Conclusion

Politico-cultural invasion of Tibet by China created a situation

which forced a large number of . Tibetans to leave their

motherland. Over one lakh Tibetans left their home to a

destination, which was relatively unknown but always present in

their mind as land of the Buddha. The mass exodus was followed

by the flight of their god-king, the Dalai Lama, The immediate

concern was to save their faith from the Chinese aggressors, who

believed the lamastic tradition as the most exploitative and feudal

system. Their ethnocentric attitude forced 'the Cultural

Revolution,' to the Tibetan people, who were not able to

comprehend a society without religion.

Since 1959, after the Dalai Lama's exile, over three decades have

passed, the unique culture of Tibetans have undergone various

changes, but essence remained the same. It is of sociological

interest, to understand the undercurrent of the exile community,

their spirit and their capacity to survive without losing their

identity.

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It is equally interesting that, the Tibetans have not only preserved

their cultural identity and essence of their religion and ethos

without having any conflict with the host country, but also

adapted the modem ideas. Interestingly, before 1959, most of

them were not aware of anything beyond their national

boundaries.

The rigid cultural ethos of Tibetans, which forced them to leave

their motherland to preserve their culture, also helped them to

fight against all odds. Here, one can not ignore the spirit of

cultural pluralism and accommodative nature of Indian society,

which gave enough space to the exiled community to follow their

own way of life.

The sudden exposure to a community which was living confmed

to there own geographical boundaries, faced resistance towards

change, but changes had been accommodated without losing the

traditional cultural essence.

The present work has brought various social factors in light which

helped Tibetans to maintain their distinct identity and also the

factors which induced social change. The factors, which induced

change are both heterogenetic as well as orthogenetic. Tibetan

society changed due to external pressures as well as internal

needs. The major social institutions have also undergone change,

some were intended but most of them were inevitable.

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Social hierarchy of the Tibetan social structure has been diluted.

Until the Chinese occupatio~ the society in Tibet continued to be

organized on a hierarchical order, based on the two principal

spheres, the ecclesiastical and the secular. The secular sphere of

Tibetan social life used to be determined on the basis of

government posts and property, i.e., land. Even the religious order

was also hierarchical. The three broad social classes, the nobility,

the commoner and the clergy, were also arranged further under

various grades. The hierarchy had a religious sanction. Social

mobility was, however, possible. A Tibetan can scale the social

ladder by enhancing his personal virtues, such as moral character,

intellectual eminence and religious devotion. Status was also

derived from religio-political standing, wealth and family

background. Charisma was also valued, because through it the

individual automatically enhanced his position in the society.

Religious order was further segmented, at the top were the

reincarnations of the Buddha, Boddhisattvas or other high lamas,

and at the lower level the monk.

The traditional hierarchical structure of the Tibetan society has

undergone major change because of change in oc~upatim~ and

change in the value attached to that occupation.

A distinct middle class has emerged among the refugee

community, an out come of modern market economy. Now trade

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is in individual hand, unlike traditional society where except for a

few resourceful merchants, there was practically no middle class.

Family has undergone maJor change. Cases of polyandry is

almost negligible. Reason, neither inheritance of property is a

concern nor population control is needed. Apart from that

monogamy as a value is being adapted. Whatever, may be the

need, it is infect one of the consequences of acculturation. The

young generation believe in one marriage, and this is certainly for

not any political, economic or religious reason, but because they

feel it right.

Now martial alliances are more a matter of choice than rule. Both

'class endogamy' and 'caste endogamy' are no more a rigid

principle. There are cases in which marital alliances have been •

formed outside the traditionally accepted groups. Example of

marrying to foreigners are also seen. In the new setting love

marriages are becoming the norm. Significant change has

overtaken the Tibetan refugee society in regard to the ceremonial

and ritual aspects of the marriage. Gradually, marriage ceremony

is becoming a personal family event which might include its close

circle of friends, rather than an event in the social-life cycle. The

style of nuptial celebration is also changing towards 'western

modes'. It was observed that in the case of the new 'set', the

young group celebrated the occasion by playing western music

and dancing in the western style. Apparently, this was not

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appreciated by the older generation which wanted the marriage to

be celebrated in the traditional style.

The position of women has also changed. Working women are

getting more respect in the family and community. Women are

getting equal educational opportunities; even in economic

activities they are playing an equal role with their male

counterparts. The impact of modernization has also helped in

enhancing the status and role of the Tibetan women. While in

exile, some of them are also seen working in the Tibetan

establishments along with their men-folk in important positions;

they are being represented in their parliament-type organization

which is known as the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies.

Out of the total number of 16 seats formerly three seats were

reserved for women representatives. But s~ce_the year 1975, the

Tibetan Administration in exile has abolished these reserved seats

and women have been given an equal opportunity to compete

with men.

Tibetan cosmology revolves around religion. The institutionalized

presence of religion in the Tibetan social life clearly shows that it

is religions which provides the acts with meaning and validity. In

the traditional Tibetan society, right from the individual to the

nation, almost everyone took refuge in the 'Three Precious

Gems', i.e. Buddha, Dhanna and Sangha. The fourth refuge was

the lama, who symbolized all the three. It is amazing that Tibetans

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expressed slightest doubt about the truth of the Buddha's

teachings. It is the faith that had been challenged by Chinese

"mass education," and they resisted it with whatever possible

manner. Today, they are living as refugee just because their

religious principles were dear to them.

It is equally surprising that, within a relatively short period of

time the Tibetans in India have succeeded in creating the religious

'environment' which is distinctly theirs. The Tibetans in exile

have shown remarkable initiative and activity in quickly setting

up their religious institutions on the Indian soil. As the monastic

establishment has been the most essential feature of Tibetan

religion, the establishment of monasteries has engaged the best

attention of the Dalai Lama's Administration and to a certain

extent community effort has also been made in this direction.

If the continued practice of traditional rituals shows the un­

flagging faith and fervour of the individuals, the once most ·

powerful Tibetan religious institutions also, though now fallen on

evil days, still show their spirit of survival. The Tibetans continue

to draw sustenance from their conviction that they left their

country for the sake of 'saving their religion.' This is not only.

explicit in the statements of their leaders, but also articulated

through the desires and efforts of the entire refugee population.

The same realization is expressed in other ways also, for instance,

in the choice of the country of domicile, if they had permanently

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to settle down outside Tibet. A great majority of respondents

expressed their distinct preference for either India which from

times immemorial has been a centre of pilgrimage to them and

which every Tibetan wanted to visit at least once in his or her

lifetime, or any other Buddhist country. The factors determining

the choice could be safely categorized under two heads, religious,

and other-than-religious.

In India the Tibetan refugees have found the much-needed near­

homely and secure environment. They are happy and grateful that

India has offered them the maximum opportunities to pursue their

religious and cultural aims.

Religion, thus, is the primary concern of the Tibetan refugees; it is

their heart and soul. It would be interesting to see how this

abiding faith strives with the newly emerging socio-economic

forces that have already laid a grip upon the Tibetan younger

generation growing up in India.

Since the Dalai Lama shifted his headquarters to Dharamsala

from Mussoorie in the year 1960, the place has become the centre

of pilgrimage to the Tibetans and other followers of Buddhism.

Since 1960 in this sleepy hill station many religious, educational

political and cultural institutions have been established by the

Tibetans so much so that some parts of the town have turned into

exclusively Tibetan localities. The town itself has come to be

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known as 'Little-Lhasa'. The newly built residence of the Dalai

Lama called 'Thekchen Choling' is the Indian 'Potala' and

includes the personal residence of the Dalai Lama, his office and

personal monastery.

There stands in front of the Dalai Lama's residence a Buddhist

temple built in 1969. The temple is acclaimed as a fme specimen

of Tibetan architecture and craftsmanship. In the centre of

McLeod Ganj in upper Dharamsala a beautiful chorten (stupa) has

been installed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with prayer

cylinders, which has added to the sacred atmosphere of the place.

The Dalai Lama still continues to command the charisma and

holiness which he held in Tibet, though with a lesser display than

before. Throughout the year people from all walks of life and all

parts of the world, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, come to pay

their homage to the 'Living Buddha' and seek his blessings. Most

of the Tibetans who come present the ceremonial scarf (Khatak)

to the Dalai Lama, as a symbol of reverential offering, scarf­

offering among the Tibetans being the symbol of highest

reverence.

The Tibetan refugees settled all over India are also doing their

best to maintain the religious. traditions. Moreover in India

wherever the Tibetan refugee settlements are located, the refugees

have built chorten (stupa), gompas (monasteries) or temples, or all

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the three, and these provide ample evidence of not only the

'Tibetans' full-hearted devotion and deep religious faith but their

fmer craftsmanship which has, as always in past, stemmed from

their intense faith and devotion. In India, as previously in Tibet,

the momentous Kalachakra sermons have been delivered by the

Dalai Lama. Kalacakra is delivered by a Dalai Lama only a few

times during his life-time, six being the customary maximum. The

present Dalai Lama's sixth such sermon was delivered at Leh

(Ladakh, India) in 1976. The present Dalai Lama has gone farther

up to 20 Kalchakra, which emphasized changing nature of

Tibetan religion.

As far as cultural aspects are concerned, the Council of Religious

and Cultural Affairs of the Dalai Lama's Administration in exile,

closely oversees the spiritual and cultural needs and activities of

the entire Tibetan refugee community. The Council maintains

contact with the Tibetan Buddhists as well as with the Buddhists

of other countries. It also ensures that the voice of each Tibetan

Buddhist sect is represented in the Tibetan administration in India

in order to facilitate the proper development of all the sects in the

present state of exile. The Tibetan leadership is equally keen to

preserve Tibetan religion and culture amongst the youngest

generation and to prevent the growth of undesirable tendencies

mainly that of alienation, among them. However, a change in the

attitude of young generation towards religion is obvious, they still

have faith in their religion.

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Change in religious sphere of life has also affected the political

structure of the Tibetan society. The dualistic character of the

Tibetan Government , i.e., the top level of administrative

responsibilities at every level vested m two persons

simultaneously, one monk and the other, a lay official, has

undergone change. However, the Dalai Lama is still considered as

the head of the state.

The Tibetan refugees in exile have undergone a quick process of

politicization. Their experience out of Tibet has helped them to

discover their own shortcomings. But with the introduction of

changes in the Tibetan Administration in exile, its departments

have much greater freedom and leverage today than what could

be thought of in the past.

Under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan

Administration has taken shape in India for the welfare of the

Tibetan refugees. Through its collective and systematic efforts

and Administration has been trying its best to preserve Tibet's

national and cultural identity among the refugee community. The

Tibetan Administration in exile has been functioning on the basis

of the norms and pattern of the traditional 'Tibetan polity. The

supreme authority is vested in the Dalai Lama and the Kashag. As

a government it is no doubt a cripple since it does not have any

formal recognition from the Government of India or other nations

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of the world. But whatever be its international status, the

Administration commands the allegiance of the Tibetan refugees

who look upon it as the Government of their country in exile. To

the refugees the presence of the Dalai Lama at the top invests the

Administration with the traditional prestige and authority.

As far as political changes are concerned, the perception about the

institution of the Dalai Lama, which has always been regarded as

a forbidden subject for any kind of carping discussion, has

changed. Now the Tibetans have started discussing him without

any apparent compunction or hesitation. The office of the Dalai

Lama can be called an office only in a very limited legal sense. It

is a many-splendor phenomenon to which the concept of

legitimacy is applicable only in its very general meaning. It is

certainly a matter of unquestionable faith that the Tibetan

Administration in exile is still under the leadership of the Dalai

Lama. But it cannot be ignored that the Dalai Lama is the only

unifying force amongst the faction-ridden Tibetan refugees. He

still commands total allegiance of his people. Dalai Lama himself

expressed on the possibility of the abolition of his high office.

The newly introduced changes in the Tibetan Administration in

exile are also basically a departure from the old order. To some

extent the present governmental set-up is decentralised whereas

the traditional set-up was highly centralized. Though the

institution of Kashag has been retained and continues to function

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by taking all policy decisions along with holding together the

different wings of administration, each of its departments or

wings has much greater freedom today than in the past.

The introduction of the new institution of the Commission of

Tibetan People's Deputies is a radical innovation in the Tibetan

perspective. Its basis is the democratic principle of representation,

the like of which could never be imagined in the old order in

Tibet. The process of democratization can also be seen in the

functioning of the Tibetan National Working Committee which is

another new institution of great importance, empowered with

supervisory and decision-making power and authority, in some

particular regards at a level higher than the level of the Kashag

and lower than the level of the Dalai Lama. In other words, the

body seems to function at the second highest level. It forwards its

decision directly to the Dalai Lama for his approval.

It is indeed striking that the Tibetan refugees have undergone a

very rapid process of politicization. In the traditional Tibetan

situation the system of the state and government provided

absolutely no scope for democratic political participation. The

changed mental attitude is discernible in the Tibetans' present

fondness for analyzing their national humiliation and their plight

as refugees in the background of their traditional political

systems. They criticised the tradition leadership for making

religion its sole concern to the neglect of other vital fields of

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national life. As a matter of fact the need to divorce religion fiom

politics has become one of the main themes of political discussion

among the refugees.

The new 'Constitution of Tibet,' is a symbol of the emergmg

Tibetan political consciousness and national aspiration. The

Constitution is an epitome of the Tibetan leadership's realization

that the traditional system of Tibetan Government can no longer

fulfill the present needs and also of the hopes of future

development of the country and its people. It embodies the

progressive ideas of constitutional democracy. In fact, the Dalai

Lama himself had felt the need for reform in the traditional

structure, much before pis flight from Tibet.

The introduction of modem political system, is not merely an

outcome of the circumstances, but an inevitable demand of the

time. The process of change, induced by the Chinese occupation,

affected every sphere of Tibetan life. Economy also changed.

Prior to Chinese occupation, Tibet's economy was essentially

self-contained, based upon a peasant-feudal structure. But in the

refugee community, the structure of economy changed drastically.

Most of the refugees, whose traditional profession was trade,

continued to be the traders, of course with certain variations. Very

few number of Tibetan refugees are in service. Amongst the

nobility, most of them had taken up different types of services in

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the Tibetan establishments, a sure way to regain and preserve

their lost status and economic independence. But unlike

traditional order they are no longer on the driver's seat as they

used to be at Lhasa.

The nature of economic activities also depended on the location

of settlements. In Majnu-ka- tila (Delhi), Clement Town

(Dehradun) and hill stations like Dharamsala, the economic

activities are mainly non-agricultural as these are all urban or

semi-urban settlements, with little scope for agriculture. On the

other hand, in the big refugee settlements in Orissa, Karnataka

and other states, where thousands of Tibetan refugees have been

rehabilitated, there has been almost an exclusive emphasis on

providing the refugees with their most staple occupation at home

i.e. agriculture and various works connected with the agricultural

infra structure of composite and modernized agricultural

settlements. ,

Today, Tibetan refugees have not only achieved a fair degree of

economic stability but, as it has been observed, in some cases

even created a kind of business rivalry with the local Indian

businessmen. A majority of the refugees lacked any formal and

technical education; in the absence of any specific skill, it was not

possible to rehabilitate any substantial number of them in suitable

jobs.

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The Tibetan refugees in India have been rehabilitated in different

settlements, agricultural settlements, industrial settlements,

handicraft centres, multi-purpose societies, directly under the

Dalai Lama's Trust, employment in the Tibetan establishments

and in the Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama society, and

individual small scale trade and business enterprises.

There is a great deal of shift from the traditional system of

occupational specialization. Category-wise, a majority of the

nobles still cling to administrative services and the rest of them

are engaged in business and trade. The monks of the former days

show the highest degree of change, since some of them have

renounced their monkshood and taken to different secular

vocations. Many of them as stated before, are also engaged in

business and trade. In the total Tibetan refugee context one can

observe that quite a significant number among them have taken to

cottage industry and household manufacture, largely woolen

garments and carpets, and have been pursuing the line with

commendable expertise and organizational skill. The sale of hand­

woven Tibetan carpet has shown a steady upward trend and is in

great demand all over the world. These items are sold on

individual, small group or cooperative basis. In this context a

noticeable change in the economic pattern is that while some of

the old-time monks have now taken to agriculture, many of the

former agriculturists have been absorbed in petty trade. Most of

the herders, excepting a few living in the border areas, have also

166

changed over to trade. On the whole the Tibetans who have been

absorbed in the Tibetan establishments are only a very tiny part of

the entire refugee community. A fair number still live in special

encampments and are engaged in road construction works and

quite a few have been absorbed in the security services.

The change of geographical location also had some impact on the

class status of the Tibetan refugees. Obviously, clever

enterpreneurship counted for the change in class status. There are

examples when a poor person became rich after migration and

vice versa. It is true that most of the Tibetan nobles who were not

used to hard work, would have perished if they had got no

patronage from their leadership and Tibetan administration. There

is no doubt that those who are working in the Tibetan Administra­

tion in exile do not get attractive salaries but have substantial

'perks' and enjoy many amenities, facilities and better opportu­

nities for their children. They have thus preserved a part of their

old status.

Tibetans have, on the whole, successfully emerged from a self­

sufficient barter economy in to a competitive market economy,

and have adjusted to the new situation which is a tribute to the

Tibetan community in exile. They have learn new skills in

agriculture and industry as well as new trades. Modem education

has opened many avenues to them and a great majority have

improved their economic condition in comparison to what

167

prevailed in the old feudalistic structure where the people were

exposed to various types of economic exploitation. The Tibetan

refugees in India have a feeling that those who have migrated to

the western countries are better off than them. This they feel

purely in terms of material prosperity. The younger generation

have a strong lure and attraction for the affiuent western society.

For the upper-age group respondents it was the religious

atmosphere which was more important than economic prosperity.

It was significant that the younger generation which was a strong

critic of Tibet's traditional leadership favoured a new educational

syste~ progressive economic structure and open and just

opportunities of life. This indeed is an ideological change.

The factors responsible for attitudinal change, includes, cultural

differences in the new set-up and the ways in which new forces

are stirring in the traditional life of the Tibetan refugee society. In

Tib~t, land and live-stock along with gold and silver were the

main criteria for measuring economic status. Another factor was

that the traditional economic life was familial, based on a network

of obligations, to labour on one side and, to be supported on the

other. But in exile with the disintegration of the familial life, the

old idea of cooperative effort and economic security within the

family has been replaced by the acquisition of new skills both

general and technical, capitalization and acquisition of personal

property. The economic well-being is now being measured in

terms of increased income, and possession of the means to buy

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creature-comfort goods and services, rather than of acquisition of

land and live-stock. The economic profile of the changing Tibetan

society is that of a gradual shift from preoccupation with other­

worldliness to a conscious pursuit of worldliness. There is a

distinct clamor for economic betterment, for raising of income,

for acquiring worldly goods and services, and for gaining all­

round prosperity.

It can well be seen that a traditional civilisation is in the process

of change. Every sphere of life is being influenced by modernism.

However, there is a conscious effort by the elite of the society to

retain distinctness and a national identity.

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