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Pandatsang Rapga (; 1902–1974) was a
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
ba revolutionary during the first half of the 20th century in Tibet. He was pro-
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
and pro-
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, anti-feudal, anti-communist. He believed in overthrowing the Dalai Lama's feudal regime and driving British imperialism out of Tibet, and acted on behalf of
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
in countering the Dalai Lama. He was later involved in rebelling against communist rule.
Background
He belonged to a branch of the large Pandatsang clan, who hailed from
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
. Pandatsang means "House of Pangda" in Kham. The Pandatsang were an extremely rich
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
pa trading family with enormous influence in Kham. The family leader was Nyigyal. The family's servants were known to often boast "Sa spang mda' gnam spang mda'", meaning "The earth is Pangda's, the sky is Pangda's", and "I am connected to Pangda, what are you going to do to me?" They were behind the rebellion against Lhasa in 1934 and the
Tibet Improvement Party
The Tibet Improvement Party (; ) was a nationalist, revolutionary, anti-feudal and pro-Republic of China political party in Tibet. It was affiliated with the Kuomintang and was supported by mostly Khampas, with the Pandatsang family playing a ke ...
.
Rapga was the brother of Pandastang Togbye, who was a great friend of
Thubten Kunphela
Thubten Kunphel (, 1905 – 1963), commonly known as Kunphela, was a Tibetan politician and one of the most powerful political figures in Tibet during the later years of the 13th Dalai Lama's rule, known as the "strong man of Tibet". Kunphela wa ...
who was from
Nyemo county, located between Shigatse and Lhasa, U-Tsang. Partly out of anger over Kunphela's fall from power after the death of the
13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, Togbye organized a
revolt in 1934 against the Tibetan government within areas they controlled in the western part of Kham, roughly one third of the entire Kham region. His brother had military control while Rapga was more of a "scholar". They aimed to ultimately attack
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, and were required to take
Chamdo
Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...
first.
He did so in the belief that many monks from Kham originating in the large monasteries near Lhasa would support him in this. The Tibetan government knew that the rebellion originated from within Kham. The residence of his family in Lhasa was confiscated, but ultimately negotiations ensued. The reason was that the family was the main exporter of Tibetan wool abroad, and any further incident could affect government funds. As a result of the outcome of the negotiations, the members of the family did not pursue the rebellion further.
While the Kham rebels were escaping from the Tibetan government forces, they were forced into battle against both the Sichuan warlord
Liu Wenhui
Liu Wenhui (; 1895 – 24 June 1976) was a Chinese general and warlord of Sichuan province (Sichuan clique). At the beginning of his career, he was aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT), commanding the Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force from 1927 to 1929. ...
and the Chinese Communist party forces which were on the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...
.
Rapga fled from Kham to
Kalimpong
Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...
via Kanting and Nanking after the revolt failed.
In India
In 1935 Pandatsang Rapga left to India. Some time later, he went to
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, which served as the wartime capital for the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
government during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, where he joined the
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) was a ministry-level commission of the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China. It was disbanded on 15 September 2017.
History
The first model was created during the Qing dynasty in 1636 a ...
of the Republic of China government. In 1939 he left again to return to
Kalimpong
Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...
in India.
The Tibet Improvement Party
In 1939 he eventually founded the Tibet Improvement Party in
Kalimpong
Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...
, in British India. The monk
Gendün Chöphel
Gendun Chompel or Gendün Chöphel () (1903–1951) was a Tibetan scholar, thinker, writer, poet, linguist, and artist. He was born in 1903 in Shompongshe, Rebkong, Amdo. He was a creative and controversial figure and is considered by many to ha ...
, the exiled
Thubten Kunphela
Thubten Kunphel (, 1905 – 1963), commonly known as Kunphela, was a Tibetan politician and one of the most powerful political figures in Tibet during the later years of the 13th Dalai Lama's rule, known as the "strong man of Tibet". Kunphela wa ...
(; ), and the poet
Canlocen (; ) joined as members of the revolutionary party, which sought to topple the Tibetan government in Lhasa and reform Tibet, and sought to "oust the British from India". The party considered the then government of Tibet as entirely outdated, religious and feudal, and sought a more modern, secular government which would pay attention to improving infrastructure, such as the introduction of more advanced technology, better education, and a modern standing army. The ultimate goal of the party regarding the future of Tibet was that Tibet would become an
autonomous republic
An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Man ...
within the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
The reform of the Buddhist religion in Tibet and the liberation of Tibet from the existing tyrannical Government‟ and the revolutionary restructuring of the Tibetan government and society", were among the goals that the Tibet Improvement Party wanted to accomplish. The Party advocated reform by "giving the monks salaries instead of estates and requiring them to study instead of engaging in business". Rapga would attempt to attain his aims for Tibet with the Kuomintang's help.
Pandatsang Rapga was strongly influenced by the ideas of
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, especially his
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People (; also translated as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, or Tridemism) is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China made during the Republican Era. ...
doctrine. He believed that change in Tibet would only be possible in a manner similar to when the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
was overthrown in China. He borrowed the theories and ideas of the Kuomintang as the basis for his model for Tibet. The party was funded by the Kuomintang and by the Pandatsang family.
In 1943 Rapga requested that China help him achieve revolution against the ruling Tibetan authorities in Lhasa as dissent grew among the Tibetan population, and face off against the Tibetan army with his own Kham militia. Chiang Kai-shek received a classified report on these plans from
Wu Zhongxin
Wu Zhongxin, or Wu Chung-hsin (; March 15, 1884 – December 16, 1959) was a General and government official of the Republic of China. He was associated with the CC Clique. In his tenure as the Chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commiss ...
in October 1943. Chiang then gave Rapga a Chinese passport, a salary of 100,000 each month via the
Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission
The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) was a ministry-level commission of the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China. It was disbanded on 15 September 2017.
History
The first model was created during the Qing dynasty in 1636 a ...
, and the cooperation of his secret agents in India, Tibet, and Xikang.
In 1945, Rapga sent Gendün Chöphel on a mission to Lhasa via Tawang and Bhutan to draw maps of the area, while masquerading as a pilgrim beggar monk. When Rapga placed a request for 2,000 membership cards and 4,000 membership forms, the British official H. E. Richardson caught wind of his activities in Kalimpong and the existence of the Tibet Improvement Party. The British deliberated among themselves whether the Tibetan government should be tipped off about the party. The Tibet Improvement Party was reported to the Tibetan government on 10 April by Richardson. The extradition of Rapga was then demanded by the Tibetan government on 26 April, but since Rapga declared himself a national of China Richardson could not go through with the extradition, advising deportation to China instead. Rapga's house was raided on June 19, 1946 for plotting revolution, counterfeiting, and spying, by the police under British orders. Rapga destroyed all relevant party documents beforehand since he was tipped off by the Chinese commissioner in Delhi, but the police searched a suit pocket and found letters documenting Rapga's correspondence with the Chinese over the Tibet Improvement Party. Rapga was ordered to be deported from British India. He requested assistance from the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission in China to halt the deportation.
The British collected information on Rapga under a file titled "Chinese intrigues and Tibetan subversives (Rapga)". Other people affiliated with the Tibet Improvement Party like Abdul Wahid Ladakche, Jampa Wosel, and Kumphel La (Thubten Kunphela)'s activities were also put under surveillance by the British.
Pandatsang hailed the Three Principles of Dr. Sun for helping Asian peoples against foreign imperialism and called for the feudal system to be overthrown. Rapga stated that "The Sanmin Zhuyi was intended for all peoples under the domination of foreigners, for all those who had been deprived of the rights of man. But it was conceived especially for the Asians. It is for this reason that I translated it. At that time, a lot of new ideas were spreading in Tibet", during an interview in 1975 by Dr. Heather Stoddard.
The party had some tensions regarding financing. A section of Pandatsang's family saw the party as an instrument to create an independent Kham state equally independent of both China and the Dalai Lama's Tibet.
The activities of the party were eventually noticed by the British. That led to the Tibetan government becoming aware of the existence of the party and in particular, Pandatsang Rapga. The Tibetans demanded that he be extradited to Tibet, however, it was not possible, due to Rapga possessing a Chinese passport. In 1947,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
expelled him to Shanghai.
Return to Kham
In 1950, Rapga travelled to Chamdo, which is located on the border between the part of Kham controlled by the Tibetan government, and the part which was independent of their control. The
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
had occupied Kham without much opposition from the Khampas. The relationship between the Khampa and the Tibetan
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
government in Lhasa was extremely poor at the time. Rapga offered the governor of Chamdo,
Ngabo Ngawang Jigme
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme (; ; February 1, 1910 – December 23, 2009
) was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951 in Tibet. He is often known simply as Ngapo in English sourc ...
, some Khampa fighters in exchange for the Tibetan government recognizing the independence of Kham. Ngabo refused the offer.
After the defeat of the Tibetan Army in Chamdo, Rapga started mediating in negotiations between the People's Liberation Army and the Tibetans. Rapga and Topgay engaged in negotiations with the Chinese during the
Battle of Chamdo
The Battle of Chamdo (or Qamdo; ) occurred from 6 to 24 October 1950. It was a military campaign by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to take the Chamdo Region from a ''de facto'' independent Tibetan state.Shakya 1999 pp.28–32. The campai ...
. Khampas either defected to the Chinese PLA forces or did not fight at all. The PLA succeeded in the invasion.
The Khampa Tibetans and Lhasa Tibetans held each other in mutual contempt and dislike, with the Khampa in some cases hating Lhasa rule even more than Chinese rule, which was why the Khampa did little to resist Chinese forces as they entered Kham and subsequently took over the entire Tibet.
Rapga stayed independent in his own ideology and politics, refusing to join the Dalai Lama's elder brother
Gyalo Thondup
Gyalo Thondup (; ), born c.1927, is the second-eldest brother of the 14th Dalai Lama. He often acted as the Dalai Lama's unofficial envoy.
Early life
In late fall of 1927, Gyalo Thondup was born in the village of Taktser, Amdo (Ping'an District, ...
in an endeavour in which Gyalo proposed that all different Tibetan factions unite against China and pressure India to act over China's control of Tibet.
Rapga participated in raising Khampa rebels to fight against the Communists during the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion. Rapga continued to cooperate with the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
government after it fled to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, who had also provided training to Khampa rebels against the Communist PLA forces. Rapga claimed to have 100,000 troops under his control.
The Republic of China on Taiwan had a dispute with the United States as to whether Tibet would be independent, since the ROC government claimed Tibet as part of its territory. Rapga agreed to a plan in which the revolt against the Communists would include anti-feudalism, land reform, a modern government, and to give power to the people.
As late as the 1970s, Rapga believed that Sun Yat-sen's three principles were the best hope for Asian peoples against feudalism and foreign imperialism.
References
* Goldstein, Melvyn C. (1991) The demise of the Lamaist State, University of California Press,
* Kapstein, Matthew (2007) The Tibetans, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford,
* Lopez, Jr., Donald S. (2006) The Madman's Middle Way, The University of Chicago Press,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandatsang, Rapga
1902 births
1974 deaths
Tibetan politicians
Republic of China politicians from Sichuan
People's Republic of China politicians from Sichuan
20th-century Tibetan people
Politicians from Chamdo