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RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Dalai Lama set to reveal succession plan as China watches
By Krishna N Das , Reuters Dalai Lama. Photo: MONEY SHARMA / AFP Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of Buddhist religious figures this week ahead of his 90th birthday, as his followers wait for the Tibetan spiritual leader to share details about his succession in a move that could irk China. Beijing views the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, as a separatist and said it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama has said his successor will be born outside China and urged his followers to reject anyone chosen by Beijing. Tibetan Buddhists hold that enlightened monks are reborn to carry forward their spiritual legacy. The 14th Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday and has said he would consult senior monks and others at this time to share possible clues on where his successor, a boy or a girl, could be found following his death. "The rest of my life I will dedicate for the benefit of others, as much as possible, as extensive as possible," the Dalai Lama told a gathering of his followers on Monday as they offered prayers for his long life. "There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas," he said, without elaborating on the framework. He has previously said he could possibly reincarnate in India, where he lives in exile near the northern Himalayan town of Dharamshala. He was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two. Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, said it was important for the world to hear directly from the Dalai Lama on the issue because while China "tries to vilify him at every chance ... it is trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand". "China is trying to grab this institution ... for its political purpose," she said. "We want the incarnation of the Dalai Lama to be born not only for the survival of Tibet as a distinct culture, religion and nation, but also for the well-being of the whole humanity." Thupten Ngodup, Tibet's chief state oracle, said typically such discussions on the reincarnation do not take place when a monk is still alive but things are different now mainly because the "Chinese government is interfering". Beijing said in March that the Dalai Lama was a political exile who had "no right to represent the Tibetan people at all". China has said it is open to discussing his future if he recognises that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China, a proposal the Tibetan government in exile has rejected. The religious conference this week, being held for the first time since 2019, will be attended by more than 100 Tibetan Buddhist leaders and will feature a video statement from the Dalai Lama. Hollywood star Richard Gere, a long-time follower of Tibetan Buddhism, will be among those attending, organisers have said. The Dalai Lama will attend prayers called by the Tibetan government in exile on 5 July and participate in his birthday celebrations a day later, according to a schedule shared by the organisers. He will speak at the celebrations for about half an hour. India's parliamentary affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju, and some other Indian officials are expected to attend. Tibetans have been praying for his long health, especially since knee surgery in the US last year, although the Dalai Lama told Reuters in December that he could live until he was 110. The previous Dalai Lama died earlier than expected at 58. The Dalai Lama and Tibetan officials say there is a system in place for the government-in-exile to continue its political work while officers of the Dalai Lama's Gaden Phodrang Foundation search and recognise the next Dalai Lama. The current Dalai Lama set up the foundation in 2015 and its senior officers include several of his aides. Teykhang and other Tibetan officials said the Dalai Lama has been preparing his people for the day when he is gone, especially through his 2011 decision to hand his political role to a democratically elected government, ending a 368-year-old tradition of being both spiritual and temporal head of Tibetans. "Since he has come in the form of a human, we have to agree that there will be a moment when he is not with us," said Teykhang. "His Holiness has really prepared us for that day, he made us act as if he's not there." -Reuters
The Star
25-06-2025
- General
- The Star
In India, a programme based on mother tongue is helping kids with their reading
Sitting together on the classroom floor in Kalyanpur in northwest India, a dozen children aged five and six are trying to identify Hindi words beginning with the 'p' sound. After a spontaneous 'papa', the children unanimously agree on 'papaya' – spelt out at the top of their lungs by the entire class. But for these children, born into an Indigenous tribe in Rajasthan state, learning to read in a language neither they nor their parents speak is a challenge. To break this pattern, authorities launched a programme in two Rajasthan districts to teach students to read in their mother tongue. Months after the experiment began, there is progress. 'I used Hindi language with the children, but I could see that they were not responding well,' said their teacher, Jashoda Khokariya. 'They were scared, and were not able to answer my questions,' she added. 'Now, it's a miracle – there is not a single child who is not able to respond.' Indian school enrolment rates are high – but performance is much lower. One key problem in the world's most populous country, where 1.4 billion people speak a mosaic of over a hundred languages, is that primary school teaching is often in a language the children do not understand. A dozen children aged five and six are trying to identify Hindi words beginning with the 'p' sound. After a spontaneous 'papa', the children unanimously agree on 'papaya', spelt out at the top of their lungs by the entire class. Photo: MONEY SHARMA/AFP Multilingual society At the age of eight, only 39% of Indian students reach the required reading level. At 15, the situation is even worse. The rate drops to 10%. Poverty, early marriage and poor teacher training are all to blame – but language plays a part too. 'We have a multilingual society; this needs to be accounted for when children come to school,' said Saadhna Panday, from United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). 'Several studies have demonstrated that children learn best in the early years in their mother tongue.' But this is rarely the case. In many Indian states, students are taught in English and Hindi, of which families may have little knowledge. Since 2020, the national education ministry has said that primary education in students' mother tongue is a priority. Rajasthan ticked all the boxes to host a pilot project. A survey in nine of its rural districts revealed the magnitude of the task: 250,000 primary school students speaking 31 languages. Three-quarters of them are far from understanding – let alone speaking – Hindi. Students read the study material pasted on the wall of their classroom. Photo: MONEY SHARMA/AFP Many obstacles The programme faces multiple hurdles – one of these being that teachers are not trained to use the children's language for formal teaching in the classroom. 'There were many obstacles,' said Shweta Fageria, director of Rajasthan's State Council of Educational Research and Training centre. 'We first created dictionaries by using the local dialect,' she added, before making them trilingual with Hindi and English. At the Kuwadi Nichala Fala School, a spartan concrete building on a dusty hill, 13 first graders – aged around five to six – leaf through the dictionary every school day. It is a far cry from the other side of India's education system – the ultramodern technology institutes whose prized pupils are snapped up by Californian tech giants. In the sweltering heat, the top student deciphers a few lines. He is still far from mastering reading in his native Wagdi – a language with more than three million speakers, according to the last census. But he is making great progress, like all the students in his class, according to his teacher. 'They can now read words,' Lakshmi Kumari Patel said. 'At this age, it takes time for a child to be confident, to actively participate,' she added. 'Now they are more expressive... engaging in conversations without hesitation.' Young students read books in the classroom of a government primary school. Photo: MONEY SHARMA/AFP Abysmal schooling Parents are now more involved too. Since they speak the language being taught, it's up to them to support their children by having them read and telling them stories. Lalita Parmar, 62, understands the benefits that her grandchildren's education can bring. 'They will be able to get a job, then they will earn and eat,' she said. 'If one gets a job, the whole family will benefit.' The state government, Unicef and a local partner have given themselves two years to succeed and, if necessary, to expand. 'Through the programme in Rajasthan, we have seen an improvement in children's attendance at school ... teachers are more structured, more planned in using the learning materials available in the classrooms, parents are getting more involved in schools,' said Unicef's Panday. 'We expect children to have better learning outcomes.' The future of India and its economy depends on it, writes economist Ashoka Mody in his recent book, India Is Broken. 'The quality of school education in India remains abysmal,' Mody wrote, noting how competitors were progressing. 'India's attempt to make progress on the cheap by unconscionably delaying these investments in education, health and cities has taken its toll.' – AFP
