Tibetan communities face a new challenge as people leave

There are an estimated 130,000 Tibetan people living in exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan. Most are in Dharamsala, India, where they continue their traditional customs and language with support from outside.  But decades have passed since China occupied their homeland, and the communities have a new challenge. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Dina Lowe explores their changing situation. 

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Transcript

Intro: Derek MacCuish

There are an estimated 130,000 Tibetan people living in exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan. Most are in Dharamsala, India, where they continue their traditional customs and language with support from outside.  But decades have passed since China occupied their homeland, and the communities have a new challenge. In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Dina Lowe explores their changing situation. 

Host Dina Shaw:

After the People’s Republic of China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949, many Tibetans fled to the neighbouring countries of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, establishing vibrant communities in exile just across the border. Now, however, many Tibetans are leaving these traditional settlements and immigrating to the West. What is spurring this dramatic demographic transition? 

To find out, I talked to three experts: Dr Namygal Choedup, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Office of Tibet based in Washington, DC, Dr Joanna Coelho, an associate professor at the DD Kosambi School of Social Sciences and Behavioural Studies at Goa University, and finally, Dibyesh Anand, a professor in politics and international relations with a focus on China and Tibet at the University of Westminster. 

I first spoke with Namgyal Choedup, who works as a representative of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in the US and Canada. He collaborates with the US and Canadian government administrations to advocate for Tibetan rights in the international political sphere. I asked him what life for Tibetans living in traditional settlements has looked like for the past 65 years. 

So, when China invaded and occupied Tibet, and in March, on March 10, 1959, the Tibetan people revolted against invading people's liberation of army, forces of China, yeah, and ended up with the escape of His Holiness, and he's seeking political asylum in India.

So Central Tibetan administration is that legitimate government, yeah, that was formed in India. 

So that's kind of the context when we're talking about CTA or the Tibetan government in exile. And about 85,000 Tibetan refugees fled into India, Nepal and Bhutan, after His Holiness escaped into India, and that's where he set up compact Tibetan communities in the form of settlements, established schools, and cultural and monastic institutions. So, and right from the beginning, he introduced reform and tried to democratize the Tibetan exile community.

And in 2011, he developed world political power. And since then, the Tibetans in exile have been electing their political leader through election. And the Dalai Lama has basically now given up political power.                                                       

The government in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, headquartered in Dharamsala, India, acts as the overarching democratic body for Tibetans living in India. Acting as the political centre for the Tibetan diaspora, cultural, monastic, and educational institutions such as Tibetan Children’s Villages, play a vital role in preserving Tibetan identity in exile. 

However, traditional Tibetan settlements in India, as well as Nepal and Bhutan, are facing a steady demographic decline. What factors have influenced the increased rates of immigration to the West?

Starting in the 90s, there has been, yeah, both official projects were, like to the United Nations, I mean, the United States under the USA Immigration Act of 1990, about 1000, what you say, immigrant visas were granted. That kind of led to the wave of what you say, immigration to the West.

And the Canadian government took about 1000 Tibetans from a remote or more vulnerable, what you say, community in Northeast India to Canada in 20, I think it was 11 or 12. And these kind of led to what you say, out migration from India and Nepal. But that said, I mean, in India, Nepal is a developing country and there are not that much opportunities.         

I mean, we've been really fortunate and blessed by the humanitarian assistance of the Indian government, the Nepalese government. But that said, how many younger people and many migrated to the West? So now we have about, we might say about 40% of the Tibetan exile or the diaspora population in the West, including Europe, Australia. So that makes our, what you say, community much more, what you say, spread out.      

But that said, His Holiness' vision of leadership, we have the central, what you say, institution based still in India. And that's how we have those elections and elect our, what you say, representatives or our political leaders. And it's a challenge, but also it's an opportunity too, because when these Tibetans migrate to the West, they are somehow able to get political asylum and become the citizens of the countries they live in.

So that means they enjoy certain rights. So as a Tibetan Americans, Canadian Tibetans, I mean, they can amplify the voices of the Tibetan people inside Tibet. And this central Tibetan administration, or what you refer to as the government exile, the Dalai Lama has been very clear in the past.   

And also when he devolved political power for us, I mean, democracy is the way forward. And this institution has the moral responsibility to speak on behalf of the people inside Tibet, because they don't have a voice, they don't have freedom. And he has been very clear that once the Tibet issue is resolved, the Tibetan people inside Tibet would decide what kind of future political governance system they would like to have.                        

Until then, people living in exile have that moral responsibility, and the democracy is the best gift we can offer to our fellow brothers and sisters inside Tibet. So this is how we work. And yeah, as another responsibility of mine, we do what you say, liaise with the Tibetan communities in North America.            

And most of the places where they have substantial populations of Tibetan communities, they have what he called community associations or organizations, where they run those cultural centers and weekend schools. But they try to make sure that Tibetan language, culture, are what you say, are transmitted to the younger, which is a generation. 

Because in India and Nepal, we have our own schools where the medium of instruction is Tibetan.

But in the West, it's not really easy to have what you say, Tibetan language schools. So the weekend schools are the best they could do. And there are some communities who are now in a position where they can start charter schools based on the laws of each country.           

And through that, they might be able to, what you say, teach Tibetan language on more regular, what you say, more organized way. Because right now, it's the weekend schools and few hours of what you say, Tibetan language class or culture, dance, music classes. So that's one opportunity that we're looking at.

These are some of the distinct challenges that Tibetans are facing, both living in India and for those choosing to move to the West. Taking all of this into consideration, is increased immigration to the West a good thing for the Tibetan cause? Is immigration and ultimately, citizenship, in Western countries politically empowering? 

Ah, let's know what's the right or wrong answer. I mean, this is the reality.  I mean, people do migrate all the time. And now we have a lot of what's Tibetan communities in the West. And so, as I mentioned before, this is both a challenge and an opportunity.

And yeah, so definitely, as you mentioned, young Tibetans born in North America, because they're naturally citizens of the country they live in. They enjoy certain rights and freedom. And at the same time, they're also Tibetan.                       

And so, like Canada, where multiculturalism is actively promoted. And as Tibetans, we want the Tibetan community in the West to integrate, at the same time, retain their sense of identity or their heritage, and also serve as unofficial spokesperson for the situation inside Tibet. And before the Tibetans migrated to the West, it was basically those supporters of Tibet who made sure that the Tibetan wars are heard in the halls of power and on the international platform,

Now that we have Tibetans who have that connection, that heritage, that history, in that sense, they are, in a way, more, what you say, empowered and more, what's the right word? I mean, more positioned to speak about these issues. So yeah, these are definitely opportunities, yeah.  

We’ve talked about some of the pull factors behind immigration to the West, such as international immigration acts that allowed for the initial influx of Tibetans to countries like Canada and the US. 

I asked Joanna Coelho, a sociologist at Goa University, about the barriers to long term prosperity for the dwindling communities of Tibetans living in traditional settlements in India. What are some of the most prominent push factors motivating Tibetans to leave these settlements? 

So my argument basically is, if the CTA would equip them with living more fruitful lives, you know, in India, in the sense, like, you know, in many Indian states, knowing the local language is beneficial, you know, getting a job, you know, so if they would facilitate them in learning the local language, like India has many languages, and I'm sure you're aware of that, right? We have 1652 languages.                                                      

So the settlements where they are like, say, in Karnataka, Karnataka is the language. So if, because I have a friend of mine, who's done her, who's done her master's in psychiatric social work, and she couldn't get a job in any of the hospitals in Bangalore, because she did not know the local language, because she studied in a Tibetan school. So I understand the policy of non-assimilation      

But at the same time, if they would like the community to remain here, they've got to assimilate a bit, at least like, you know, if they learn the local language, it could facilitate them getting a job here. 

To a certain extent, Tibetans living in traditional settlements are facing the reality that while political and cultural separation from the rest of India is integral to the cultivation of a Tibetan national identity in exile, a degree of integration is necessary for long term economic prosperity. 

I asked Dibyesh Anand to clarify what he thought were the primary reasons that Tibetans were choosing to leave India.                           

It is true to see, in one sense, if you leave the community alone, right, but they can practice the culture and preserve the culture, but then they can't be economically competitive in the broader job market, because the community can't provide you the job. And that is a risk.

So, not only Indian government, by the way, the central TCV, Tibetan children village, all of that, they were geared towards cultural preservation and survival in exile. It's the focus of survival, not flourishing survival, right, and cultural preservation. So, all of it was about how to make sure that there's a continuity between your Tibetan life back home and here.

The constant was that. So, there was hardly any teaching about the local context, India. So, that's the education system even now.

And therefore, there is that as Tibetans now, there's very little hope of going back to Tibet. And to compete with others in Indian job market, they realize that they don't have the social capital that they need. They don't have the right skills or the right language. 

Another barrier facing Tibetans in India is that of political status. This issue is a prominent one for many Tibetans living in India, even those eligible for Indian citizenship. Many people feel that the best route to political status and economic prosperity is to leave India altogether and seek citizenship in Western countries. 

So, when I did a session a few years ago in Delhi about challenges faced by Tibetans in India, it was very much also about a lack of future. Only some Tibetans are eligible to be Indian citizens.     

The court judgment from Delhi High Court was very clear that those who had to be born before 1989, etc. So, this is their particular restrictions. So, many of the new refugees, when I say new refugees, I mean those who left or fled Tibet after the late 1990s, they would not be eligible for citizenship, but they can't.                         

So, the choice doesn't work for them. They have no choice. By the way, they are the ones who are largely leaving for the West. So, this is a choice only for those who moved to India before 1989 or were born in India. 

Because today, of course, as you do know, that a lot of time, Tibetans will justify taking up citizenship here. I say here, like UK, US and Canada, because they say, you know what, then I can go back to Tibet. I'm protected by my Canadian or US passport. 

And, you know, they're not politically, they could, but Tibetans in India can't go back. So, actually, it's easier to, you know, so this whole idea, which I know a lot of us, including government, obviously, that somehow it's closer, you do know that closer doesn't mean anything, if you can't go back. It's like that somehow South Korea is closer to North Korea, when you can't go to North Korea from South Korea.

But then no one from India can go into Tibet.

The young generation that's usually not born in India, but born in Tibet, what would be called the new refugees. They're the ones moving very quickly because they have no status in India, practically. Those born in India to Tibetan parents, some of them are moving like, you know, any people can move from here to there and move to the West.