Tibetans of Dharamsala in Exile: Negotiations and Survival

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Organization of the community in India. 3. Description of the area. 4. Expression of Tibetan identity. 5. Religious identity of the Tibetans. 6. On the boundary: inter-ethnic relationships. 7. Conclusions. References. 

This book is an account of identity of a community that has successfully withstood displacement and adapted itself to a country where the majority of people they deal with are distinct from them in racial, cultural, linguistic and religious terms. At a time when Europe grappling with the problem of refugee influx, this book shows how a community negotiates and creates a space for itself in an alien land. The journey since 1959, when his Holiness the Dalai Lama, arrived in India, has seen many ups and downs but it is the sheer spirit of Tibetans, not to become a ‘sympathy stock’ for the world but to turn all obstacles on the way to their best advantage. The book documents the resilience and struggle of the community to recreate their homeland far away from their homes.