Nationalism in Exile

Abstract

newlineMore than six decades ago, the Tibetans followed their spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama newlineinto exile after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Following an initial period of hardship, they were newlinerehabilitated in various settlements across India, with the help of the government of India and the newlineinternational community. Since then, the political, economic and social complexities of the Tibetan newlinecommunity-in-exile have attracted the attention of scholars. Writings on the dispossession of the newlineTibetans, their adaptation in host states, their negotiation of identity in host states, dilemmas of newlinecitizenship etc. form the core of the understanding on the subject of Tibetans-in-exile and their newlinecontemporary affairs. These writings provide persuasive insights into the conditions of the Tibetans- newlinein-exile. However, very few writings consider the experiences of Tibetan women as a central newlinesubject. Research focused on Tibetan women-in-exile are few and writings on their perspectives of newlinenation and nationalism are fewer. While considering this gap in the literature, the current thesis newlineexplores the question of the Tibetan nation and nationalism from the perspective of Tibetan women. newlineThe research makes a sincere effort to understand Tibetan women s construction of the idea of the newlineTibetan nation, their contribution to Tibetan nationalism, their status in the Tibetan community-in- newlineexile and their struggles with identity and citizenship in exile. Using a feminist methodology, semi- newlinestructured interviews were conducted with Tibetan women and men belonging to different age newlinegroups and occupational backgrounds and living in the Tibetan settlements in Dharamshala, newlineDehradun and New Delhi; activists, researchers, scholars associated with the Tibetan issue and newlinemembers of Tibetan governmental and non-governmental organizations. The thesis considers the newlinefirst-, second- and third-generation narratives and how the views are impacted by the dominantABSTRACT newlineMore than six decades ago, the Tibetans followed their spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama newlineinto exile after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Following an initial period of hardship, they were newlinerehabilitated in various settlements across India, with the help of the government of India and the newlineinternational community. Since then, the political, economic and social complexities of the Tibetan newlinecommunity-in-exile have attracted the attention of scholars. Writings on the dispossession of the newlineTibetans, their adaptation in host states, their negotiation of identity in host states, dilemmas of newlinecitizenship etc. form the core of the understanding on the subject of Tibetans-in-exile and their newlinecontemporary affairs. These writings provide persuasive insights into the conditions of the Tibetans- newlinein-exile. However, very few writings consider the experiences of Tibetan women as a central newlinesubject. Research focused on Tibetan women-in-exile are few and writings on their perspectives of newlinenation and nationalism are fewer. While considering this gap in the literature, the current thesis newlineexplores the question of the Tibetan nation and nationalism from the perspective of Tibetan women. newlineThe research makes a sincere effort to understand Tibetan women s construction of the idea of the newlineTibetan nation, their contribution to Tibetan nationalism, their status in the Tibetan community-in- newlineexile and their struggles with identity and citizenship in exile. Using a feminist methodology, semi- newlinestructured interviews were conducted with Tibetan women and men belonging to different age newlinegroups and occupational backgrounds and living in the Tibetan settlements in Dharamshala, newlineDehradun and New Delhi; activists, researchers, scholars associated with the Tibetan issue and newlinemembers of Tibetan governmental and non-governmental organizations. The thesis considers the newlinefirst-, second- and third-generation narratives and how the views are impacted by the dominant newlinediscourse in exile. The thesis argues that first, Tibetan women construct the idea of the Tibetan newlinenation-in-exile based on memories and discourse in exile; second, Tibetan women are active agents newlineof nationalism, contributing as political agents, mothers, biological reproducers, and bearers of newlineivculture; third, compared to the status of women in Tibet, before 1959, the Tibetan women-in-exile newlineenjoy a higher status and are economically resilient, socially respected and politically active and newlinelast, identity and citizenship are pressing issues that the Tibetans-in-exile face irrespective of their newlinegender and the Tibetans have to constantly negotiate with their identities as foreigners, refugees and newlinestateless persons. newlinev newlinediscourse in exile. The thesis argues that first, Tibetan women constru