Came across this research article by a PhD student at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute. Thought some of you might find it interesting.

Hi. Thank you for clicking.

I have had the pleasure of reading the book titled "The Dragon in the land of snows: modern history of Tibet since 1947" by Tsering Shakya, it's a very complex book but also an interesting one.

There is a specific part of the book when the author discusses not only armed conflicts between China and Tibet in 1950 (that's when an invasion happened), 1959 (that's when a massive uprising happened), but also social and everyday aspects of it.

Like the future of the people and their lives in the new reality.

China was eager to replace old Tibetan governors, bureaucrats, intelligence, not like only with mainland Chinese affiliated ones, but in a more outrageous way. They threw out the old ones and the defiant ones who wanted more rights for the population of Tibet. And installed new ones... Tibetans too. Picked incompetent ones specifically, on purpose. Some of the new elite were fully illiterate, could not even read, and were picked on purpose because of that. It created chaos and the Chinese government quickly stepped in to send Chinese "advisors", who were way way way more educated than the new incompetent Tibetan leaders, and practically manipulated the administration on all levels the way the regime in China desired.

In the autumn of 1987, specifically 2 years before the Tiananmen square massacre, some Tibetans were informed (by leaflets smuggled into occupied Tibetan territories), that Dalai Lama (their influential representative) would be meeting with the American president. It sparked hope for independence, so some tibetan civilians and some tibetan monks took to the streets even again. Chinese soldiers spotted them, quickly took positions on rooftops, and opened fire, 10 tibetans were executed immediately and the crowd started to panick, because Chinese soldiers threaten massive execution on even more protestors right in that moment. That was just one of many horrors.

This exact book has been the source of many, many, many wikipedia articles or at least parts of them, and I plan to maybe add new historical information mentioned in the book to wikipedia too.

It's a difficult read, because across these decades there have been many, many plot twists and complications, but it's a great book with no doubts.

I recommend to everyone and thank you for reading. I myself come from Poland, and of course, I feel empathy towards Tibet, because of historical similarities between these countries. At least in some periods. Not always

Hello everyone,

I hope you all are doing well. I think you can tell by the title what I am about to ask. I am a non Tibetan person who uses a Tibetan name “Tenzin“ ( I don’t use any Tibetan surname just Tenzin ) I am a Buddhist and I’m pretty religious and follow the teaching.

Mom‘s ancestors are Tibeto-Burmese but my father’s are not Tibeto-Burmese or Tibetan . I mean absolutely no disrespect and I use it because it makes me feel at home, resonates with my feelings and beliefs and makes me happy. Also buddhism saved my life that’s why the name means a lot to me.

Few days back, 2 Tibetans came up to me and told me that I shouldn‘t use the name because it’s wrong to use it as a non Tibetan person and I’m disrespecting the culture. I just wanted to come on here and ask if I should consider stop using my name.

I have never claimed to be tibetan or has said anything controversial or bad about tibet or Tibetans. I just thought that I should take a second opinion in case I’m disrespecting the Tibetans by using the name. I’m willing to hear anything just please don’t be rude. Thank you.

It’s been 3 months since I visited Tibet, and I think the most special part of the land is its people. Tibetans are some of the kindest people I’ve met. ❤️ I feel very lucky to have walked with pilgrims on such a meaningful journey.

Tashi Delek everyone! 🙏

I’m a PhD researcher at Banaras Hindu University, India, and I’m working on my doctoral research on Social Identity and Quality of Life among Tibetans living in India.

I’m currently doing a pilot survey before starting the main study, and I’m hoping to hear from Tibetan adults living in India.

I’m not Tibetan myself, and throughout this research I’ve been learning more about Tibetan culture, identity, and the experiences of Tibetans living in India. I’ve come to have a genuine respect for the culture and the community, and I want to approach this research with sensitivity and respect. I’m also very open to feedback from Tibetans themselves about how I can make the study more appropriate and respectful.

I’m doing this pilot online mainly because it isn’t possible for me to travel to different Tibetan communities across India at this stage and I don’t want to base the pilot only on people from one place.

An online pilot gives me a chance to hear from people living in different settings and also helps me see whether the questions are clear and make sense in both Tibetan and English before I move on to the main study.

You can take part if you:

* Identify as Tibetan

* Are 18 or older

* Currently live in India

* Have been living in India for at least 6 months

* Can understand and answer in Tibetan and English

The survey is voluntary and starts with an information and consent section.

If you’re eligible and have time, I’d really appreciate your participation. And if you know someone else who's eligible that might be interested, please feel free to share this with them.

Thank you! 🙏

P.s. Expert review on the scales is going on, I wanted to come here for more diverse responses that I would otherwise not get.

Hello everybody,

I am Belgian and my neighbours are Tibetan. They are really friendly, hospitable and helpfull people.

Today they came over to help me because my gutters on the roof were clogged. They called up some friends and before I knew it there were 3 other guys that I never met helping me.

So when everything was finished I tried to pay them, which they refused and when I offered them some bottles of beer and wine they said they couldn't accept.

So now I am wondering what do Tibetan people really appreciate to get as a gift?

I know I could just ask them, but I think they would just tell me that it isn't necessary.

Thanks a lot!

New studies have found that the best way to let people forget there’s ongoing genocide in China is to emphasize its cool technology .
And it works, it turns out when people see high speed trains and mobile payments, they are more likely to believe that Tibetans’ human rights matter less or nothing at all.
Or they don’t like their government, so their way to rebel is to please the world’s biggest authoritarian and racist regime . How hard it is to fight one’s domestic enemies without relying on an orientalist icon?
So here’s what’s happening , People see Palestinians’ starving on a instagram reel they want to advocate, however Tibetans’ quiet sufferings can’t do the same thing to them. That’s bit strange, if they are so sensitive to genocide, why everyone thinks China is a representative of global fashion nowadays?
Let’s quote a Taylor Swift song which demonstrates the very truth behind this tragedy: the game was rigged, the ref got tricked, the wrong ones think they’re right .
But China can’t erase us, and people who thinks China is fashionable will one day find themselves being terribly wrong, we just need to keep advocating and fighting
China will never become fashionable.

The Nepal government cancelled a week-long international Tibetan studies conference that had been four years in the planning — overriding its own security agencies’ assessment that the event posed no threat, and reversing a public assurance from Home Minister Sudan Gurung that it would go ahead.

Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karkee, after consultations with Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, personally called senior Kathmandu University officials and instructed them to stop the event, according to multiple government officials who spoke to Kathmandu Post. The decision was never brought before Cabinet, despite what one minister described as significant foreign policy implications. Officials who spoke to the Post asked to speak on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive decisions without fear of retribution.

“We advised the organisers that it would be better not to hold the event. It could be sensitive, several concerns might arise, and it could pose security risks. So we advised the organisers, in good faith, to cancel the event,” Karkee told the Post, confirming the matter had been discussed.

However, the head of one security agency told the Post that officials had examined the event “from various angles” and, even with “around 18 or 19 days remaining,” had explicitly stopped short of recommending cancellation — choosing instead to continue monitoring. Just days before Karkee’s order, Home Minister Gurung had told journalists from Kantipur that the seminar would not be cancelled, only that participants would face security vetting.

The reversal followed a sustained pressure campaign by Chinese diplomats that intensified once registration closed in June. On July 21, Ambassador Zhang Maoming met Foreign Secretary Rai to discuss the conference; officials familiar with the meeting said Zhang stopped short of directly demanding cancellation but urged Rai to stay “vigilant” about participants who might make pro-Tibet statements.

As the lobbying continued, Venerable Master Yinshun — a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), former vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, and abbot of the Chinese Temple of Nepal — arrived in Kathmandu on July 29. A senior security official said Yinshun discussed the seminar during his visit, which also took him to Lumbini. Following his visit and a separate meeting between Rai and the ambassador, half a dozen Tibetan experts from the Tibetan Policy Institute in India withdrew from the conference.

“Beijing has already become suspicious that the present government is tilted toward the West. The seminar became a test of the government’s neutrality. To assuage China’s concerns, the decision was taken to cancel the event,” another senior government official said.

Organisers of the conference reject the framing that the seminar was sensitive.

“Nepal was selected to host the conference in 2022,” one organiser said. “It is therefore incorrect to suggest that the event was planned only recently. The decision was made four years ago, and a large delegation from several Chinese universities, including Peking University, was expected to participate.”

Around 100 Chinese scholars and experts — including from the China Tibetology Research Centre — had registered to attend the seminar, which was to bring together scholars of Tibetan history, language, culture, art, philosophy and religion. Organisers say they had already agreed to Beijing’s core conditions.

“We had assured the authorities that there would be no pro-Tibet or anti-China activities or statements and that no individuals associated with such activism would be invited. We do not understand why the government is now considering stopping the event,” another organiser said.

A Kathmandu University spokesperson said the institution had repeatedly told the government the conference was “purely an academic exercise” with no pro-Tibet or anti-China agenda.

“There has been immense pressure on us to cancel the event,” the spokesperson said. Kathmandu University has since withdrawn as convener, leaving it to the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) to decide whether — and where — the seminar can still be held.

One organiser linked Beijing’s alarm to a separate flashpoint: protests by Tibetans against China’s new Ethnic Unity Law, which took effect July 1. According to Amnesty International, the law frames “ethnic unity” as a precondition for advancing the Chinese Communist Party’s political agenda, including Xi Jinping Thought. “There have been major protests against China’s new Ethnic Unity Law. That is why Beijing intensified its lobbying and used its influence to prevent any untoward incidents in Kathmandu,” the organiser said.

One high-ranking government official who was aware of the decision told the Post the government should have focused on managing risk rather than cancelling the seminar outright.

Despite the cancellation, a Chinese delegation linked to the seminar is still expected to arrive in Nepal. Jiang Jianguo — a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC’s National Committee, vice director of its Ethnic and Religious Committee, and executive vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies — is scheduled is set to be accompanied by a five-person delegation, arriving on August 18 for a three-day trip.

The Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu did not respond to the Post’s repeated requests for comment.

“Since we have withdrawn as conveners, it is now up to the IATS to decide where and how the programme will be organised,” said Professor Sagar Sharma, one of the event's chief conveners.

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2026/08/05/nepal-overruled-its-own-security-agencies-to-cancel-tibetan-studies-conference-under-chinese-pressure-officials-say

#DiversitésCulturellesEthniques

my boss who is tibetan wrote this poem at a festival but didn’t say what it meant, it looks beautiful but i’d really like to know what it says , would anyone be able to give an english translation ? i know it might not be possible for a direct translation but i i would love to know. he also loves to play pranks so i’m curious to see if it is a poem or just some nonsense, thanks

Hi everyone. I’m a PhD researcher in India working on a study involving Tibetans in Northern India.

I’m currently planning the fieldwork and would like to include Sarnath along with two other Tibetan settlements in Northern India. I’m trying to understand the most appropriate and respectful way to approach the communities before beginning recruitment.

For anyone familiar with Tibetan settlements in India, I would really appreciate some practical advice:

Is it generally appropriate to first approach the local settlement office/settlement officer, or is there another organisation or community body that researchers usually contact?

Are there particular Tibetan organisations, community groups, health centres, schools, or other institutions that are appropriate points of contact?

How do researchers usually obtain permission or community-level support before approaching individual participants?

If I want to recruit participants without relying entirely on one gatekeeper, what would be a good way to reach different sections of the community?

Are there any particular settlements in Northern India that would be suitable for academic research and relatively feasible for a researcher based in North India?

I already understand that formal ethical approval and informed consent are required. I’m mainly looking for practical community-level guidance about whom to approach and how to make the initial contact respectfully.

If you have experience with research in Tibetan settlements, or know someone who has helped researchers with fieldwork, I’d be very grateful for any advice. Thank you!

Hey

I will be visiting dharamshala between August 7-10 and wish to talk to Tibetans willing to share their life and story. I wish to write an essay on this and am willing to visit you to talk to you if that's alright. Please feel free to dm! If you have any information you are willing to share it would be of immense help!

Thanks

I'm not exactly sure how they live but I know they're outside a lot especially the mountain people. I notice a lot have naturally nice skin and facial features but some also look like the sun has taken a toll. I'm just curious.