Tibet was invaded by China in 1950, and since then it has been under Chinese control.

The Tibetan people have always been against the Chinese rule and have been trying to
bring this issue on the world stage for a long time. China’s claim on Tibet have been
based on ancient cultural and ethnic reasons, they claim that the Tibetan clan, is one of
the five clans which due to historical reasons should come under the Chinese mainland.
Apart from this the Chinese also cite many historical and monarchial reasons to stake
their claim on Tibet. The Tibetans have always opposed the Chinese claims, but to no
avail.
After the Chinese invasion in 1950, the Chinese signed a 17-point agreement, which was
meant to provide autonomy to Tibetans on local issues. The Chinese violated all points
of this agreement in 1959, which led to a mass uprising in Tibet. The Chinese employed
oppressive measure to curb this uprising, especially against religious and secular
institutions , resulting in death of more than 90,000 Tibetans. After this incident, the
Dalai Lama along with thousands of Tibetans fled Tibet and took refuge in India, and
established a Tibetan government seat in Dharmshala, in Himachal Pradesh.
The violence did not stop there. In the succeeding years the Tibetans were made to suffer
a lot by the Chinese government, they were prevented from exercising their fundamental
rights of religion, freedom of speech etc. Since the invasion,almost 1.2 million Tibetans
have been killed in various protests and clampdowns. Despite all this, the Tibetan people
have maintained a non-violent methodology against the Chinese, as non-violence is an
imperative part of their culture and traditions. The government of Tibet in Dharamshala is
known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) but any country does not recognize
it, although it continues to receive tremendous financial support from across the world.
The CTA and many Tibetans do not want complete independence from China, as they
have understood the fact that it will be utterly irrational and impossible to fight against
the control of the Chinese. So, the CTA’s main agenda is autonomy for Tibet in response
various issues like religion, culture, environment etc, with foreign affairs and defense
under control of Chinese. Although there are factions which support the cause of
complete independence from Chinese rule, like the Tibetan Youth Congress. The huge
population of Tibetan Diaspora in India has supported the cause of Tibet and also kept
their identity intact while staying in India. To the young generation of Tibetans, which ha
never been to Tibet, their homeland is a dream, a utopia. They have been raised in an
environment that proudly talks about the rich culture and traditions of Tibet, although
they have never seen it. The youth have not lost touch with their motherland, as they have
high hopes visiting their country one day, and to see it free from Chinese rule. The
current generation of Tibetans is trying their own modern way to spread awareness about
the cause of Tibet, like using the Internet to spread awareness on a global scale, arranging
peaceful marches in different countries to highlight the plight of Tibetans in their own
homeland and to bring their views on independence or autonomy in front of the world.
The people who support the cause of independence for Tibet claim that China will not
entertain the demands of autonomy, as according to Chinese, the Tibetans already have
‘autonomy’, although its simlpy pseudo autonomy, in the so called Tibetan Autonomous
Region. They also claim that China wont even come to the table to talk to Tibetan
delegates as they have complete control over Tibet and they have no obligation or need to
talk to Tibetans on their demands. Thus according to certain groups of Tibetans,
especially youth, complete independence is the only solution. They believe that the world
has to accept the fact that Chinese occupation of Tibet is not valid and just and the world
needs to stop appeasing China, as China is the fastest growing economy and super power.
The majority of Tibetans although are not in favour of independence, as they support the
cause of autonomy, thereby supporting the Middle Way Approach suggested by Dalai
Lama. The middle way approach focuses on democratic government in Tibet, chosen by
the people. The democratic government will look into domestic matters like health,
culture, religion, economy, environment etc, while the Chinese will handle matters like
foreign affairs and defense. Majority of youth, those living in Tibet as well as those living
in India or other countries, support the Middle way approach, as they believe that this is
the only realistic goal that can be achieved by the Tibetans. According to them fight for
complete independence against China will be vain, due to the immense military and
economical might of the Chinese. Other countries of the world are also skeptical to
openly support the Tibetan cause, as it might hamper their relations with China, which no
can afford in the current world order. Hence majority of Tibetans are for autonomy, as
this approach has some room to succeed and through it the dream of millions of displaced
Tibetans across the world, to go back to their motherland can be fulfilled.

One of the major issues that the Tibetan youth are concerned about is the impact and
influence of the Chinese presence on the environs of the Tibetan region. Buddhism has
been the official religion of the Tibetan people from a pretty long time. As a result of this,
there was no reason to bring into effect the various legislations and ordnance to protect
the wildlife and the forest cover of the Tibetan region. Reason behind this: the
interrelationships among the whole spectrum of plant and animal life, human beings, as
well as "non-living being" elements. People lived in close harmony with the nature.
However, after the Chinese invasion, an estimated $54 billion worth of timber has been
cut down from the Tibetan forest cover. As the amount of timber can`t be replaced now,
what the Tibetan Youth Congress and the other youth who are involved in the political
situation of the region are demanding is that a certain amout of the money obtained by the
sale of timber be utilized for the protection of the now present forest cover and for the
plantation of the saplings, so that over a period of time the forest cover that has been lost
be replaced. Another demand of the fore mentioned people involved in the Tibetan
politics is that around 50% of the revenue generated from the felling of the trees be
invested in the Tibetan Autonomous regional development. However, the thing that
should be mentioned here is that this is the perspective of the Tibetan youth which is not
present in the Tibetan region. This is the perspective of the expat Tibetan youth
community.

Another point of major concern for the Tibetan youth is the presence of the Chinese
government forces in the Tibetan region. At any given point in time, there are around
7,00,000-8,00,000 Chinese soldiers present in the Tibetan region. Of these 2,50,000-
3,00,000 are stationed round the year to counter any threat from India`s side. Besides this,
there are 19 military air stations, 9 missile basis and may be 1 nuclear missile station in
the Tibetan region. Due to this vast military expansion of the Chinese army, tillers of the
soil have been displaced from what used to be their ancestral agricultural land. This
development in itself is not of that great of a concern what really is of concern is that,
majority of the Tibetan land is not arable. The percentage of land that is fit for
agricultural activity is very miniscule. This point has been taken up by the various expat
Tibetan youth pointing out that if at some point in time the relations between China and
Tibet may go downhill and China closes off the supply of material to the Tibetan region,
there won`t be enough area under cultivation that will be able to support the needs of the
Tibetan people.

The one point that all Tibetan youth agree to is that, all the factions of the Tibetan
politicians have a common goal. Presently there are three different factions of people
involved in Tibetan politics. These are:

(1). People who want total freedom from the Chinese government.

This part of the Tibetan political spectrum is very small and as such does not exert that
huge amount of influence on the way by which policies are being framed by the Tibetan
government in exile.

(2). People who want a greater autonomy within the Chinese framework.

This part of the Tibetan political system is the most important and powerful among the
various factions of the political groups within the Tibetan government in exile.
This faction is important due to the fact that most of the politicians worth their salt belong
to this faction. Besides this, the Dalai lama is also a man who supports the presence of
Tibet within china but on the basis of a wider and brpader Autonomy. However this
demand of autonomy is not just an autonomy just in a name. What these people want is
Autonomy in the real sense.

(3). The third group of the political faction as understood by the Tibetan youth is the one
that wants to be continue part of China and maintain the status quo. What these groups
say to bring about a logic to theur point of view is that without the Chinese government
involvement, the Tibetans would not have been in a position to bring about a change in
their education system and in the health sector. However, this faction is also too small
and as such powerless to do anything constructive or bring about a revolutionary change
in the way in which the Tibetan government in exile, presently based in Dharamshala is
operating and formulating its policies.

All in all one can say that the youth of Tibet is a group that is politically, strategically and
tactically well aware of the problems being faced by their motherland due to the Chinese
presence. Also, this group is well aware of the repercussions that are going to be present
during the build up of their land socially as well as intellectually when the Chinese move
out in the future, i.e if it ever happens.