CREATING A HABITAT FOR THE TIBETAN MIGRANTS IN INDIA:

A COLONY AT DHARAMSHALA, HIMACHAL PRADESH

Divya Mulchandani, Maulik Hajarnis and Bhagyajit Raval
Divyamulchandani2294@gmail.com
Architect
Smita and Habeeb Khan Architects
Nagpur, India

hajarnismaulik@gmail.com
Associate Professor
Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Parul University
Vadodara,India

bhagyajit.raval@gmail.com
Dean
Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Parul University
Vadodara,India

Abstract
The present paper is an extract of an academic dissertation which attempted to designing a
prototype habitat for the Tibetan Migrants at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. The
study begins by highlighting the problem of accommodating the increased number of Tibetans
migrants; since initially before a couple of decades, when the first migrants from Tibet
arrived, they were considered as transitory refugees and accordingly provided for stay. Today,
they are still here, in our country and have increased in number, there is a felt need to consider
them as permanent inhabitants and provide a suitable habitat for them with respect to their
culture and community. Based on this, the study was intended to design a permanent habitat –
prototype for them, adopting the context as the determinant for the settlement design. The
paper then gives an overview of the Himalayan context and the current living conditions of
the Tibetan Migrants. This is followed by the description of the design project and its relevant
aspects such as the intent, the site and context, applicable regulations, the patron and the
program. A set of derived design guidelines is then listed.

Keywords: Tibetan Migrants, Habitat, Dharamshala, Context

Introduction
India as a country, has been an epitome of tolerance by laying forth to the world the
philosophy of Non-violence. Never ever has it invaded any other country on the globe and yet
it has itself faced myriad invasions from outsiders through the ages. Even today, India
displays a high degree of benevolence towards the immigrants from the neighbouring
countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Tibet, Afghanistan, etc.
Here, the current study deals with the issues and concerns of the Tibetan immigrants, who had
first migrated to India 50 years ago. Since then, there have been sporadic inflow of such
Tibetan migrants to India.

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Background
The region of Dharamshala which is situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh boasts itself as
the seat of his Holiness Dalai Lama, the Spiritual Leader of Tibetan Buddhism faith; since
past 5 decades Currently, there are around 8,000 Tibetan immigrants residing in Dharamshala.
The cultural impressions of the Tibetan community are manifested in the Architectural
vignettes of the region. The entire aura of Dharamshala is orchestrated by the Tibetan cultural
traits.

Need for the study

Initially when India agreed on accommodating the Tibetan migrants, the country allowed
them to live within the fabric of its towns and cities, integrating them with the resident
communities. But when the extent of the influx of the Tibetan migrants increased
dramatically, there was a felt need to design appropriate settlements for them. But initially the
shelters were built considering them as transitory refugees. Rather than considering refugee
camps as storage facilities, they should fulfil basic human needs and consider refugees as
permanent and not temporary inhabitants.

Aim and objectives

The Aim intended is to Design contextual and enduring habitat for the Tibetan immigrants at
Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

To accomplish the above-mentioned aim, the following objectives shall be undertaken:

1. To examine the living conditions of the Tibetan immigrants in Himachal Pradesh.
2. To study the Tibetan cultural attributes and their manifestation in the traditional
Architecture.
3. To understand the wisdom embedded in the vernacular architecture of the Himachal
Pradesh.
4. To derive inferences from the study conducted so far and demonstrate the application
of the same by undertaking the designing of a suitable project.

Issues the study addresses

The following problems and concerns are faced today, by most of the Tibetan migrants in
India:
1. The Tibetan migrants in India do not have access to ownership of land or at times,
even jobs, since they do not have the citizenship of India. However, they receive aids
from the Government; but this makes them feel like a burden on the Host country and
it’s Government.
2. This is because, acquiring an Indian citizenship is one’s personal choice; but for the
same, the migrant would have to terminate his/her National identity of their own
country. And Tibetans are unwilling to give up their original Tibetan identity, since it
would demoralize them and would diminish the sole spirit of fighting back for their
motherland. (Kumar R. , 2017)
3. They face frequent cross-cultural disputes with the locals in India, since they receive a
generous support from the Government of India.

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 4. Due to the contemporizing of the Indian society and its influence on their settlements,
the Tibetans feel that there is a risk of losing their own cultural identity.
5. They face a constant tension between being a refugee and acquiring the diasporic
status of their community in exile. (Bentz, 2012)
6. There are educational institutions provided by the Indian Government for the Tibetan
migrants in India, but the number of youths in their communities has increased due to
which their Government in exile is unable to employ all of them within their
establishments. These youths do not wish to follow the traditional occupations such as
weaving and selling sweaters, etc. in the seasonal Tibetan markets in Indian cities.
Hence, they wish to find employment in accordance with their qualifications and
skills. (Choedon, 2018)

Methodology
The following sequential tasks were initiated to achieve the above objectives:
1. Studying relevant literature such as research papers on Tibetan Diasporic Identity,
Tibetan colony formation, Human Rights of Tibetan Refugees in Dharamshala, etc.
2. Reviewing literature related to the Tibetan Residential patterns, Characteristic of
Spatial form of Traditional Tibetan Settlement, etc.
3. Conducting a case study of the regional architectural specimens of Himachal Pradesh
supplemented with the relevant literature study such as research papers on Vernacular
practices in hilly areas, Building regulations for hill towns of India, Vernacular
Architecture of Himachal Pradesh; books on subject namely ‘Prathaa’ and ‘Himalayan
cities’.
4. Selecting a suitable site to propose a habitat for a certain number of Tibetan
immigrants and furnishing a model design and layout for the same. This model could
act as a prototype for further replication and / or continuation during the future
extension of the habitat, which would be required as and when the influx of the
immigrants rises.

Expected Outcome
The expected outcome of the proposed habitat for the Tibetan refugees was that the habitat
would act as a community settlement for the upcoming Tibetan Refugees in Dharamshala,
which will provide a stable platform for strengthening their domestic work - network by
incorporating different functions of ‘Production – Processing – Distribution’. It would imbibe
self-esteem and a sense of having found a home away from home in the migrants, by
exhibiting their traditional cultural identity.

Understanding the Himalayan context and the living conditions of the Tibetan Migrants
Before understanding the Himalayan context, it was imperative to study and define a Context.
‘Context’ can be defined as a collective term that indicates the set of all the location specific
factors which have an implication on the shaping of any sort of development at that location.

‘Context’ can also be defined as “the perspective framework of the physical & socio-
economic environment of subjective situation or circumstances.” (Maulik Hajarnis, 2019)

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As discussed earlier the buildings and settlements are expressions of the society of respective
era. Their studies clearly indicate the topographical factors, their beliefs, values, ideologies
and economies as well.

The location specific (locational) factors which comprise a context formulate a back-drop or a
background for any further development to be planned in future. These factors can be broadly
listed as follows: (Raval, 2013)
• Climate • Community • Construction
• Condition • Culture

Regional Climate of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a very strategically located region in the Northern part of India.
Therefore, it must face different variations of climate ranging from Permafrost to the Sub
Tropical Hot-Humid climatic patterns.

Dharamshala and adjacent mountains receive the highest rainfall in the area, while Spiti
valley receives the most negligible rainfall and is proclaimed as cold desert. Snowfall is
common in the alpine tracts. (Kumar, Singh, & Arshad)

Figure 1: Himachal Pradesh Location Map (left) & Political Map (right)
Source: (Embassy of India, Tokyo, 2017) and (Probharat , 2018)

Built context
To perceive the built context of the region, it was imperative to study the vernacular
architecture and planning of various built forms of the region. It is inevitable for an Architect
to understand the wisdom imbibed in their design and structure to take utmost care of the
climatic factors, physical terrain, geographical setting, cultural traits, community values and
customs, local material, prevalent construction techniques, and the tools and other resources
accessible.

Below is a glimpse of the various vernacular built forms evolved through the ages, in different
parts of the Himachal Pradesh region, with respect to the varying terrain, availability of local
materials and the difference in climate:

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 Figure 2: Built Context in Dharamshala
Source: (Tibetan Review, 2015)
The built fabric seems to be wrapped along the contours of the landscape Most of the shelters
are organized along the sunny slopes of the hillocks. In most cases, they are aligned with the
primary circulation path. The village temple is usually erected along the primary movement
spine, on a higher elevation and acts as the focal point for the mountain communities. The
organization of the clusters evolves out of the landscape. Despite of being informal, most
structures seem to be a resultant of the incremental growth of the settlements.

Tibetan Community and its Culture

This section would include assigning significance to specific morals, ethics, historical figures,
religious emblems, social delegations, myths, beliefs, etc. This would eventually inform the
designing of the project undertaken for the present study.

First it is imperative to mention that ‘Culture’ has generally been defined as a learned
(shared, common) way of thinking (perceiving, valuing) and acting (interacting,
communicating) among a group of people (tribe, society). It is normally believed that the
"thinking – perceiving – valuing" precedes the "acting-interacting-communicating." (Klagge,
2015)
Likewise, the popular parameters of general culture include Religion, Language, Task
orientation, Time orientation and Personal space. Based on these conventional parameters,
the following is a brief glimpse of the Tibetan community and its culture:

Figure 3 : Sand Mandala

Source: (Gajang Tsawa Monks World Peace Tour - Pittsburgh 2012, 2012)
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Religion: Tibetan Buddhism, which is their religion in exile, forced from its homeland when
Tibet was invaded by the Chinese. Dalai Lama is the Buddhist Spiritual Leader of the
Tibetans, who has lived in India in exile since he fled from Tibet. Tibetan Buddhism is a
combination of the Mahayana Buddhism with Tantric and Shamanic; along with the ancient
Tibetan religion known as Bon.
The Special traits of the Tibetan Buddhism: (BBC, 2014)

Language: Tibetan, which is spoken in a variety of dialects in all the parts of the Tibetan-
inhabited area which covers ½ million sq. miles. Some of these dialects are tonal like the
Chinese language, while others remain non-tonal. However, the most widely spoken is the
Lhasa dialect, aka standard Tibetan, which is spoken in Central Tibet and in Exile by most
Tibetans.

Rituals: Tibetan Buddhist rituals involves faith in the power of buddha. Statues and other
images of buddha were believed to be sacred. Other objects in Tibetan Buddhism include
wheel of law, the mandala, the prayer wheel, the bumpa vase etc.

Praying flag is also considered to be one of the most religious motifs. They are used to
encourage Peace, Compassion, Strength and wisdom. The five colours represent five
elements and five pure lights which are arranged in a specific order: Blue, White, Red, Green
and Yellow.

Festivals: Tibetan refugees religiously organize many festivals which for them is an
expression to preserve their culture. These events are generally open to public hoping to bring
them closer to the neighbouring people by familiarizing with Tibet’s distinct traditions as
they celebrate the Tibetan way of life through its collection of exhibitions, religious and
cultural performances, talks, Tibetan food etc.

Figure 4: Tibetan Monks celebrating the ‘Great Prayer’ through a ‘Black Hat’ dance
Source: (Liang, 2015)
Clothing: Tibetan tends to be very traditional in clothing, while some have taken to wearing
western clothing, conventional dresses still abounds which not only conveys their habits, but
also speaks of their history, beliefs, culture and character of local people. Men generally
wears double layered robe (chuba) with full sleeved shirt and women dress dark coloured
wrap dresses over a full sleeved blouse and a colourfully striped, woven wool apron.

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The right shoulder is almost always left free in both the cases.
Commoditization of these handicrafts has had multiple impacts on the culture, economy, and
class structure of Tibetan society.

Figure 5 Tibetan clothes

Source: (Olga Rani, n.d.)

Assessing the living conditions of the Tibetan migrants

The assessment process of the living conditions of the Tibetan migrants was supposed to
involve an overview of the living and working environment in various colonies and
settlements of the migrants developed in different parts of the region.
According to history, Tibet has been victimized through several invasions. But the major one
has been the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese back in 1951, which resulted in the Chinese
occupation of Tibet. After this event, around 1959, numerous Tibetans migrated to India,
following the footprints of their Spiritual Leader the 14th Dalai Lama. (IAS POINT, 2017)

In the past 5 decades, around 1, 50,000 Tibetan refugees have fled to India. The Tibetan
migrants run a Government in Exile from McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamshala in
Himachal Pradesh, which administers the activities of the Tibetan migrants in India. (Gandhi,
2018)
Evolution of settlements of the Tibetan migrants in India and their living conditions:

Bylakuppe in Mysore district, Karnataka (The first Tibetan exile

settlement) followed by 3 more settlements in the state
Early Tibetan Gurupura village near Hunsur
colonies in India Oderapalya near Kollegal
Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district
Bir in Himachal Pradesh
Gajapati district in Odisha

Source:(Gandhi, 2018)

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 Types of Tibetan Settlements in Indian States

AGRICULTURAL
HANDICRAFT/ SCATTERED
Andhra Pradesh
INDUSTRIAL Andhra Pradesh
Sikkim
West Bengal
Maharashtra
Himachal Pradesh
Chhatisgarh Himachal Pradesh Sikkim
Orissa West Bengal Delhi
Jammu & Kashmir Uttarakhand Meghalaya
Karnataka

Source: (Central Tibetan Administration, 2018)

The Charter of the Tibetans in Exile is the supreme law governing the functions of the
Central Tibetan Administration. The Charter guarantees to all Tibetans equality before the
law and enjoyment of rights and freedom without discrimination based on sex, religion, race,
language and social origin. It provides for a clear separation of power among the three organs
of the administration: judiciary, legislature and executive. (Central Tibetan Admiistration,
2018)

The Department of Home, the second of the 7 CTA Departments, is responsible for all the
rehabilitation schemes for Tibetans in exile. The entire set of Tibetan settlements in India has
been located as per the directives of the Central and State Governments in India. There are
around 54 Tibetan settlements in India, located in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, Karnataka,
and Tamil Nadu.

The settlements were not meant to be a permanent home to the Tibetans initially, but were
supposed to be of a temporary nature, where displaced Tibetans could secure food, shelter,
medical care, education and a means for livelihood, such as agriculture, carpet weaving and
seasonal petty businesses. (Pehrson, 2003)

The consistent immigration of Tibetans in India since the 1960shas resulted into
overcrowding of the settlements. The houses which were designed for a family of 5 members,
now sometimes house as many as 10 members. Originally, built as temporary structures, they
have not been renovated since then. This causes several Tibetan settlers to suffer from poor
sanitary conditions and inadequate water supply. This has further led to more than 35,000
cases of Tuberculosis since 1959 and several other health issues such as diarrhoea, dysentery,
skin and respiratory problems, etc. (Pehrson, 2003).

Commoditization of these handicrafts has had multiple impacts on the culture, economy, and
class structure of Tibetan society.

Applicable Regulations
• As per the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014, each State government in India is
directed by Government of India to lease any suitable land available within its

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 resources to CTRC (Central Tibetan Relief Committee), for a minimum of 20 years
(until subsequent renewal), for settling Tibetan families, upon request.
• In this case, the owner shall be the State government, the lessee would be CTRC and
the occupants would be the members of the family who are allotted that land or house;
or are already living there, yet do not have any rent tenancy certificate, so far. The
land usage within the allotted land leased by the State government shall be decided by
CTRC; which may be for residential, commercial, agricultural usage or for schools,
markets, monasteries, etc. as deemed necessary by CTRC.(Government of India,
2015)
• In the present study, the Existing Land Use of the identified site which was ‘Open
Space’ as per the Development Plan of Dharamshala for 2035. (Government of
Himachal Pradesh, 2017). This implies that the land could be legally leased for
settling Tibetans as per the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy, 2014 and the proposed
developmental proposals for the same could be approved by CTRC, the Relief and
Development Wing of Home Department, Central Tibetan Administration. There
would be no other existing applicable regulations for the identified site in the study.

Results and Findings

• While most current refugee camp designs take the UNHCR recommendations and
regulations into consideration, such designs are only minimally inspired by the
context and the climate in which these camps will exist. Therefore, there is dire need
for camp designs and models that takes into account the various contextual, cultural,
and economic needs of a proposed refugee camp. Additionally, applying the latest
affordable, yet innovative design solutions (such as taking advantage of the available
natural energies or using newly developed and recycled materials) is strongly
encouraged and will likely be beneficial when designing refugee camps.
• Furthermore, taking a long –term perspective when designing refugee camps, prevents
the camp from failing short after it has been established. In addition, providing
adequate work opportunities for refugees likely will ensure a more productive
community that is less dependent on support from humanitarian organizations’.
• Architecture in such places which have a rich socio-cultural milieu and extreme
climatic conditions, must be a resultant of design decisions taken in response to them
and shall never be an alien implanted in an existing heritage fabric.
• The amalgamation of various ethnic colours, elements, motifs, features, vernacular
techniques will easily give any designer different alternative permutations to form a
character for the design language of the built structures.
• In such cases, since the Tibetans are refugees hoping to go back to their country one
day and facing the risk of losing their culture and identity; it is the responsibility of
the Architect to make sure that their identity is retained in the resultant project and not
be taken away by the whims of the designer.

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Each of the above findings is inevitable to keep the whole process of design contextual and
the process of construction sustainable and feasible in areas with a such peculiar natural and
socio-cultural context.

Conclusion
Architecture cannot be a direct or a sole solution to any social problem. But it has the
potential to act as a catalyst or a tool to resolve that problem, by providing a suitable
platform.

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