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Tenzin, a third-generation Tibetan living in India, was brought up in Karnataka and graduated from Mysore University. Till recently, he worked at a call centre, but is now employed by an Australian advertising company. He is happy that his new job allows him more time for the Tibetan cause. This is something typical of most young Tibetans in Bangalore or Mysore—their astonishing ease with the local culture and language notwithstanding, they retain a strong sense of their distinct political and cultural identity, and are passionately involved in furthering the Tibetan cause.
"There is a deep sense of gratitude in most Tibetans settled here, that locals have accepted us and have allowed us to pursue our political dream. We are secure in our adopted home. But there are times when one feels utterly lost." Those moments of uncertainty, Tenzin explains, come about when they realise how little awareness there is about Tibetans. "We are thought of as either Japanese or Chinese. We wonder, then, as to what our presence here all these decades has meant to them." Tenzin recalls another example that brings out their existential complexity: "We used to have this international students day in Mysore. But we were neither treated as locals nor as international students. It felt very odd."
Ever since arriving in Karnataka in the early ’60s, Tibetans have lodged themselves in five settlements, mostly around Mysore in places like Bylakuppe, Hunsur and Kollegal, and at Mundgod in Hubli. But in the last decade or so, they have a growing presence in cities like Bangalore.
Large, essentially agricultural, settlements had made Karnataka’s Tibetan community somewhat insular, where even third generation youngsters mingle mostly with other Tibetans. Absence of complaints against them, or local resistance to their presence can be attributed to the settlement leaders. Chopel Thupten, the Dalai Lama’s chief representative in Karnataka, says each settlement’s station head ensures the community’s non-confrontational relationship with the locals. "We follow the word of the Dalai Lama, who has said that we should become an asset to the locals. At the individual level, there may have been incidents, but as a community we have had a peaceful presence here."
Thupten also points to a growing interaction with locals: "We have a very limited capacity to reciprocate the generosity of the local community, but we feel we should give back something. As a result, we have started Tibetan carpet-weaving centres at Bylakuppe and Hunsur and are training and employing local women."
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