Varun Sahni Advocates Compassion in International Relations at MOG Exhibition

Written by Intern Rency Gomes || Team Allycaral 

Panaji, March 2026: Compassion must become central to decision-making in international politics if conflict is to be reduced in an increasingly unstable world, Prof. Varun Sahni said while inaugurating the exhibition Refuge, Rights & Resilience: The Tibetan Story at the Museum of Goa (MOG).

The exhibition, co-curated by the Tibet Museum and the Museum of Goa, is part of The Infinite Ripple – 90 Years of Compassion. Delivering the keynote address titled “Compassion in a Complex and Often Cruel World,” Sahni reflected on global power shifts, rising extremism, technological disruption and environmental crises.

A Professor of International Relations at Ashoka University and former Vice Chancellor of Goa University, Sahni argued that alongside systemic change and geopolitical competition, a deficit of compassion continues to shape contemporary global crises.

Recalling a past meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama, Sahni said he was told that until compassion becomes the source of decision-making, conflict in international politics will remain inevitable. “Over the years, I have come to better appreciate the depth of that remark,” he said during the MOG Sunday talk that opened the exhibition.

Breaking down global complexity, Sahni identified three categories of contemporary challenges: new global issues such as climate change and pandemics; longstanding problems requiring new solutions, including trade and resource scarcity; and traditional security concerns complicated by new actors. He described the present moment as one of both power transition and systemic transformation, marked by cultural extremism and fragile political systems.

Addressing the concept of cruelty, Sahni suggested it may arise from insecurity, learned behaviour, instrumental control or even sadistic impulses. However, he maintained that most cruelty can be countered by expanding empathy. “Compassion goes beyond empathy,” he said. “It is empathy in an active voice — a desire to help and take action.”

The exhibition explores the Tibetan experience of exile since 1959 and the preservation of cultural identity without territorial sovereignty. Tenzin Topdhen, Director of the Tibet Museum, described it as “not simply about history, but about human endurance.”

Speaking as a Tibetan refugee, Topdhen drew parallels between Goa and Tibet, noting shared histories of colonisation, migration and identity. “Culture is not preserved in museums alone. It lives in kitchens, in festivals, in children’s laughter,” he said, adding that resilience in exile has meant rebuilding institutions while safeguarding language and memory.

Topdhen emphasised that the Tibetan struggle has centred on nonviolence and dignity, guided by the belief that losing a homeland should not mean losing humanity. The exhibition features archival material, photographs and personal narratives highlighting rights, memory and cultural continuity.

Quoting from a recent publication by the Dalai Lama, Sahni concluded that in an increasingly interconnected world, societies must rise above narrow self-interest for the sake of shared humanity and a fragile planet. “The survival of Tibet and the Tibetan people,” he read, “is in the larger interest of humanity itself.”

The exhibition will remain open to the public at the Museum of Goa until March 8 and will conclude with another MOG Sunday talk by Karma Thupten, Director of the Sager Science Foundation, a Tibetan educational initiative promoting science education among monks and nuns.