WI: Buddhist Extremists

The Ubbergeek · Dec 8, 2005

Mort said:
No, im talking 1900s or something like that. Still British colonial India. I wish i was home to get my books... Thats university for you....

I think it was the Gurkas of Nepal then, related as I said to the Tibetans. Not sure.

Mort · Dec 8, 2005

The Ubbergeek said:
I think it was the Gurkas of Nepal then, related as I said to the Tibetans. Not sure.

This is what im refering too. this is all i could find.

"In 1904 the British sent a largely Indian military force and seized Lhasa, forcing Tibet to open a border crossing with British India."

The Ubbergeek · Dec 8, 2005

I'm, any Far East history major here to tell us more on this?

Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy · Dec 9, 2005

Mort said:
This is what im refering too. this is all i could find.

"In 1904 the British sent a largely Indian military force and seized Lhasa, forcing Tibet to open a border crossing with British India."

The Younghusband expedition. The Brits were worried about Russia.

Here's an idea I once had that nobody picked up on: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=23823

sunsurf · Dec 9, 2005

Could they be suicide cultists? What would they think of suicide bombings or hijacking airplanes?

Melvin Loh · Dec 10, 2005

Well, in terms of Tibetans, from what I understand you have the relatively peaceful Buddhist Lhasans and the wild Khamba tribesmen who after the PLA conquered Lhasa in 1950 gave the Red Chinese a hell of a time conducting guerilla warfare in the mtns.

Mark · Dec 10, 2005

When I read this WI, my first thought was about one of my visits to the Korean National War Museum in Seoul. I was looking at a painting of Korean Buddhist warrior monks fighting the Chinese (I know it wasn't Korea at the time depicted, but I forgot which kingdom was involved). I made a comment to my Korean friend about the pacifist Buddhists having warrior monks. My surprise came when I realized that my comment made no sense to him. He had no problems with the concept of Buddhists, even monks, fighting.

NapoleonXIV · Dec 10, 2005

How about at TL where Buddhism becomes hooked in to environmental terrorism? Buddhism is rather nature oriented.

The Ubbergeek · Dec 10, 2005

NapoleonXIV said:
How about at TL where Buddhism becomes hooked in to environmental terrorism? Buddhism is rather nature oriented.

Imagine a Jainist Eco-Terrorism (an indian religion related to Buddhism and Hinduism who is even more respectuous of nature)....

wkwillis · Dec 10, 2005

Buddhists belong to too many sects. Not like Islam where there are only a few big groups. Any CIA backed group would just be too small. The other 95% of Bhuddism wouldn't give them legitimacy. Which is what happened in Tibet. The Vietnamese Bhuddists didn't give a damn about what the Chinese were doing in Tibet, and neither did the Laotians, or the Cambodians.

aktarian · Dec 11, 2005

Nominally budhist Cambodians gave world Khmer Rouge....