'We are now in a situation where our country is not yet free.'
'China is still very strong and militarily powerful.'
'In such a situation, we need the Dalai Lama to bring about a resolution to the cause of Tibet.'
'That's one of the main reasons that at age 90, he has accepted that there should be a 15th Dalai Lama after him.'
"The Dalai Lama has prepared the Tibetan community for the eventual future," says Tenzin Tsundue, the well-known Tibetan activist-writer and freedom advocate.
Tsundue's parents escaped the Chinese invasion of Tibet and arrived in India as refugees in 1959. Born in India in 1975, Tsundue has been a steadfast advocate of Tibetan independence.
He shot to fame when he unfurled the Tibetan flag and a giant 'Free Tibet' banner after scaling 14 floors of Mumbai's Oberoi Towers hotel where then Chinese premier Zhu Rongji was in a meeting in 2002. He did the same during premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Bengaluru in 2005 to register his protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet and has been arrested several times.
As a 22 year old, he crossed into Tibet with a burning zeal to fight for freedom and was subjected to torture in a prison in Lhasa. The Chinese police thought he was an Indian spy. He was released after three months and handed back to Indian security personnel at the Ladakh border.
Mr Tsundue, now 50, always wears a red bandana as a sign of protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet and has vowed to take it off only after Tibet is free.
In an interview to Rediff's Archana Masih, he spoke about His Holiness's recent declaration on the continuation of the Dalai Lama tradition and succession -- and what the 14th Dalai Lama means to the Tibetan people.
What does His Holiness the Dalai Lama mean to you and the Tibetan people, especially in view of his 90th birthday over the weekend?
For Tibetans, he's everything.
The Dalai Lama is our spiritual and political leader. Tibetans recognise him as Avalokiteshvara, the avatar or incarnation of the Bodhisattva of love and compassion.
As he turns 90, there is a great sense of joy that he's with us. At the same time, there is a constant fear that considering his age, we may have limited time with him.
So it's both anxiety and satisfaction.
His Holiness has brought the entire Tibetan community in exile to a level where we are united, aware, educated, empowered and connected to the world.
We have passed through very difficult times since the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet 75 years ago.
It is mainly because of His Holiness, his long-term vision and leadership that we have come thus far.
You mentioned that there's an element of fear and concern about his advancing age. Since he has been such a towering personality, what concerns do the Tibetans have about a future without him?
You are looking at it from the outsider's perspective. For Tibetans, there is never a time without the Dalai Lama. The institution of the Dalai Lama is 400 years old.
The Dalai Lama has prepared the Tibetan community for the eventual future.
We have a democracy. We have an elected leader. In fact, the Dalai Lama does not want Tibetans to be solely dependent on the Dalai Lama.
The 14th Dalai Lama is a colossal global personality. His successor will have very giant shoes to fill. Is that a concern for the Tibetan community?
We have had 14 Dalai Lamas and all have been different.
There's never been a Dalai Lama who's more popular than His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.
He is charismatic, charming and has sought world peace rather than just freedom for Tibet. If he had been selfish and worked only for the Tibetan cause, he wouldn't have got this kind of love and reverence around the world.
Almost one-and-half-lakh Tibetans have been living outside Tibet for the past 65 years. They have built a relationship with the international community.
On Wednesday [July 2], the Dalai Lama has announced that the Gaden Phodrang Trust is the authority that will conduct the succession process.
Earlier, a regent took care of the religious and political affairs in the interim period between the previous and the next Dalai Lama.
That system of the regent was discontinued.
The Dalai Lama devolved his political authority in 2011. Since then, he is only the spiritual leader, but of course, the Tibetan community doesn't look at it that way.
For us, he's the both the spiritual and political head, the ultimate leader for the Tibetan community.
At the insistence of the Dalai Lama himself, changes were made in the charter of rules that govern the exile community. The charter discontinued the system of regency and the Dalai Lama relinquished political authority.
The political authority now lies with the elected leadership.
The Tibetan government-in exile [Central Tibetan Administration] has 45 members of parliament. It has a separate executive and judiciary. Sikyong is the president or political leader of the executive.
The leadership has been created through a democratic process. A culture has been created that in itself will provide leadership.
Democracy can be chaotic. Democracy can be difficult, but we have a system in place.
We have seen how Donald Trump is tumbling everything in the United States. But democracy is a genuine practice that is happening around the world. We will also have our own democracy.
What are your thoughts on the Dalai Lama's statement that the tradition will continue and a successor will be selected by the trust?
We have been expecting His Holiness the Dalai Lama to accept the prayers and requests to continue the institution of the Dalai Lama.
He's such a modern man. He wanted that the institution of the Dalai Lama should end and was the one who devolved the political authority. He proposed democracy within the community because he wanted the Tibetan community, like other communities in the world, to be modern and to be able to do things on their own.
He did not believe that a religious leader should run the country. He wanted to bring an end to it.
We are now in a situation where our country is not yet free and independent. China is still very strong and militarily powerful. In such a situation, we need the Dalai Lama to bring about a resolution to the cause of Tibet.
I think that's one of the main reasons that at age 90, he has accepted that there should be a 15th Dalai Lama after him.
Should the issue of Tibet not get resolved within his lifetime, then there will be a need for a leader like the Dalai Lama.
- Part 2 of the Interview: 'China Is Scared Of The Dalai Lama'
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