Dharamshala, 10th October: According to RFA, Chinese authorities have urged Buddhist monasteries in Tibet to translate classroom texts from Tibetan into Mandarin, China’s “common language,” in order to strengthen control over TAR(Tibet Autonomous Region). Beijing has also told monks and nuns to communicate in Chinese rather than their native tongue(Tibetan), according to Radio Free Asia. The goal of this approach is to Sinicize Tibetan Buddhism in China.

This is the most recent evidence from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) that shows Chinese authorities’ true attitude toward minority languages, which is that they are second-class citizens. Chinese officials jailed two Tibetan students last month for ‘opposing’ Beijing’s aim to make Chinese the only language of instruction in Tibetan schools.

In order to consolidate its control on Tibet’s autonomous area, President Xi Jinping’s government is imposing such rules. Chinese authorities threatened to close a Tibetan school earlier this month if it did not deliver classroom teaching solely in Chinese.

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