[Reader-list] Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi: Merging of the Past with the Present

[mallica mishra]

IDENTITIES OF TIBETAN YOUTH IN DELHI:  MERGING OF THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT
  H'lo all! My earlier postings have attempted to explore the identities of the Tibetan youth studying in Delhi University by looking at the role of their immediate, physical environment, and their place of residence in the city, particularly in context of the Tibetan Youth Hostel in Rohini, Delhi. I have also looked at the influence of media, the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc in forging their youth identities. This posting will now, try to delve into their past, particularly the impact of the years of schooling in the host country, to understand the complex yet interesting process of identity construction and their aspirations in life.
Identities are as much a matter of being as also of becoming, they are part of a continuous process rather than a finished product. It is important to realize that the identities of the youth in question have elements of the present (influence of the place and city of residence, influence of  'global urban youth culture' that they tend to become a part of through lived experiences in the city as also by increased exposure through the media (TV; Cinema, Internet etc). At the same time, the role of their past lives: the country they were born in, the schools that they went to, the spaces and relationships that they were part of, all becomes important as elements that helped forge their identities. Even now, relatively grown-up, going to college and living in the city of Delhi, many of these elements seem to continue to constitute the essentials of their identities, to that extent these issues need to be further explored. 
  My initial postings identified the Tibetan schools in exile in India (Tibetan Children's' Village (TCV); Central Tibetan Schools (CTS) and other autonomous schools, like THF etc), as schools which had been deliberately set up by the Tibetan Government in exile with the support of the Government of India, with the goal of providing an education that would be a balance between 'traditional' and 'modern' education and enable the children to be equipped with the skills and qualities required in future (free/autonomous) Tibet.
This posting will look at the role that these schools play in creating a certain, composite, pan-Tibetan identity amongst all Tibetan children. Discussions with Tibetan youth revealed that it was in these schools that most of them realized that they "were Tibetan", "refugee" and "different from others". Alongwith socialization at home and influence of the Tibetan community, these schools emerge as major sites for the construction of Tibetan identities (particularly for those children who were born in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan etc and came to India at a very early age for their education). In the absence of a real family, for many, the schools constitute 'family' and 'home' to those who have been brought up in these residential schools.  
This posting will look at the role of the schools:  pedagogies and language/medium of instruction; subjects taught; co-curricular and extra-curricular activities which all combine to create a 'School Culture' and an environment that are crucial elements in determining their sense of self and their identity as Tibetan.
 
A.  Bonding with the school: 'Home' parents vs. 'Real' Parents: 
The institutionalized presence and example of Tibetan adults at these schools as housemother and sometimes also housefather called Amala (mother) and pala (father) respectively, and the love and care provided by them to Tibetan children seems to be an important determinant in identity-construction. This is because, a majority of the students in the residential schools, such as TCV, Dharamsala , H.P have come to India at a very young age leaving their parents behind. They usually lose all contact with their parents after coming to India (fearing that any contact with parents may lead to the penalization of the former by the Chinese government) and pass the growing years of their life, from primary to senior secondary school level, under the care of these house parents. 
The life history of Ngodup , college student, interviewed in Delhi brings out the relationship of students with their housemothers. Ngodup says that: "For 10 years I had no information about my parents and vice versa. They believed that I was dead. I was looked after and raised by TCV, Suja and later by TCV upper Dharamsala". "I am very close to the elders (for example, my housemother in TCV School, Dharamsala and other teachers and staff members there). This is because when I was growing up, I had none to turn to except them. They understand me better than my own parents".
 These bonds with foster parents sometimes even manifest in dilemmas over decisions over 'going back' to Tibet as it becomes difficult to break these ties created over a long period of time and to go to families they have had no contact with, sometimes, over a period of several years. What is poignant is the desire for the parents, in such cases, to be able to see their children "before they die". For the youth, in such cases, it becomes difficult to decide As Ngodup says, " I have grown up here in India amidst Tibetan teachers and friends who are telling me not to go. I feel undecided."
The residential schools, for instance, the network of TCV schools with their 'homes' where the children stay with their foster parents as a 'family' emerge as important determinants in the identity formation of Tibetan children, particularly those who have come from Tibet at an early age to study in India. According to Lawrence Liang, they are important as "structures in place for the Tibetan refugee children to have a 'normal' childhood"(Liang, 1999:2). An example of this bond is evident in the words of Tsiring Dorjee-Sidhu, "Strangely the first time I ever met the rest of my 'family' was after my tenth standard when I went to Manali to meet them. While these strangers were my real family I never felt at home with them as I did with my TCV family. While all the stories I have told you about TCV may make it seem like we did not have a good childhood all I want to say in the end is that I really loved TCV and it was the best family that someone like me could hope to get. I
 am still in touch with my home father and mother" (cited in Liang, 1999: 71).
It is the power of these bonds that makes many of the youth want to go back to the schools as teachers, after graduation. Tenzin Yangkyi, who came with her mother to India as a four year old, remembers her mother leaving her behind and her crying as she left. She is studying in Laxmi Bai College in Delhi University and says that many students think of "coming back to our society to teach even though they are not paid well in the Tibetan schools to repay debts of gratitude that we feel for them. We consider our school classmates as our brothers and sisters. Our boarding house is called 'home' and an attachment is there for the small ones and for the elders".
  Poems written by school children in their school magazines, for instance,' Sherab-Lophel', a students' bi-monthly brought out by the Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie express the emotions of love and gratitude that Tibetan children have for their schools /'homes' and towards their house parents. They also give some indication of the sense of self and identity of the children as being formed in the schools.
  Who am I?
  Who am I?
I am a boy from Tibet
Who lives in snow land
Eating Tsampa and meat
Rearing Yaks and sheeps.
  Who am I?
I am a boy of refugee
Since from the year of 1999
But due to the grace of H.H.The Dalai Lama
I'm getting all the good facilities at free of cost.
  Who am I?
I am s student of big institution
Called Tibetan Homes School
Due to the guidance given by my teachers,
I feel, am going on the right path of life.
  Who am I?
I am a follower of His Holiness
To prevail peace on the earth
With no difference of nationality, caste and age.
But with a spirit of harmony always.
  Who am I?
I am a reporter of the BBC news
Who will one day make the announcement
The real condition of Tibet.
     -Kalsang (Home no#25)
 (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie)
  My Great Foster Parent
  My Great Foster Parent
Oh! My great foster parents,I am lucky to get the kind blessing of yours
what a lucky boy am I to get your love.
I never had a parent like you in my life.
Where I can see the reflection of my real parents.
  Oh! My great foster parents,
I am lucky to get the kind blessings of yours
I never had the kind of blessings like that
In my whole life.
  I consider you as the real god:
Disguised in human being.
Your care for us and the lessons
Valuing small things will be cherished forever.
  Oh! My great foster parents,
How can I ever repay your kindness,
The moments shared with you is unforgettable.
And all I can say is "THANK YOU!!!"
       Pema Wangchen ,Home-14.
 (Source: Sherab-Lophel, March April,2005, Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie)
  a) School Culture: Role of Tibetan Language
Tibetan language can be regarded as another very strong reinforcement of Tibetan ethnicity and identity in Tibetan schools and has emerged from an almost exclusive use of Tibetan language inside classrooms as well as outside in the school campus not only in the residential schools but also in the day schools in the settlements. 
Traditional Tibetan language (U-Tsang dialect) has been seen as an important and irreplaceable component of Tibetan identity for the Tibetan community in exile. It is believed that preservation of language is a "survival cause", as the prime reason for coming into exile was to preserve their unique linguistic and cultural heritage. This belief can be seen translated into the educational policies formulated by the Department of Education of the Government in exile over the years. The Tibetanization of Education project introduced in TCV schools in 1984 (followed by other CTSA and other schools in 1995) and the new Basic Education Policy on Education for Tibetans in Exile introduced in 2004. Both have been efforts in this direction, which have brought about radical changes in the system of education system of Tibetans in exile, particularly in the field of choice of mother tongue as the medium of instruction.
  b).Textbooks & Subjects
Radical changes were brought about in terms of preparation and publication of a series of Tibetan language textbooks to teach and inform students on aspects of Tibetan language, religion, culture and history.
The content of the textbooks suggest that the aim is to provide knowledge and information to students about aspects of traditional culture that cannot be transplanted to India. 
I looked at a few books (in English), for instance, the History book meant for classes 
above VI in TCV schools. A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows' has a chapter called 'A Visit from the Nomads'. A paragraph from this chapter given below provides an idea about the way textbooks are being used in exile for cultural preservation.
"In the past, nearly half the population of Tibet lived as wandering mountain nomads. Most lived in the wild Amdo and Kham regions of northeast Tibet, though there were others on the great plains in the north, and in the remoter mountains of the west as well. It was a hard but vigorous life
 Before dawn the women would rise and milk the female yaks, called dris. Then, they would serve hot, buttered tea to their families, and, as, in the villages, a small offering of food and juniper was made on simple stone altar outside the tent
" (Source: Gibb, A History of Tibet Book-1 'The Land of the Snows', 2004:69).
Other than highlighting socio-cultural aspects and ways of life of the people in Tibet before the Chinese occupation, political aspects are also dealt with, specially the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959, the events preceding and following it. The objective seems to be not only to inform the students about these political realities but, more importantly, to develop feelings of Tibetan nationalism amongst them. The History book 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile' meant for classes VIII-IX in the chapter 'Tibet is Crushed' highlights the following aspects. 
"From April 1959, then, all pretense of allowing the Tibetans any say in conducting their own affairs was abandoned. A virtual military dictatorship was set up in Lhasa
A reign of terror was begun against all those thought to have aided, or even sympathized with the recent uprising
 Most lamas ended up in forced labour camps, or were executed in the most horrifying ways. Nor did the poorest peasants escape from this wave of persecution. Anyone even suspected of opposing Chinese rule was punished and executed. Indeed, so bad was the situation in Tibet immediately after 1959, that a Commission of the United Nations- on the evidence of the thousands of Tibetan refugees pouring into India-described the Chinese behaviour to the Tibetan people as 'genocide'.
"In the years following 1959, Tibetan culture and traditions continued to be attacked and destroyed. All education was now in Chinese, religion was declared to be 'poison' and effectively banned, and many young children were forcibly removed from their parents and sent to China to be indoctrinated. Meanwhile, Chinese officials continued to hold the most important posts in the Tibetan administration".
The last chapter of the book, 'The Future' expresses the "fervent wish of most exiles" for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees to "return to Tibet"(Source: (Gibb, 'A History of Tibet Book-2 'Independence to Exile', 1987:90).
Thus, the history and geography lessons and the lessons on polity emerge as an important means through which children are told and taught about their rich past and through which their imagination of Tibet, as a nation in exile, emerges.
Thus, the language classes serve as a practical means of transmitting traditional culture alongwith providing the students with a "thorough modern education". In line with this aim, the Tibetan schools have adopted a common syllabus for grades one to eight, with standardized curricula, courses and textbooks all prepared by NCERT. Schools with grades nine and above were affiliated to CBSE and the programmes were standardized with a view for preparing students for AISSE.
  c).Pedagogy & Co-Curricular activities
While a series of new textbooks and courses have been introduced in the Tibetan schools over the years and represent modernization of the traditional system of education and curriculum, the pedagogical approaches used in classrooms are still very much subject to criticism as they continue to retain much of their earlier features. 
Learning tends take place in a very passive way with limited student participation and initiative. Monastic pedagogical methods of lecture-based teaching and mantra reciting and guru-submitting seem to be very common and also seemingly at odds with modern student-centered pedagogy.
There are many Tibetan holidays (alongwith Indian) that are celebrated in school, though the numbers of days of celebration has been shortened as compared to pre-occupation Tibet due to situational constraints in exile. The Holiday schedule of the TCV schools refers to the following holidays observed in the schools: Parents Day; Tibetan National Uprising Day; Tibetan Women's Uprising Day; Second Saturday; State Day; Saka Dawa; SOS Day; Zamling Chisang; Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Choekor Duechen; Independence Day of India; Democracy Day of Tibet; Staff Day; Gandhi Jayanti; Tibetan Youth Day; Village/School anniversary day; Lha-bab-Duechen; Children's Day; Nobel Peace Prize Day; Nyanpa-Guzom; Republic Day of India; Tibetan New Year and Choenga-Choepa. Non-Tibetan teachers are permitted to take holidays on: Holi, Good Friday, Dussehra, Diwali (Source: Education Code for TCV Schools, Dharamsala, H.P, 1999). 
Prayers seem to compose an important aspect of life in the Tibetan schools. Along with the half-hour (daily) prayer sessions, there are occasions when the whole school community-students, teachers and dormitory house parents all get together in special prayer and incense-burning ceremonies (bsangs-gsol) in a prayer-hall in the school or in the temple/monastery located on campus or elsewhere in the settlement. 
These prayer ceremonies represent a blend of the religious as well as the political as references are made to the status and situation of Tibet. These occasions also seek to refresh the memory and remind the younger generations of their duties towards their nation, Tibet, thus, helping in the development of an ethnic self-definition. 
With reference to co-curricular activities in the present Tibetan schools, the semi-structured discussions with Tibetan youth refer to holding of many co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in schools such as intra and interschool competitions in dance, music, debate (Tibetan & English), quiz, elocution (Tibetan & English), essay-contest, athletics-meet etc, painting and Tibetan calligraphy, holding of the 'Tibet-Our-Country-Project', celebration of important days according to the Tibetan calendar, such as celebration of the Dalai Lama's birthday; observance of the 10th March Uprising Day etc 
  d).'Rituals' and 'Ceremonies' in school
With regard to Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools in India, school rituals, such as the morning assembly emerge as important determinants in identity formation of the children. To those children who have never seen Tibet (were born in India, Nepal Bhutan etc) as well as those who were born there (but left the country at a very young age so were unable to fully comprehend the nature of Tibetan identity), it is through observance of these rituals and ceremonies in the school that a picture of Tibet as a pure, unchanged, idyllic, sacred, land of their ancestors emerges and takes shape in their imagination and goes on to become the most important element of their identity as Tibetan refugees in exile. 
These school rituals and ceremonies, emerge as important 'transmitters of identity' which more importantly create, foster and celebrate a we-feeling amongst the students, teachers, house parents by bringing them together
Reference can also be made here to other such aspects and school activities which seek to encourage the idea of cultural preservation for the survival of the unique heritage of the community. For instance, Dechen , a student in the hostel, states that there used to be Inter-house competitions in cultural and sports categories between the four houses in her school, ie;Songsten; Trisong; Triral; Nyatri (She was in this house).These are all names of ancient Tibetan kings.
'Tibet-Our-Country Project': Celebration of an important month-long event called the 'Tibet-Our-Country Project' seems to be a very significant school activity playing an important role in educating the Tibetan children on aspects of Tibetan culture and identity as also influencing the ethnic identity formation of the former. 
Peace and protest marches are also an integral part of school life. On occasions such as March 10th, Tibetan Uprising day, students and teachers take to the streets, with placards (they had stayed up late in the nights to prepare) stating, 'Tibet Ki Aazaadi- Bharat Ki Suraksha'; 'Long Live Dalai Lama'; 'China- Go Out of Tibet', 'We Want Justice' etc with the local Indian shopkeepers watching the spectacle with bemused or bored expressions.
e).Role of teachers: the schools contribute towards the development of an intense type of nationalism by providing a legitimate official Tibetan context for what would otherwise be individual, personal statements from individual refugees. The impact of respected, awe-inspiring authority figures such as teachers, like "we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back" alongwith the thoughtfully constructed school environment and activities within and outside it (daily singing of national anthem; staging of inter-house debates/elocution contests etc on Tibet, its independence and related issues, protest marches on occasions, such as, annual 10th March Uprising Day etc), all combine to provide and official context to the essential identity of Tibetanness that every Tibetan child tends to come across and embrace and the schools' role in promoting nationalism, thus, becomes even more evident.
The words of Tsundue, Tenzin , a youth poet-activist are very expressive in this context. He writes, "When we were children in a Tibetan school in Himachal pradesh, our teachers would regale us with tales of Tibetans suffering in Tibet. We were often told that we were refugees and that we all bore a big 'R' on our foreheads. It didn't make much sense to us, we only wished the teacher would hurry up and finish his talk and not keep us standing in the hot sun, with our oiled hair. For a very long time I sincerely believed that we were a special kind of people with an 'R' on our foreheads. We did look different from the local Indian families who lived around our school campus.."  "Perhaps the first thing I learnt at school was that we were refugees and we didn't belong to this country" (Tsundue, Tenzin, 2004).
Talks with Tibetan youth I came across also reveal such feelings. To Ngodup, a student who came to India when he was very young, the idea of Tibetanness grew only in school.  "The idea that I am Tibetan grew in school, especially during the 'Tibet-Our Country Project' every year. Every they would release statistics of Tibetan political prisoners who were tortured and killed in Tibet, which initially, I used to find difficult to believe as I had no idea of all this while I was in Tibet. Questions like, "where is all this happening?" "How come, I never saw?" would arise in my mind. It was going on peace marches from school shouting slogans, like, 'Chinese! Go out of Tibet!'  'Tibet belongs to Tibetans'! that I realized my identity as Tibetan.
In the 4th , 5th and 6th classes, our teachers would tell us that we are refugees; we are different; we have to go back. Indians have their own country and we don't. They would say that we have extra responsibility to do well in studies and we have to work hard. If others (Indians) study for 2 hours, we need to put in 4 hours. They would tell us that we are completely different from Indians and that we should not get carried away with fashion".
The role of the Tibetan schools in India in constructing identities of the Tibetan children through a certain school culture, in terms of school curriculum through the following agents become important: a) residential schools & the Institutionalized role of house parents b) language c) role of (textbooks & subjects and (pedagogy & co-curricular activities, primarily, 'rituals' & 'ceremonies') curriculum, thus, emerges as an important. Students are taught to regard themselves as the proud inheritors of future 'free' Tibet and as the heirs of a unique cultural and religious heritage in exile.
  All of the above create certain values and attitudes amongst the children, which contributes to form and forge their sense of Tibetanness and Tibetan identity. These elements of Tibetan identity that are formed, while in school, and remain an essential part of the identities of the Tibetan youth in Delhi are:
  i). Feelings of intense nationalism:
 many scholars seem to believe that this feeling of nationalism is also 'militant' in nature borne out of frustration amongst the youth with the 'middle-way' approach of exile politics not bearing any fruitful results upon their 'freedom struggle'. However my discussions with the small sample of youth studying in Delhi university did not reveal any such 'militant' aspirations, though the feeling of nationalism and pride in their Tibetanness is strong, they seem to have full faith in the Dalai Lama's approach (peaceful methods for grant of 'real' autonomy) which is supposed to be a more 'practical' method.
  ii). Concept of The Dalai Lama as the sole Tibetan leader and International icon: 
The Dalai Lama is not only the most important spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan refugees in India; he is also a living god for them, their 'protector', the manifestation of Chenresig, Lord of Compassion.The older as well as the younger generations, may of whom have been born and brought up in exile have grown up with framed photographs of the former beaming down at them with an expression of benevolent compassion, not only in schools (classrooms; 'homes') but also everywhere in the Tibetan settlements, not only in Tibetan houses but also in all the offices of the Tibetan government in exile, Tibetan restaurants; shops; cafes; youth associations; beauty parlors; bakery shops; handicraft centers/shops etc. The story of the 'banishment' and 'forced exile' of the living god is faithfully passed on to children through textbooks; quotations by him form an important part of school calendars; his birthday celebrations have emerged as an important time for reaffirming
 Tibetan ness and unquestionable loyalty to the one and only leader of the Tibetans in exile. This feeling of absolute adoration and respect for the Dalai Lama seems to remain, even as they grow up, outside Tibetan settlements and shift to bigger cities like Delhi. To each one of the youth I talked to, the Dalai Lama, is the most important role-model they admire who they look upto and who comprises the essence of what and who they are today (they are 'alive' and 'doing well' in exile, 'because of him'). He is revered, also for being the most important advocate of their cause in International circles, the key to their future destiny.
  iii). Association of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan identity: 
Though intergenerational gap seems to be evident in the amount of importance given to religion in the day-to-day lives of the young and the old. However, religion, particularly, Tibetan Buddhism, seems to be an integral part of their identity as Tibetan refugees. Right from birth, the role of religion in shaping their identity is visible: a mantra that is perpetually on their lips is 'Om Mani Padme Hum', an invocation of the boddhisatva Avalokiteshwara; brightly-colored Buddhist prayer flags fluttering from the rooftops in the settlement schools and all houses in the settlement. The youth shed light on the important role of religion in their lives when they were in school with the daily morning assembly starting with a Tibetan Buddhist prayer to the god of wisdom, Manjushri; special classes on religion held by Lamas and geshe's; holidays observed on days of religious significance (for instance:Saka Dawa on 11th June every year commemorating the birth; enlightenment and
 passing away of the Buddha); prayer ceremonies in a temple on campus attended by students, teachers, house parents etc. School textbooks on religion and culture consciously aim to communicate to children the importance of religion in life and give teachings on Buddhism that seek to create certain values and attitudes of compassion, honesty and sacrifice amongst the children. In college in Delhi, many of the youth admitted that the daily habit of offering water to the Tibetan deities and the Dalai Lama's photograph and doing prostrations before going off to bed every night (an integral part of their school life) had slackened. However, they reaffirmed the fact that though might not seem to be 'so religious' now, religion is still important to them, they pray 'when they get time' and even attend Wednesday prayer sessions in the Tibetan Youth Hostel (though they are not very regular with it). Tibetan Buddhism thus seems to emerge as a marker of Tibetan youth identity in exile
 that manifests itself in expressions such as the routine Wednesday prayer sessions in the hostel, and also acts of 'compassion' such as releasing of fishes in the water to seek the 'long life' of the Dalai Lama etc.
  iv). The sense of cultural uniqueness and importance of preserving Tibetan culture, language and identity:
An urgency to preserve the unique and precious Tibetan culture, language and identity is communicated to the Tibetan children studying in Tibetan schools', not only with the help of curriculum and pedagogy specifically designed for the same purpose but also through activities, as stated above. An important component   of these co-curricular and extra-curricular activities is that they emphasize upon the uniqueness and preciousness of the cultural and linguistic heritage that Tibetans' possess and that is being systematically destroyed by the Han Chinese in Tibet through systematic genocide. For instance, the exhibitions organized by the gu-chu-sum (an organization formed by ex-political prisoners in exile) in the schools' where photographs of Tibetan prisoners being tortured alongwith the torture weapons (smuggled out of China) are exhibited, creates a strong feeling of urgency to save their race from extinction. 
This is the reason why mixed marriages with people from other nationalities are not considered favourable as it amounts to their abdicating their responsibility towards their community identity. This concern manifests itself in the conscious desire of the youth to marry only within the community. Most of the interviewed youth stated that they would prefer to marry within their own community rather than outside. 
  
B. Role of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC)
Alongwith the role of the school, the role of the most important Tibetan youth organization, i.e. the Tibetan Youth Congress in fostering a type of "militant nationalism" also has to be examined. The Tibetan Youth Congress was set up to create a "sense of cultural solidarity and "group identification" by inducting the youth in community welfare and social service programmes (Saklani, 1984:330). It is supposed to be the 'most active NGO of Tibetans worldwide' having more than 30,000 members. It's mission is to fight for the "complete independence for the whole of Tibet"(www.tibetanyouthcongress.org).However, over the years the TYC seems to have been displaying a more militant nationalism and coming into conflict with the ideologies of the older generation of Tibetan leaders in exile, who led by the Dalai Lama have been advocating 'real autonomy' of Tibet as against the TYC's demand for "complete independence" of Tibet.
TYC, more than an organization seems to represent a certain necessary period of one's life as youth, as a kind of rites de passage that every Tibetan youth is supposed to go through after school. As Tsering, Topden, President of San Fransisco Bay area, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC) puts it, "Tibetan Youth Congress is the must-read flyer that's thrust in one's hand as soon as he reaches certain maturity, that threshold to armpit hair, the first cigarette and the sexual awakenings. The contents of the publication, the raison de tre of the organization; these are all known to him, right down to the green logo (yet another version of Tibetan map), one more souvenir to add to the images Tibetan on the mantelpiece of his exile identity"(Tsering, T: 2004).
The RTYC in Delhi, also, seems to have a significant presence amongst the Tibetan youth, as most of the youth who were interviewed, stated that while many of them are not members of the TYC, they still participate in activities, peace protests and demonstrations organized by it (even 'illegal' ones such as storming of the Chinese embassy etc and suffering lathi-charge and even courting arrest due to the same). Many of them seem to be paradoxically opposed to the use of  'militant' or violent means in Tibet's struggle, and support the Middle Way approach (of real autonomy as against total independence) as is advocated by the Dalai Lama.
  
Elements of Identities of Tibetan Youth in Delhi
An analysis of the identities of Tibetan youth, thus, needs to consider the values, attitudes of the former already created in Tibetan schools' in India, as explored in the above section. I have, therefore, tried to explore in this posting the role of school culture that seeks to be distinctly Tibetan in nature and which helps form, give character and depth to the identities of the children as Tibetan refugee children. These are the elements that remain, as parts of their identities as they leave the portals of their school and go out into the bigger world.
It is a combination of their past experiences (place of birth and schooling) with their present experiences in exile (may include spaces and relationships within the hostel and without (college campus etc) as also the 'global resources' of television; cinema; e-mail; FM Radio etc) alongwith the association with activities of organizations such as the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) that constitutes the bedrock or the core elements of Tibetan identity in exile. It is on this 'bedrock' of identity that the life experiences of Tibetan youth in cities (who come to pursue their higher education) build on adding the supplementary layers and the 'top-soil' to constitute their present identities which are multiple, hybrid and constantly in flux. 
  Warm wishes, 
  Mallica
   
   
   
   
  
 
  
 
   
   
   

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