Originally published at : https://www.republicworld.com/opinion/august-in-exileremembering-the-lost-homeland
The lives of Tibetan youth born in exile in India are filled with both longing and resilience, as they strive to preserve their cultural identity and heritage against a complex backdrop of displacement and generational change.
For over six decades, since the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans fled to India following the 1959 uprising, Tibetan settlements have flourished in places such as Dharamshala, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand. These communities, although geographically far removed from Tibet, are taking shape based on a collective memory and a determination to keep traditions alive. The culture of Tibet is being kept alive even if many youths have never actually set foot in their ancestral homeland.
Preserving Tibetan Identity in Exile
Maintaining Tibetan identity in exile is a conscious effort for the younger generation, and is often challenging. In settlements and schools established under the guidance of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), young Tibetans are taught their language, customs, history, and religious traditions alongside modern subjects. Tibetan language and culture are part of the curriculum, sometimes through dedicated schools or cultural immersion programmes designed specifically for those attending non-Tibetan institutions. Monasteries and cultural academies, such as the Norbulingka Institute, play a vital role in teaching visual and performing arts, religious philosophy, and the history of Tibet to new generations of exiled youth.
In spite of these efforts, adaptation to life in India presents tangible challenges. Tibetan youth often feel like “a drop in the ocean” within the Indian society. As a result, they are constantly grappling with identity issues. The dilution of Tibetan cultural practices is an ever-present concern. So is the tension between the aspirations for integration within the host Indian society and the deep-seated wish to go back to Tibet.
For many, faith remains central in surviving this existential crisis. Tibetan Buddhism and reverence for the Dalai Lama have become a spiritual anchor for individuals and a source of community bonding for the larger group. Youth organisations and political activism also help channel their longing for the homeland into a broader movement for the preservation of Tibetan autonomy and culture. Events, workshops, and advocacy initiatives run by Tibetan youth are crucial in reviving traditional practices and connecting with global audiences.
Unique Tibetan-Indian Identity
However, there is an added layer to it as well. The pressure to modernise is constant. The attractiveness of economic opportunity also often leads young Tibetans away from traditional settlements into urban centres across India. This migration, which essentially decentralises the community further, poses new risks of weakening the painfully built cohesion and reducing the transmission of language and rituals. Reports indicate that many settlements face declining populations of young people, threatening the survival of schools and the vibrancy of local culture.
Still, the intergenerational transmission of heritage is on. In fact, it sometimes takes creative new forms. Recently, it has been observed that music, contemporary art, digital storytelling, and social media activism are woven into the daily lives of Tibetan youth.
The experience of exile itself fosters a complicated, but still unique Tibetan-Indian identity. This identity is one defined by both loss and the ongoing recreation of the Tibetan homeland, not just in memory, but in everyday practice and in hopes for the future, too.
Through these varied efforts— traditional and contemporary— Tibetan youth in exile continue to embody resilience, maintaining a living link to their lost homeland while carving out new spaces for cultural expression and communal belonging in India.
