LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR

TIBETAN REFUGEES IN
TENZINGANG, ARUNACHAL
PRADESH

CAPSTONE-2 (PRESENTATION)

SUBMITTED BY: RINCHIN WANGJOM THONGDOK

 INTRODUCTION
• Livelihood widely defined as comprising of capabilities, assets and activities
required for a means of living.

• Tibetans are a group of East Asian Ethnic natives of Tibet.

• In 1959 after the Tibetan revolt in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama along with thousands
of Tibetans came to India

• There are about 45 Tibetan settlements with an estimate of about 1,50,000

living in India currently.

• The Central Tibetan Administration, also known as the Tibetan

Government-in-exile, was formed in 29 May, 2011.

• In 2014 the the Indian government formed the Tibetian Rehabilitation policy.

• An estimate of 7,530 Tibetans live in Arunachal Pradesh.

• The Tibetan refugees are settled in Miao, Tezu, Tuting, West Kameng and
Tawang Districts.
Fig: Students of The Sambhota Tibetan Middle
• They are mostly engaged in activities like Agriculture, handicrafts, seasonal school at Tenzingang
sweater selling, restaurants, etc.
Location of the study:
• Tenzingang settlement is situated in
the Sub-Himalayan range in the
West Kameng district of Arunachal
Pradesh Northeast India.

• It is situated near the Indo-Tibetan

border and is close to the border of
Assam and Bhutan.

• The Tenzingang settlement was

established in the year 1972 to
rehabilitate 34 Tibetan refugees
living in the scattered places in West
Kameng and Tawang District.

• The current population of

Tenzingang settlement is 1006.

Fig: Tenzingang, Arunachal pradesh

 DESCRIPTION OF THE FIELD

• The residents were very hospitable and

welcoming.

• The Village was clean and organised.

• I was introduced to an old man in
Tenzingang, he was 74 years old. He looked
healthy and is still working as a salesman.

• He introduced me to the other interviewers

• He narrated on how they settled in India.
• The education system was very relaxed as
their main motto is “Freedom to think”.

• One of the person I interviewed runs a home

Fig: Pema home stay and Kesang tyre shop
stay. Fig: Cleanliness awareness in
Tenzingang Bazaar
 OBJECTIVE

Examining:
•The livelihood opportunities
•Sources of livelihood and work force participation
•the challenges Tibetan refugees face to access livelihood in Arunachal
Pradesh.
RESEARCH QUESTION

1. How have the governmental & non-governmental organizations (national

and international) aided to the economic development of the Tibetan
refugees in Arunachal Pradesh?
2. What are the major challenges faced by Tibetans in the Tenzingang
settlement?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

STUDY AREA
The field study was conducted in Tenzingang settlement in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, between the
months of March-April 2023. The respondents in my study consist of farmers, Tibetan administrative officers from the
Administrative office and handicraft center, Teachers, sweater sellers, restaurant owners, people working in Special Frontier
Force, retired personnel.
The study has been primarily based on field surveys using questionnaires that I prepared. I also conducted both formal and
informal interviews along with group discussion to understand them better. Secondary data was collected from a few
Tibetan Government websites and some articles.

SAMPLE

The main data was collected during the survey. The total number of respondents in my survey was 33 people from
Tenzingang settlement. Out of which 15 people were engaged in farming and miscellaneous activity through the year, 5
working as teachers and in the administrative department, 6 working in the commercial sector as sweater sellers, restaurant
owners, 4 who have worked under the Special frontier force and 3 retired personnel.
Findings:
• Farming is insufficient.

• Free saplings and seedlings provided to the farmers by the state

government are usually wild and fake.

• Lack of healthcare in the settlement.

• High prices of medicines, ambulance charges.

• The Sambhota Tibetan Middle school at Tenzingang provides

mid-day meal to all students under the Central government.

• No direct support is provided by local or national government

excluding some scholarships and sponsorships that are provided
annually or in between 2-3 years.

• Leave without pay.

• Less option for livelihood dependency amongst old aged groups

and lack of youth presence.

• Working in Special Frontier Force.

• No loans.

• No bank, no post office.

Fig: Weaving of the traditional
• Exhausted workers at the handicraft centre.
carpet
• Most workers are marginal workers or non-workers.
 MAJOR LIVELIHOOD ACTIVITIES

Livelihood Activities

Force

CT
A

CTA

Fig: major livelihood activities in

Tenzingang
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DIVISION

Fig: Work force participation

 Fig: Mid-day meal at Sambhota Tibetan Middle school, Tenzingang

Fig: Sambhota Tibetan Middle school, Tenzingang

Managed by STSS(under the Department of Education, CTA, Dharamsala, H.P India)
 CONCLUSION

The main focus of the study was on the livelihood opportunities for Tibetans refugees in Tenzingang,
Arunachal Pradesh and the difficulties they encounter while doing so. The main cause of the
settlement's decline in population being lack of economic prospects and disconnection from the rest of
the World.
Healthcare being one of the major challenges for the residents. As healthcare plays an important role in
the mental and emotional wellness, a safe and healthy life, economic growth and productivity, and
improved quality of life.
Tibetan settlements are disconnected from the world, making it difficult to get access to necessities and
growing their community economically.
But even then Tibetan communities are trying to make a living and are much better off than any other
refugee communities.
Fig: Kunga Samten Hospital,
Fig:Men-Tsee-Khang, also known as Tibetan Medical
Tenzingang
REFERENCES:
Government of India: Ministry of Home Affairs on Tibetans
Tibetan Rehabilitation policy-2014
Livelihoods & Micro-finance in Refugee Camps By Simona Cavaglieri
Exile Tibetans
CTRC: Department of Home CTA
Tibetan Refugees in India, New Delhi: Kharat, Rajesh (2003)
Refugee livelihoods A review of the evidence, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Machtelt De Vriese.(2006)
Tibetan people: Wikipedia
UNHRC: Livelihood and economic inclusion Human Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in India
Central tibetan relief committee.org
Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy Sparks Protest in Arunachal Pradesh By Sean Fitzpatrick / October 21, 2017
Livelihood Opportunities of Refugees: A Study of Tibetans in Arunachal Pradesh (Mizoram University)
A Study of Occupational Structure and Livelihood among Tibetan People in-Exile in India Vinod Kumar Sharma, Nikesh Sharma
Tibetan migration to India Why, when, how and with what consequences?by Charlotte Pehrson Tibetan justice center:The status
of Tibetian Refugees in India (tibetjustic.org)
Tibetan refugee in india and the Tibetan rehabilitation policy,2014
A Study of Occupational Structure and Livelihood among Tibetan People in-Exile in India Vinod Kumar Sharma, Nikesh
Sharma.
Contactmagazine.net
India: Situation of Tibetan refugees and those not recognized as refugees; including legal rights and living conditions.