our class that we shouldn’t go to Swayambhu, where the birthday celebrations will be held, and that buses and taxis going in that direction have been turned around by police in the past. However, one of my friends said that they were told in their class that two shedra students on one of those buses had been taken straight to the airport and deported, never to be allowed in the country again. That’s a pretty significant repercussion that I would not have guessed was possible, so I’m surprised she didn’t share that with us. We thought maybe it was because, as she told us, we are the advanced students who have been to Kathmandu before and therefore her warning to us is “different.” Still, given that this political climate is fairly new, I would have liked a little more information. One thing we know for sure is that there will be tons of police in riot gear all around the Boudha stupa that day. I might take that opportunity to go eat good food in Thamel, the tourist district.