Dharamsala, a Tibetan Refugee settlement and headquarter of the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) is residence to The Dalai Lama. It is a state in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, on the foothills of the mighty Himalayas. Many people living in Tibet send their children to the following settlements in order to gain further Tibetan education. About 128,000 Tibetans are in exile with the largest parts of the community living in India, Nepal, and Bhutan ( 2009 Census).
A lot of people here have been through very hard times; their families were killed, houses burnt and everything taken away by the the ruling Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Some of these people had to walk through the Himalayas for several days under harsh weather conditions- running and hiding for a better life in India.
Some of them can’t even contact their families because they are afraid that their families are being watched by the Chinese army and they might even get killed! Back in Tibet, people are forced to give up the Tibetan language and learn the Chinese language instead. These people seemed to be very calm and kind but behind those smiles, there was something else that they were hiding. It was pain, sorrow and sufferings. One couldn’t possibly tell that they have gone through so much.
And after all these hard times, they have become some of the most hard working people one could come across. They have well established guest houses with advanced facilities, well furnished cafes with delectable world class dishes and much more on offer. Many are from a nomadic background, and have settled down here and created a very good lifestyle for themselves and their families. Some Parts of Tibet are still controlled by the Chinese Army. In Dharamshala, along every street, ‘Free Tibet’ can be seen written in some form or the other. These slogans signifies the protest silently and also provide a great way for Tibetan artists to explore their passion and make a difference. Hopefully, Tibet will be free soon. #freeTibet
About the author:
Devashish Gaur was born in 1996. He lives in Delhi, India and is currently pursuing a Journalism and Mass Communication graduate program. He aspire to be a documentary photographer and his work have been published by different magazines and publications like Photo Vogue, Inspiro India, Street Photo Mag and many others.
