Tibet Mirror
Encyclopedia
The Tibet Mirror is the English name of a Tibetan-language newspaper that was published in Kalimpong, India, from 1925 to 1962 and circulated in Tibet. Its originator was Gergan Tharchin who was at the same time its journalist, editor and manager.
) was founded in 1925 at Kalimpong in West Bengal
. After The Ladakh Journal (Ladakh Kyi Akbar), it is the second Tibetan language
newspaper to have been started. Its founder was one Gergan Dorje Tharchin, a Tibetan of Christian denomination who was a pastor at Kalimpong, at the time a border town that acted as a centre for the wool trade between Tibet
and India
. Born in 1890 in the village of Poo (Wylie: spu) in Himachal Pradesh
, he had been educated by Moravian missionaries . Nevertheless, there was no article attempting to proselytise in the newspaper .
, including one for the 13th Dalai Lama who sent a letter encouraging him to continue with the publication and became an ardent reader. (The 14th Dalai Lama
was to inherit the subscription.)
, the Second World War
, the independence of India
, etc.) but also and above all in India, Tibet and Kalimpong itself
Tharchin was in close touch with the British intelligence agents operating out of Kalimpong, a town that was a nest of political intrigue involving spies from India and China, refugees from Tibet, China, India and Burma, plus a few Buddhist scholars and monks. He was acquainted with Hisao Kimura, a Japanese secret agent who had visited Mongolia
on an undercover mission for the Japanese government, then travelled across Tibet to gather intelligence for Britain
In the 1950s, the Chinese Communists attempted to woo Tharchin through a Tibetan aristocrat who requested him not to publish anymore "anti-Chinese" article, and to concentrate instead on the "progress" made by China in Tibet, against the promise of a Chinese order of 500 copies of the newspaper, and the assurance not to go bankrupt. Tharchin refused.
In 2005, the small house where The Tibet Mirror was based is still standing on the Giri road, with a sign board reading "The Tibet Mirror Press, Kalimpong, Estd. 1925" in English, Tibetan and Hindi
Birth (1925)
The Tibet Mirror (MelongMelong
Melong is a Tibetan term that means "mirror", "looking glass". The melong is a polyvalent symbol, divine attribute, and quality of the enlightened mindstream or bodhicitta.-Discussion:The mirror is an ancient symbol throughout Indian religions...
) was founded in 1925 at Kalimpong in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. After The Ladakh Journal (Ladakh Kyi Akbar), it is the second Tibetan language
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
newspaper to have been started. Its founder was one Gergan Dorje Tharchin, a Tibetan of Christian denomination who was a pastor at Kalimpong, at the time a border town that acted as a centre for the wool trade between Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Born in 1890 in the village of Poo (Wylie: spu) in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, he had been educated by Moravian missionaries . Nevertheless, there was no article attempting to proselytise in the newspaper .
Periodicity and circulation
Published on a monthly basis, the journal first came out in October 1925 under the title Yulchog Sosoi Sargyur Melong (Mirror of News from All Sides of the World) ) . All 50 copies that were printed were sent to Gergan Tharchin's friends in LhasaLhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, including one for the 13th Dalai Lama who sent a letter encouraging him to continue with the publication and became an ardent reader. (The 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
was to inherit the subscription.)
Gergan Tharchin
Tharchin was at the same time journalist, chief editor and publisher. He would select the news from the newspapers of which he was a subscriber, and translate them into Tibetan for the journal . He had assigned to himself the goals of awakening Tibetans to the modern world and opening up Tibet to the outside world. The journal reported on what went on in the world (the Chinese RevolutionXinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
, the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the independence of India
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, etc.) but also and above all in India, Tibet and Kalimpong itself
Influence
Despite its confidential circulation, the journal exerted a huge influence on a small circle of Tibetan aristocrats, as well as on a smaller circle of reformists. As the journal was an advocate of Tibet's independence, Tharchin's place became a meeting place for Tibetan nationalists and reformists anxious to modernise their country facing China's imminent return.Tharchin was in close touch with the British intelligence agents operating out of Kalimpong, a town that was a nest of political intrigue involving spies from India and China, refugees from Tibet, China, India and Burma, plus a few Buddhist scholars and monks. He was acquainted with Hisao Kimura, a Japanese secret agent who had visited Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
on an undercover mission for the Japanese government, then travelled across Tibet to gather intelligence for Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
In the 1950s, the Chinese Communists attempted to woo Tharchin through a Tibetan aristocrat who requested him not to publish anymore "anti-Chinese" article, and to concentrate instead on the "progress" made by China in Tibet, against the promise of a Chinese order of 500 copies of the newspaper, and the assurance not to go bankrupt. Tharchin refused.
Demise (1962)
The Tibet Mirror ceased publication in 1962 when the exiled Tibetans brought out their first newspaper – Tibetan Freedom – from Darjeeling Besides, Tharchin was too old to continue publication. He died in 1976In 2005, the small house where The Tibet Mirror was based is still standing on the Giri road, with a sign board reading "The Tibet Mirror Press, Kalimpong, Estd. 1925" in English, Tibetan and Hindi
Books on Gergan Tharchin
- Tashi TseringTashi TseringTashi Tsering is a common Tibetan name. It may refer to:*Tashi Tsering , Tibetan Buddhist teacher, , now residing in Australia and India...
, The Life of Rev. G. Tharchin: Missionary and Pioneer, Amnye Machen, Dharamsala, 1998
- H. Louis Fader, Called from Obscurity: The Life and Times of a True Son of Tibet - Gergan Dorje Tharchin, Tibet Mirror Press, Kalimpong, 2002
See also
- Michael Harris Goodman, The last Dalai Lama, Shambhala, 1986, 364 pages ISBN 0877733554, ISBN 9780877733553
External links
- Digitized access to ninety-seven issues of the Tibet Mirror, published between the years 1933-1961, through Columbia University Libraries.
- Digitized access to seventy-one issues of the Tibet Mirror, published between the years 1927-1963, through the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University.