Knowing the culture of Tibet

The Department of Sociology and Social Work organised an interactive session with the representatives of Students for a Free Tibet-India (SFT-India) on Thursday 16 August 2018 during 3-4 pm. The venue was Panel Room. It was an opportunity for PSEco students to be exposed to the culture of people in Tibet. 

Tenzin Tselha is a second generation Tibetan born and raised in India. She has completed her higher education from Pune University in English Literature. She has been actively involved as a student activist with Students for a Free Tibet - India for many years. Tenzin Dakpa was born in Tibet and came to exile when he was only six years old. He has spent the past 17 years as a refugee in India and has not seen his family since he left Tibet. He has completed his Bachelors from Garden City College in Bangalore in Psychology and Journalism.

The session began with a movie screening. The film ‘Tibet’s Cry for Freedom’ was shot between 2007 and 2008 during the run up to the Beijing Olympics that were held in the summer of that year, much to the dismay of those fighting for freedom in Tibet. It interviews most of the main players on the Tibetan side who have been growing more divided about what form the struggle should take, and what it should be seeking as its end goal. The increasing frustration with Beijing’s refusal to grant any sort of genuine autonomy to the region on the one hand, and its continuing exploitation both of the human and natural resources in the area on the other, have created a sharp divide within the community in exile.

It was followed by an interactive session where the discussion was revolved around the life and culture of people in Tibet.