Tibetan diaspora

The Tibetan diaspora are the diaspora of Tibetan people living outside Tibet. Tibetan emigration has three separate stages. The first stage was in 1959 following the 14th Dalai Lama's defection to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India. The second stage occurred in the 1980s, when China partially opened Tibet to foreigners. The third stage began in 1996 and continues today although with less frequency. There is considerable social tension between first and second wave refugees, referred to as 'Shichak Tibetans' and third wave refugees referred to as 'Sanjor Tibetans'. The label 'Sanjor' is deemed a pejorative by the newcomer Tibetans. Not all emigration from Tibet is permanent; some parents in Tibet sent their children to the communities in the diaspora to receive a traditional Tibetan Buddhist education. The 2009 census registered about 128,000 Tibetans in exile, with the most numerous part of the community living in India, Nepal and Bhutan. However, in 2005 and 2009 there were estimates of up to 150,000 living in exile. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) provides a Green Book - a kind of Tibetan identity certificate - to Tibetan refugees. Based on a CTA survey from 2009, 127,935 Tibetans were registered in the diaspora: in India 94,203; in Nepal 13,514; in Bhutan 1,298; and in rest of the world 18,920. However, their number is estimated at up to 150,000, as mentioned by both Edward J. Mills et al. in 2005 and by the 14th Dalai Lama in 2009. The larger of the other communities are in the United States, Canada (e.g. Toronto), the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, France, Taiwan and Australia. During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama and some of his government fled to India. From 1959 to 1960, about 80,000 Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama to India through the Himalayas. Continued flights, estimated in the numbers of 1,000 to 2,500 a year, increased these numbers to 100,000.

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Related concepts (18)

Tsampa

Tsampa or Tsamba (; ) is a Tibetan and Himalayan staple foodstuff, it is also prominent in parts of northern Nepal. It is glutinous meal made from roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour and flour prepared from tree peony seeds. It is usually mixed with the Tibetan butter tea. It is also eaten in Turkestan and Mongolia, where it is known as zamba. As the flour has already been roasted Tsampa is quite simple to prepare and does not need to be cooked; indeed, it is known as a convenience food and often used by the Tibetans, Sherpas, nomads and other travellers.

Central Tibetan Administration

The Central Tibetan Administration (, ˈphỳmìː ˈʈìʔt͡sùʔ, Tibetan People's Exile Organization) is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, composed of a judiciary branch, a legislative branch, and an executive branch, and is sometimes labelled as a government in exile for Tibet.

Tibetan independence movement

The Tibetan independence movement () is the political movement advocating for the reversal of the 1950 annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, and the separation and independence of Tibet from China. It is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora in countries like India and the United States, and by celebrities and Tibetan Buddhists in the United States, India and Europe. The Central Tibetan Administration is based in Dharamshala, India.