The 14th Dalai Lama has always described himself as a religious leader rather than a political figure and built himself the image as a symbol of kindness and peace. But his orphan scheme five decades ago that was exposed recently points to his Machiavellian ways in his pursuit of the dream of an independent Tibet at the cost of his compatriots.

In this scheme, his "government", through an agreement with Charles Aeschimann, a businessman from Switzerland, sent 200 Tibetan "orphans" to Switzerland for adoption or placed them in an orphanage in the early 1960s. His ambition was to make it possible for these Tibetan children to receive a good education and use their acquired skills to work for him in the future.

That sounds perfectly reasonable. Helping orphaned children finding new homes and custodians and much better living conditions is a laudable act of benevolence. Not to mention that they are supposed to receive fine modern education, which was beyond imagination at the time in the base camp of the Tibetan "government in exile".

However, that was not the whole truth. Most of the children were not actually orphans, and some of them were brought to Switzerland without the knowledge of their family.

Given the Dalai Lama's overwhelming and unrivalled influence in Dharamsala, little was said and done against the adoption scheme. Obeying the Dalai Lama might simply be a religious and secular obligation to many families that had seen their young children sent away. Many might also cherish the innocent hope that their children, after acquiring the expected skills, will come back and reunite with them.

Yet that turned out to be total illusion. While few of the children have grown up becoming the anticipated talents, some have been struggling to adapt. The fact is many of these children have ended up not being able to speak Tibetan and know little about Tibet.

The Dalai Lama should have known what he did to these children would estrange them from their families and mother culture. But he did it because he cared much more about his "independent Tibet".

It is cruel and inhuman to tear a child away from his or her parents. But the Dalai Lama did it. He should have known how heartbroken it would be for a parent to see their children being torn away from them with the knowledge that they would probably never see their children again in their life time. He should have known how these children would suffer psychologically when they got to know about where they came from and why they were adopted.

In an interview published by Neue Zuercher Zeitung, the interviewee, Ueli Meier, the documentary director, said that the Dalai Lama owes these children and their parents an apology. "An apology from the Dalai Lama is very important to some adopted children," he was quoted as saying.

But the Dalai Lama has never apologized. As a matter of fact, he owes an apology to all the Tibetans whom he has cajoled into following him in his escape from the motherland. But the Dalai Lama has never apologized, since what he cared for the most is "an independent Tibet" of his own. All interests and the human rights of other Tibetans must serve that purpose of his.

The author is a senior writer with China Daily.

(China Daily 10/17/2013 page8)