Bigger India
The search for home: Why Tibetans are leaving India
For decades, Dharamshala has been the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile and a mini-Tibet in India. But now, the Tibetans are leaving.
Everyone has a number to offer. Six for Kunsang, four for Lobsang, 13 for Yangzom.
Everyone also has stories to go with the number. Yangzom offers one about her friend, Thinley (Name changed). A decade after fleeing Tibet to come to India, he started getting desperate to return. A teaching job in Mcleodganj and a circle of friends notwithstanding, the separation from his family in Tibet had started overwhelming him. With the Chinese authorities not relenting, the only way he could go back was to cross over into China, clandestinely, from Nepal. He tried doing exactly that, only to be arrested by Chinese authorities and deported back to India.