page_title: Lhakar
section_title: Weaponization of culture
hierarchical_section_title: Lhakar / Strategy / Weaponization of culture
context_page_description: Lhakar is the self-reliance Tibetan movement which appeared after the Tibet uprising against Chinese rule. The movement is based on a nonviolence strategy, applied through social, cultural, and economical activities.
context_section_description: Disempowering usual perceptions of culture, Lhakar started to use art, literature, poetry and music as a tool to gain greater political rights. They are using aspects of traditional Tibetan culture, such as expressing their faith in the Dalai Lama, and love of their homeland. Songs with politically charged lyrics or music videos with images of the Dalai Lama became more widely circulated and known. This upsurge in the public consumption of Tibetan music and poetry has spawned a modern renaissance in art and literature across the plateau. I has been asserted that through these activities, Tibetans are rediscovering "how culture can save politics, instead of politics to save culture". 
  The Lhakar movement is encouraging the revival of public enthusiasm for studying Tibetan.
  In various parts of Tibet, elders and children take pledges to speak pure Tibetan, shedding Chinese terms from their vocabulary. Their pledge is as follows:
  I am Tibetan, from today I will speak pure Tibetan in my family.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will speak pure Tibetan whenever I meet a Tibetan.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will remind myself every day that I am a Tibetan till I die.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will wear only Tibetan traditional dress, chuba, every Wednesday.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will speak only Tibetan every Wednesday.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will learn Tibetan language.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will stop eating meat and only eat a vegetarian diet and gain more merit every Wednesday.
  I am Tibetan, from today I will only use Tibetan and speak Tibetan when I call or send a message to Tibetans.
  In Sertha in Kham, elders hand out free dictionaries to youngsters. Writers and musicians in eastern Tibet, many of whom preferred the dominant Chinese language as their artistic medium, now compose and perform in Tibetan. In restaurants and cafes, the owners serve customers only when they order in Tibetan. Weibo users tweet in Tibetan every Wednesday; Renren and Facebook users regularly post images and poems that carry political messages. Social networks contribute to spreading knowledge about Lhakar
  Also, the Dalai Lama is one of the creators of The Lhakar Diaries, a blog and Facebook group that chronicles a group of young Tibetans' quest for culture reckoning as they pledge to participate in Lhakar and record their experiences.
caption: A thangka painting in Sikkim
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