The 6th Young Indian Scholars’ Conference on Tibetan Studies, organized by the Tibet Policy Institute and funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, took place at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, from October 17th to 18th. The two-day conference was attended by four prominent scholars and 25 young emerging Indian scholars. The focus of this year’s conference was Tibet and the South Asia.
Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, the Deputy Director of the Tibet Policy Institute, addressed and welcomed Kalon Norzin Dolma, the Minister of the Department of Information and International Relations, CTA; the four expert scholars—Professor Ramu Manivannan, Prof. Vasudha Pande, Prof. Swatahsiddha Sarkar, and Prof. Sonika Gupta; and the 25 young Indian scholars participating in the conference. He highlighted the conference as a collaborative space to revive the scholarly exchanges that existed from the 7th century between Tibet and South Asia. He expressed his gratitude to Passang Tsering, the Principal of the college for Higher Tibetan Studies, for the venue of the conference and welcomed all journalists and observers.
Honorable Kalon Norzin Dolma, the Minister of the Department of Information and International Relations, CTA, and also a co-chair of the Governing Body of the Tibet Policy Institute, delivered the inaugural speech. She thanked the TPI and all participants, pointing out the core of the conference as the Sino-Tibet issue and its implications in South Asia and across the globe. She asserted the relevance of Tibet in three key points: the Chinese occupation of Tibet, Tibet’s geostrategic importance, and Tibet’s historical, cultural, and social ties with South Asian countries.
In his keynote address, Professor Ramu Manivannan, the Director of Multiversity, Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and one of the four expert scholars, highlighted the theme and focus of the conference. He touched upon China’s unreliable narrative from the 16th century to the 1954 agreement and the 1962 war, stating that India’s stance on Tibet reflects a loss of memory. He urged a critical revisiting of India’s inherited lens on the Himalayas. He contended that sympathizing with Tibetans and Tibet is not enough; India should restore its memory and consciousness of Tibet as a neighbour.
Passang Tsering, the Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, and the venue host, expressed his great pleasure in welcoming young Indian scholars interested in Tibetan studies and conveyed his excitement for two days of intense debate and discourse.
Structure of the Conference
The conference was organized into eight panels, categorizing the presenters based on their research interests and topics, and included one expert panel at the end of the session. Four experts were invited to review all presentations. The experts included Prof. Ramu Manivannan, the Director of Multiversity Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Prof. Vasudha Pande, Prof. Swatahsiddha Sarkar, and Prof. Sonika Gupta. Dr. Tenzin Desel and Dr. Tsewang Dorjee, researchers at the TPI, were also part of the review committee. Day one of the conference accommodated four panels in which twelve research papers were presented. The second day had five panels, one of which was the expert panel. Overall, thirteen research papers and two expert presentations were given on the second day. All participants were allotted twenty minutes to present, followed by another twenty minutes for a question-and-answer session for each panel. The first and second panels were moderated by Dr. Tenzin Dasel and Dr. Tsewang Dorjee, research fellows at the Tibet Policy Institute, while the rest were conducted by the participants themselves. The entire conference was broadcast live on Tibet TV’s YouTube channel.
Panel- 1: Tibetan Language, Arts and Literature.
Moderator: Dr. Tenzin Desal, Senior Research fellow,TPI
Sameer Hasan, a Research Scholar at Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bihar, presented a paper on the representation of Tibetan life in exile through films and literature. His research focused on films like The Sun Behind the Clouds and My Country is Tibet, analyzing themes of cultural preservation, political activism, and personal refugee stories. He examined the narrative structures and character depictions in films such as Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet, highlighting the struggle and resilience of Tibetans in exile. Additionally, his study included literary works ranging from memoirs and autobiographies of the 14th Dalai Lama to fiction and poetry, such as Xinran’s Sky Burial and Tenzin Tsundue’s writings, aiming to introduce new voices to the established narratives.
Dorjee Dondup Negi from Nava Nalanda Maha Vihara University explored the status of the Tibetan language through ethical studies, emphasizing its role in conveying core human values like compassion and non-violence. His research examined both classical and modern Tibetan scholars, including Songtsen Gampo and the 14th Dalai Lama, to highlight the language’s significance in promoting cultural dialogue and universal harmony.
Jeherul Bhuyan from Darul Huda Islamic University analyzed the works of Tibetan poets in relation to local poetry of Dalits and Miya communities in Assam, identifying connections in resistance themes between marginalized communities.
Anjumara Hussain from Birangana Sati Sadhani Rajyik Vishwavidhyalaya compared the portrayal of women’s bodies in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadow and Tsering Yangzom Lama’s We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies, using feminist and gender studies to explore identity and memory.
Panel-2: Tibetan Diaspora and Demographic Transition.
Moderator: Dr. Tsewang Dorjee, Research Fellow, TPI
Dr. Tashi Phuntsok, an assistant professor at Vidyasagar college, West Bengal presented on Demographic Transition in India and its impacts on the Tibetan community. His findings revealed the growing Indian population and a falling fertility rate below the replacement level since 2021. The research described the Indian economy as capitalist-intensive accompanied by unemployment, issue of migration, dominance of Informal sector and rising cost of raising children. His findings revealed unemployment and migration as two major “dual Problems ” faced by Tibetan community in south Asia as corollary to changing eco-demo state of India. As a result, force migration to outside of Tibetan settlements and immigration to the west is being witnessed.
Dr. Barun Roy, Assistant Professor, university of North Benga, West Bengal presented on the diasporic media and its role in the formation of a collective consciousness and identity among the scattered diasporic populace. The paper explored the role of diasporic media in maintaining the cultural roots of Tibetan Diasporic community while negotiating with the mainstream society of the adopted land and how it strengthens and allows alternative interpretation to the dominant ‘official’ narratives.
Kalayani Yeola from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Goa presented on the transformation of Dharmshala into a Global Tibetan Buddhist Hub. Her Research presented the transition of a ghost town to Dharamshala today as the hub of the Tibetan and the Buddhist communities across the globe by employing Hobi Bhaba’s third space as a theoretical Framework. The evolution of Dharamshala was projected as a space of resilience and Unity of the Tibetan community.
Panel- 3: Historical perspective on Tibet
Moderator: Balsubramanian C, Senior Research Officer, centre for National Security Studies, Karnataka.
Japneet kaur, Research Associate at Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR delivered a case study of Chinese Archaeology of the Guge Kingdom. The paper explored Chinese Archaeological writings on the Guge Kingdom in the western part of Tibet and its attempt to strengthen and maintain its claim over Tibet through its age-old tool of ahistoricization. The paper highlighted China’s investment in three history writing project in 1990s and the development of Guge kingdom as a tourist site and projection of it in popular culture in forms of Documentary to disseminate false narrative. The paper utilized Chinese sources hence the experts cautioned the researcher to be vary and critical of the language employed in the research paper.
Aastha Rai, a Research Scholar from Sikkim University, retold the story of the Lepcha spy Kintoop, who was hired by the British in 1880 for a mission to go beyond the border to investigate whether the Tsang-po River of Central Tibet was the same as the Brahmaputra River in Assam, and who eventually was sold as a slave by his companions. The objective of the paper was to retell the story of this explorer, gather related sources, and highlight them in academic journals.
Panel- 4: Interrogating Anthropocene
Moderator: Japneet Kaur, Research Associate, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCRB
Balasubramanian C, a senior research officer at Centre for National Security Studies, Karnataka presented on Tibet and Ecological Security. The paper analysed Tibet’s role in Ensuring Ecological environment and climate security for south Asia by drawing China’s various project on hydropower, weather modification, resource exploitation, border defence village and water diversion taking place in Tibet. It also highlighted China’s weaponization of water and creation of artificial rain.
Pemu Sherpa Assistant Professor of English at Mirik college, Darjeeling presented Tibet as Forgotten in South Asian Contemporary Climate Fiction. Her research presented Cli-fi or climate fiction as a medium to reach to the local masses that remains largely out of academic world or cannot make sense of the academic works informing the growing environmental degradation and its impacts on the Climate.
Neeraj Singh Manhas, a research scholar at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, presented his research findings on the effects of climate change on Tibet’s water resources, as well as the solutions implemented to address these challenges. He examined data spanning from 1994 to 2024 by searching specific keywords to collect reports, studies, and research pertaining to the subject, employing a structured literature review methodology.
Morning session
Panel- 5: Geo-political Issues and Development in Tibet
Moderator: Pemu Sherpa, Assistant Professor, Mirik College, West Bengal
Dr. Sangay Lachenpa from Sikkim University, in his research paper on China’s Development Model in Tibet: Positioning Shifts in Its Strategy, revealed the education model in Tibet as a new and fourth strategy for asserting China’s full control over the region by juxtaposing it with Gramsci’s notion of hegemony, which revolves around the idea that knowledge is more powerful than violence.
Somnath Sahoo, a research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, explored the impacts of India-China border tensions on South Asia, asserting that the impact of these tensions on South Asia is substantial, influencing the strategic environment and diplomatic relations within the region. The research paper invoked realist theoretical groundings of bandwagoning versus balancing to analyze the positionality of smaller South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and asserted that South Asia is the least integrated region.
Arnab Mandal from West Bengal State University explored the narrative of the Tibetan armed resistance against China through Kaushik Barua’s Windhorse and Jamyang Norbu’s Echoes from the Forgotten Mountains. The paper critiqued the universalizing effect of the West, echoed in the policy of the deterritorialized CTA, where Tibetans are presented as peaceful, non-violent Buddhists. He contends that this has reduced the narrative of Chushi Gangdruk to the “margins of margins.” The paper sought to introduce an alternative narrative to the dominant Tibetan nationalism.
Before beginning the sixth panel, Dr. Ramu inaugurated “the public forum” or “people’s diplomacy” to bring the voices of academicians to the larger civil society to urge a change in India’s Tibet policy. The forum was recommended by the expert panel to establish a coherent civil space that could run a parallel track between the Tibetan stance and the Indian stance. The name of the forum has not been finalized yet, and the organizational structure of the space is to be established soon.
Panel-6 : Navigating Statelessness, Identity, and Movement.
Moderator: Dr. Rajeev Rai , Assistant Professor, school of Liberal arts the ICFAI University, Sikkim.
Ugyal Tshering Lama Yolmo, a guest faculty member from North Bengal University, gave a comprehensive analysis of reporting in Tibet Review with a special focus on the Free Tibet movement from 1985 to 2005. The paper unravelled the intricate interplay between media representation and political activism by employing a range of analytical approaches that combine content analysis, discourse analysis, and historical contextualization. The paper highlighted Tibet Review’s contribution to shaping global perceptions of the Tibetan struggle for autonomy and the Tibet-China discourse.
Aditya Misha from Jawaharlal Nehru University presented on the diplomatic strategies employed by the Central Tibetan Administration in pursuit of international engagement and recognition. Using a theoretical framework of constructivism to challenge traditional international relations, the research paper discussed the effectiveness of multi-track diplomacy practiced by the CTA as a non-state actor, comparing it to other non-state actors such as the Kosovo Liberation Army. The research concluded that the CTA serves as a model for other marginalized groups and non-state actors to navigate the complexities of international relations through soft power, cultural diplomacy, and strategic framing.
Aditi Mishra, an independent researcher and former professor at the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Studies, explored the relationships of women in Pema Tsedhen’s Balloon as a unit of care communities that further strengthen religious, political, and social identities.
Panel- 7: Historical Relationship between Tibet and the Himalayas
Moderator: Dr. Tashi Phuntsok, Assistant Professor, Vidyasagar college, West Bengal
Dr. Rajeev Rai’s research paper discussed the circumstances leading to the demarcation of the Sikkim-Tibet border and explored why it became imperative to draw a boundary between Sikkim and Tibet through the analysis of India Office records in Bangladesh, spanning the period from 1888 to 1896. The study adopted a historical-analytical method to unravel the causes leading up to the Sikkim-Tibet border demarcation.
Abhinav Atreya, a PhD scholar in the Department of Social Anthropology at Ashoka University, presented on cartographic tension in the Eastern Himalayas borderland by tracing the routes of connection between Tibet and Darjeeling in the backdrop of James Clifford’s framework of roots of connection against territorialized notions of nation. The paper was an interdisciplinary attempt to bring history and anthropology together. It also addressed how indigenous cartography subsumes hegemonic logic.
Sonam Choda Bhutia, a PhD scholar in history from Sikkim University, examined the trade relationship between Sikkim and Tibet with special reference to the Drokpas of northern Sikkim. The paper explored the extensive trade relations conducted between Sikkim and Tibet until the advent of British India and further highlighted the role of the nomadic Drokpa communities in maintaining traditional trade relations between Sikkim and Tibet.
Panel-8 : Circuits of Exchange
Moderator: Dr. Barun Roy, Assistant Professor, University of North Bengal.
Karma Tenzing Lepcha, a Research Scholar from Sikkim University, delivered a presentation on the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the Lepchas of Dzongu. Originally a community practicing the Mun religion until the enthronement of Chogyal Puntsog Namgyal as the king of the then kingdom of Sikkim, he is credited with introducing Buddhism to Sikkim. The paper discussed the gradual disappearance of some traditional practices of the Lepchas due to the changes brought about by Buddhism.
Tenzin Nyima Bhutia, a Ph.D scholar in English at Sikkim University, Gangtok, presented on scriptural inspiration in Buddhist iconography, from text to images. The research focused on deciphering the impacts of Buddhist texts on the design and production of thangkas and statues while attempting to understand how artists who visually depict Buddhist stories strike a balance between artistic expression and textual accuracy. The paper also dealt with how cultural and geographical contexts influence the interpretation and portrayal of these scripturally inspired iconographies.
Jahanabi Upadhyay, a Freelance scholar, presented on transcultural flows at the Indo-Tibetan borders, focusing on Buddhist protector deities and votive inscriptions from Bodh Gaya. The paper explored the interactive cultural fluidity cutting across political boundaries in the case of the Indo-Tibet borders.
The experts panel which included two brief presentation by Professor Sonika Gupta and Professor Swatahsiddha Sarkar was attended by a special guest Kalon Gyari Dolma, the head of the department of defence, CTA.
Professor Sonika Gupta delivered a powerful presentation on the study of Tibet in India, advocating for a broader approach that goes beyond the dominant narratives about Tibet’s significance. She emphasized the need to shift academic discussions away from state-centric views, which often focus on Tibet’s geopolitical status as an unsettled border, the 1962 war, its role as a buffer state, and the use of the “Tibet card.” She pointed out the limitations of historical research beyond the 1940s, which tends to perpetuate the colonial colonial gaze on Tibet. Consequently, she called for a strong historical foundation, clear positionality, and a commitment to self-reflection through institutionalised research ethics.
Professor Swatahsiddha Sarkar presented an abstract of his research titled “Can the Mountains Speak?” He skilfully drew on the concept of bodhicitta in Buddhism, exploring its relevance in the Anthropocene. His paper aimed to construct an Anthropocene language that extends beyond human concerns, recognizing non-human entities as sentient beings. By viewing mountains as subjects with agency rather than mere objects, he sought to create an anthropology of Life, highlighting the interconnectedness of all beings.
Valedictory address
In her valedictory address, Professor Vasudha Pande discussed how the environmental history of Tibet deepened her connection to the region and highlighted the historical relationship that existed between the south Asian nations along the Himalayan belt especially the trade relations dominated by gold and silver businesses. She suggested several areas in the Himalayas, including Kumaon, the Malwa kingdom, and the Vira kingdom, for further exploration, advocating for an agenda to unite Himalayan and Tibetan studies.
Concluding session
Kalon Gyari Dolma, the Minister of the Department of Security and co-chair of the Governing Body of the Tibet Policy Institute, expressed her gratitude to all the expert scholars, young Indian researchers, the TPI organizers, and the Centre for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, the venue host, for making the conference a success. She reminisced about senior scholars like Azah Tulku, a teacher at Magadh University, who have significantly contributed to Tibetan studies. She also reflected on her early memories of visiting Kolkata and the presence of Tibetan Buddhist studies in Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan and also mentioned C.R lama to recognize his great contributions. Drawing on Professor Vasudha Pande’s recommendation, she emphasized the importance of exploring specific regions in the Himalayas and anticipated future research in those areas.
The speech was followed by Kalon Gyari Dolma presenting congratulatory certificates and Khatas to all participants.
The conference concluded with a vote of thanks from Tempa Gyltsen Zamlha, the deputy director of the Tibet Policy Institute. He expressed gratitude to everyone involved, including participants, expert scholars, the venue host, Tibet TV, program coordinator Dhundup Wangmo, senior researchers at TPI, and the entire TPI team, which comprises accountants, receptionists, librarians, and interns. He conveyed his great satisfaction in successfully organizing such a significant platform and looked forward to the upcoming conference in Varanasi, where young Tibetan scholars in Tibetan studies will present their work in November.
The report filed by Tenzin Chokyi, Intern at Tibet Policy Institute, CTA