Though ignored by the press for quite a number of years, the plight of the Tibetans since the invasion of China into their land is no secret to the world. There have been several waves of Tibetan migration, the first one having been in 1959, after the Dalai Lama came to India,having received assistance from the Indian government. Around 120 000 Tibetan refugees have found shelter in India till now. The Tibetan diaspora maintains a government in exile in Himachal Pradesh in India.
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| His Holiness the Dalai Lama |
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| Tibetan refugees in India |
The main organisation of the Tibetan diaspora is the Central Tibetan Administration of the 14th Dalai Lama based in the McLeod Ganj suburb in Dharamshala. Other Tibetan diaspora NGOs deal with the cultural and social life of the diaspora, the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of Tibetan political independence.
Despite the huge influence of the West on the religious ways all over Asia, Tibetans maintain that their religion is that aspect of their culture which has remained the most intact. This translates into thousand of monks and nuns being trained to carry on the monastic tradition that was a central feature of Tibetan life.
During your stay in Dharamshala, you will learn more about Tibetans, their conflicts with China, their feeling of being a displaced community, their identity crisis and their religion, which is Buddhism. Interestingly, Buddhism came into existence in India, in a place called Gaya, in Bihar. Here is a short clip on Buddhism:
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