Beijing, Feb 8 (IANS) The Chinese government has reportedly increased restrictions on religious life among Tibetans by imposing a ban that stops children aged below 18 years from entering monasteries, a report said.
This development was revealed after a video surfaced on messaging platform WeChat, sparking concerns over violations of Tibetan cultural and religious rights, Phayul, a news portal about Tibet and Tibetans-in-exile, noted.
Notices stating “Children under 18 are not allowed in the monastery” have been reportedly placed at the entrance of a monastery in Kham, indicating the stringent enforcement of China’s long-standing policies of restricting participation of minorities in religious activities, it reported.
The implementation of the policy coincided with the winter holiday period, when schools in Tibetan regions remain shut for their annual break. During this time, many Tibetan children used to visit monasteries with their parents. However, China’s ban during the holiday period prevents children from entering monasteries even when accompanied by their families.
Sonam Tobgyal, a researcher at Tibet Watch, stated that China’s decision is part of a systematic effort to undermine Tibetan cultural transmission.
“In recent years, a series of Chinese policies in Tibet — such as compulsory pre-nursery boarding schools for Tibetan children, the prohibition of Tibetan language instruction in monasteries during holidays, and the ban on children visiting monasteries during winter breaks — point to a deliberate deprivation of cultural nurturing during the most formative years of childhood,” Phayul quoted him as saying.
Tobgyal stated that these measures together constitute a “colonial project aimed at erasing Tibetan cultural imprints from the everyday lives of young Tibetans,” according to the Phayul report.
State-run schools for Tibetan children include an additional administrative structure monitored by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an agency whose work is to manage ethnic minorities and religious groups. This department oversees Tibetan students, subjects them to ideological indoctrination, and promotes policies of forced linguistic and cultural assimilation, according to a report in Phayul.
Through this system, Tibetan children are encouraged or forced to leave their native language and support the Chinese language, identity, and political loyalty. Critics stressed that these measures are aimed at reshaping Tibetan children into individuals who speak, think, and identify as Chinese. Parents have reported that children, when they are home for winter and summer holidays, speak to one another in Chinese, respond to questions in Chinese and show fear or hesitation about visiting monasteries.
–IANS
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