For 80-year-old Rinchen Khando Choegyal, the steady decline in new arrivals stands in stark contrast to her memories from decades ago, when thousands crossed the Himalayas from Tibet seeking education and religious freedom.
“In those days, if Tibetans escaped, no one stopped them—Beijing’s policy was to let them leave, assuming the exile community could not accommodate them. That backfired, and China subsequently imposed strict restrictions. In recent years, arrivals have dropped drastically, directly impacting our schools and monastic institutions. “Now we receive only a few arrivals annually. Combined with falling local birth rates and migration to the West, Tibetan children numbers are dropping. However, non-Tibetans from Indian Himalayan regions—including Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh—as well as Bhutan, continue to join. “While overall numbers remain relatively steady, the proportion of Tibetan-descent monastics has dropped significantly. Yet, thanks to the Himalayan population, our monastic institutions remain vibrant. With border restrictions unlikely to ease, officials in Dharamshala express concern over further demographic declines. In response, the Tibetan government-in-exile indicated in a recent vision paper that it plans to strengthen ties with monastic institutions and Buddhist centres to support long-term continuity.
Data from the Dharamshala-based department of religion and culture of the government-in-exile reveals that across 295 registered monasteries and nunneries housing over 38,000 monastics, only 28% are currently of Tibetan descent. In 2014, Tibetans accounted for 42.5% of the total monastic population—a figure that fell to 33% in 2018, 32% in 2022, and 29% in 2023. Because our identity, language, and struggle are tied to Buddhist culture, this shift impacts us deeply.
“Tibetans inside Tibet were once eager to come to India to study,” Choegyal added. Tsegyal Chukya Dranyi, kalon (a minister), of the department of religion and culture, said that incoming arrivals are now mostly young adults rather than children. “Earlier, parents in Tibet sent their children to study in exile schools and monasteries,” Dranyi said. “Much of our monastic population historically came from Tibet,” said Youdon Aukatsang, director of the Buddhist Women’s Educational Society.
