They No Longer Eat Barley

Will the Tibetan refugees return to their homeland tomorrow, when the Dalai Lama decides to return to Lhasa? It might seem obvious that they will. A closer look, however, and the situation appears more ambiguous.

What many refugees thought was a temporary sojourn when they came out in 1959 has stretched into more than three decades in exile. Today, the refugee population of over 100,000 is scattered around the world, but is concentrated in India, where there are about 80,000. Approximately 15,000 live in Nepal — in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Solu Khumbu, Walung, Rasuwa, Chiti, Dhorpatan, Jumla, Mustang and Dolpo.

Pokhara has a refugee population of 1500 or so. Among them, about 40 percent were born in Tibet, while the remaining 60 percent constitute second generation refugees born in exile. As elsewhere in Nepal, the refugee community here also is better off than the Nepali cross-section. Many have acquired citizenship, and learnt the language and the ways of the Nepalis. While they have become nearly one with Nepali society, the Tibetans have also built a vigorous cultural world for themselves, establishing monasteries, promoting the Dharma, and drawing on links with the numerous mythical Buddhist sites in Nepal. While this might not be true for Tibetan refugees all over, those in Nepal have adapted socially and settled down fairly comfortably.

The adaptive process is best illustrated by the case of Tenzin, now in his 50s, who recalls how shocked he was back in 1961 to see Nepalis eat "grass" with their daal-bhat. "Do you think I will eat this green stuff for lunch?" he remembers asking the innkeeper. Today, Tenzin not only eats the "grass" (tori ko saag, mustard) with relish, but even grows it in his garden plot.

Neither the countries providing them asylum, nor the UNHCR seem overly concerned about quick repatriation. As for the Tibetans, Rangzen (freedom) is a much cherished dream, but how many would return when Rangzen is finally attained? Would they want to go back, and what kind of free Tibet will it be?

When asked the simple question whether they would like to return to Tibet, fully 97 percent of the respondents this writer interviewed in Pokhara had no hesitation in responding 'Yes'. However, when the discussion turned to actual details, the answers became more ambivalent. It seemed clear that much would depend upon what kind of agreement the Dalai Lama accepted for his return, the economic opportunities available back in Tibet (compared to their situation in Nepal), the political stability within Tibet, and so on.

The return will probably begin with a trickle, but it will never become a flood. The first batch of returnees will probably include the political elites of the Government-in-exile and those without an economic base. This batch might also include the recent arrivals, who do not feel comfortable among earlier refugees who have been South Asianised. The return to Shigatse or Lhasa will also be difficult for young Tibetans who have grown up in Kathmandu or New Delhi. For a refugee population that is not in dire straits, too many conditions will have to be fulfilled before they will move back en masse.

If the Tibetans were to remain in exile for another generation, then the question of return will become moot. Eighty nine percent of those interviewed stated that they would want to make Pokhara their permanent home if the awaited return did not come about. Phunjok, a refugee official, said: "We will then be just another ethnic group of Nepal."

Chhetri, an anthropologist, studied Pokhara's Tibetan refugee community in 1988-89. He is now working in community forestry.