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Journey to India and the impact on Tibetan culture

In this post we will go over the hardships on the journey for Tibetans from Tibet to India and what kind of influence India has had on Tibetan culture. The Tibetan Diaspora happened in 3 waves: in 1959 80,000 refugees followed the Dalai Lama to Dharamsala in India, another wave came in the 1980s and the last wave began in 1996. Making their journey through the Himalayas mostly on foot and if they were lucky, some of it by bus was really not an easy task. Many died along the way, while others who made it to India died due to the heat or other diseases that they became susceptible to. Most journeys took 34 days on average (depending on the share between finding a bus or walking). They came to India having been violated in many ways, being abused both physically and mentally by officers along their journey. Some women even reported sexual assault at gunpoint. There are many personal stories of the hardships they faced throughout the whole experience ranging from losing family members, to watching people getting tortured and more. 

Coming to India, Tibetan culture has been highly influenced by their new settlements but they have done an amazing job on preserving their culture, encouraged by the Dalai Lama. There are about 70 schools that have been set up specifically for Tibetan children. These schools are taught in a Tibetan medium which helped encourage Tibetan children to go to school. All subjects were taught in Tibetan and the teachers also dressed in traditional Tibetan clothes as well. Most refugees left Tibet at a very young age and this has left deep scars in their lives. However, “they feel keenly the importance of preserving our identity, why we left and what we wanted to save” because of the hardship that they have gone through. 


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