It’s been 58 years since the migration of Tibetans to India in 1959 after China started campaign for taking control of Tibet. To commemorate the long journey, former ministers in Tibetan government-in-exile has released a journal to relive the history.
Former minister Tenzin Geche Tethong (Kasur) and Gen Lobsang Tenzin la, who served the first Tibetan Nursery (later TCV) since 1960s launched the 155 paged journal titled ‘Exile’ and it is categorised into five sections, Arrival, Democracy, Survival, Education, and Religion and Culture.
The journal, through images documents the survival story of Tibetans in exile through pictures from the total occupation of Tibet in 1959 to 1989, the year His Holiness the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Prize for Peace.
The pictures that have been included in the journal has been captured by various photographers, many of them are unknown. The Editor of the journal, Lobsang Gyatso Sither said the book showcases the sacrifices and hard work of the first generation of Tibetan refugees under the guidance of spiritual leader Dalai Lama and with help from the Government of India in those difficult times.
Gyatso says the photo journal, which was prepared in two years, will help the younger generation of Tibetans to understand and appreciate the history and origins of the Tibetan community, living in exile.
The journal includes certain uniqueness in it as it is based on historical pictures and pictures express more about difficult periods for they help people to visualize the challenges faced by the first generation of Tibetans in exile.
The book also serves not just as a reminder of the difficult past, but also as a reminder of how the Tibetans survived and remained ever true to their beliefs in the most difficult of times, he said.
The journal focuses on the evolution of the exile history from its first educational institute to the first settlement and others, the book comprises of 262 photos out of over 40,000 photos received from various institutions and individuals.
The journal has been funded by Geographic Legacy Fund at National Geographic Society and the Committee of 100 for Tibet for Fiscal sponsorship which had archived and digitised all photographs and can be viewed through their website tibetansinexile.org.