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Integration and ‘Limited Acculturation’ of Tibetans at Shimla: Experience and Perceptions of a Diaspora

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Global Diasporas and Development

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Abstract

The Tibetan community is an important part of the economy and cultural tourism of contemporary Himachal Pradesh. How do we understand the social development of the Tibetan diaspora that has been born in India and has only heard about Tibet? How have they transformed the cultural space of Shimla city and contributed to its economy? Our research questions interconnect theoretical literature with a small questionnaire survey administered in 2008 to Tibetans residing in Shimla city and some interviews conducted in 2011. Based on an analysis of this data, we explain how the Tibetan diaspora maintains its identity, perpetuating their culture, and significantly impacts part of the economy of Shimla City of Himachal Pradesh. The context of forced exile, belonging for their homeland, and gradual acculturation of youth bring forth numerous issues for discussion and further study on social development of this community. Our chapter forwards debates on commercialization of culture and cultural hybridity with Tibetans born in India increasingly interlacing elements of their host country with the culture practised by their elders.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Common definitions underscore ‘movement’ and migration (Sahoo and Maharaj 2007).

  2. 2.

    Refer to Cohen (1993) for a history of this concept.

  3. 3.

    Tibetans established Bylakuppe in the Mysore area of Karnataka state in southern India as the first refugee settlement in 1960 (Phuntso 2003, p. 137).

  4. 4.

    Other interrelated questions pertain to democratisation, nationalism, nationalist belonging and assimilation and adaptation of refugees in various settlements in India and in exile elsewhere.

  5. 5.

    One of the authors was born, raised and has taught at an undergraduate college of Shimla for several years, while the other author specifically travelled to Shimla in 2011 and is living in Shimla as a fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study since 2012 and has previously researched and published on Tibetan refugees living in Sikkim and Darjeeling region.

  6. 6.

    The Dalai Lama following Nehru’s advice shifted from Mussoorie to McLeodganj/Dharamsala in 1960 (Anand 2002, p. 17).

  7. 7.

    As we know, even nationalism is a social construction, and nations are imagined communities (Anderson 1983).

  8. 8.

    The relationship between home and homeland, the existence of multiple homes and the intersections of home, memory, practices, cultural and other identities and belongings are becoming important aspects of Diaspora studies (Blunt 2007; Misra 2003; Phuntsog 1998; Raghuram and Sahoo 2008; Rolfe 2003).

  9. 9.

    This insight draws on interviews conducted by Renuka Thapliyal among Tibetans living in Shimla in 2008 and by Vibha Arora in various locales of Sikkim and Darjeeling in 2001–2002 and 2006 and some discussions with Tibetans conducting business in the bazaar area of Shimla in July 2011 and subsequently in 2012.

  10. 10.

    See Anand (2000, pp. 282–83) and Magnusson (2002, pp. 204–211) for details on the how His Holiness the Dalai Lama has successfully represented and articulated Tibetan identity for the world.

  11. 11.

    According to the 2002 figures cited by Phuntso (2003, p. 125), most Tibetan refugees living in South Asia are clustered in 46 settlements, comprising 24 agricultural, 16 agro-industrial and 10 handicraft units.

  12. 12.

    I quite agree with McLagan and Calkowski’s observation about self-conscious objectification of culture to affirm diaspora existence and ensure cultural persistence (cf. Korom 1997a, p. 6).

  13. 13.

    Phuntso (2003, pp. 126–150) contains a descriptive progressive narrative of various Tibetan settlements and the role of different departments in preserving Tibetan culture in exile.

  14. 14.

    This is in marked contrast to Sikkim and Darjeeling that have a smaller numerical presence (Arora 2006).

  15. 15.

    For instance various papers in Bernstorff and Welck (2003).

  16. 16.

    On Tibetan religious nationalism refer to Anand (2000), Dreyfus (2002), and Misra (2003).

  17. 17.

    Refer to for greater discussion on Indian government’s response to the Tibet issue and political expression of Tibetan protests on Indian soil.

  18. 18.

    This is quite contrary to most experiences of adjustment of forced displacement (Roseman 1971).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi, India

    Vibha Arora & Renuka Thapliyal

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  1. Vibha Arora
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  2. Renuka Thapliyal
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Correspondence to Vibha Arora .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    Sadananda Sahoo

  2. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    B.K. Pattanaik

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Arora, V., Thapliyal, R. (2014). Integration and ‘Limited Acculturation’ of Tibetans at Shimla: Experience and Perceptions of a Diaspora. In: Sahoo, S., Pattanaik, B. (eds) Global Diasporas and Development. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1047-4_16

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