On March 28, the people of Tibet will commemorate 50 years since their liberation from the region’s former feudal theocracy.
In 1959, the Chinese revolutionary leadership dismantled the feudal system, abolishing slavery and giving serfs paid employment. Until then, the vast majority of Tibetans were serfs or peasants. Under the Dalai Lama—the “god-king” of the Tibetan feudal system—serfs were bound to the land, at the disposal of the rich, land-owning monasteries and aristocracy. Poverty, hunger and disease were widespread.
Religion has ceased to be an instrument of repression, and education is no longer the sole province of the monasteries. By 2000, 86 percent of school-age children were enrolled in schools. There are now 70,000 elected representatives when before the masses were excluded from political life.
The Dalai Lama’s opposition to the revolution must be seen for what it is: a call to restore the former Tibetan ruling class aligned with imperialist interests.
