Around 80 Tibetan Monk Students Have Been Forcibly Expelled From the Monasteries
GHRTV Reporter
Arifur Rahman,
Tibet and Human Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defense.
Around 80 Tibetan monk students, that is, 30 monks from Jakyung monastery and 50 monks from Ditsa monastery, have been expelled by Chinese authorities forcibly. The students were removed following the raid by security officers in the monasteries and were sent back to their home. The reason for such expulsion is that the monasteries have violated a decree which forbids persons below the age of 18 to be enrolled in a monastery rather they should be enrolled in schools. However, the purpose for such policy has never been given and such policy has been used to target other monasteries too, instead. Accordingly, it results in the expulsions of a large number of student monks across Tibet. The expelled monks have also been instructed not to wear any monk robes as well as not to attend the school in the future.
Enrolling children in monasteries in Tibet has been a traditional practice that is going on for centuries as Tibetan people believe that it is a great opportunity for the better upbringing of their children and also for the traditional learning of Tibetan culture because Tibetan monasteries are considered as the symbol of Tibetan Buddhism and cultural identity. However, the policy to ban the enrollment of children in Tibetan monasteries has been seen as an attack on the “Tibetan way of life”.
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