Ahmed Tauseef
Aurangabad: Tibetan refugees have become synonymous to the winter in Aurangabad. Short in stature and with different facial appearance from Indians the Tibetan refugees meet the demand of warm clothing of locals every winter without fail.
Sonam Paljor, a 54-year-old Tibetan refugee, has been coming to Aurangabad since he left school to support his parents in seasonal business of selling sweaters, woolen caps and mufflers.
Like other Tibetan refugees Paljor's exit from his own country was not a planned migration in pursuit of a bright future. He had to flee to Northern India at the age of six along with the first batch of 85,000 Tibetan refugees in 1959 that rallied behind the spiritual leader of Tibet---Dalai Lama to escape Chinese crackdown in his country.
Ever since India is the home of Sonam Paljor, who makes his living through selling sweaters in winter and farming in the rest of the year.
During his stay in the city he bargains everyday with the locals infected with a common tendency that Tibetans struck the deal at any cost. "We earn around Rs 200 to 300 per day here", says Paljor. He resides in a refugee settlement in Karward district near Hubli in Karnataka where over 40,000 refugees from Tibet are settled.
The life for Poljar and his countrymen is not so easy or it is harder than it could have been in their homeland. These refugees lead a spartan life in a country which is struggling with her own burgeoning population and poverty. They slog out their lungs farming the land provided by GOI as an option other than selling sweaters if it is not winter in India.
Paljor says his Indian friends were a great help in training Tibetans about farming, as they were not familiar with the ways of farming in the alien land.
The Tibetan refugees in India hold the refugee status since the GOI granted asylum to their temporal leader. Often referred to as model refugee community, Tibetans officially form the largest refugee group in South Asia and is perhaps the only refugee community, which does not live in camps, says a report based on social and demographic statistics of Tibetan refugees.
Tibetan refugees are spread across the country in tens of thousands since 1959 with a major part settled in the state of Karnataka.
However, this refugee community with Buddhism as the major religion has adopted urban Indian life. One can see young Tibetan girls and boys dressed up in modern outfits mingling with Indians. They speak Hindi and English with equal fluency. Concerned about keeping the Tibetan culture alive, the Tibetan Refugee Sweater Sales Association has made it mandatory for women to put on Tibetan traditional dress.
Young Tibetans who opened their eyes in India do look this country as a launching pad. Sonam Chodon is a young Tibetan girl based in Aurangabad is pursuing her masters in commerce from a local college. She helps her parents in seasonal business who hail from Karnataka every year in winter. "I join them after college and stay here till the shops are closed", says she. Sonam epitomizes the young Tibetans in India who are aware about their status and know where they have to go at the end. But her ambitions are like Indian friends. She wants to do a job that would earn her dignity with good money.
At some extent it proved fortunate for Tibetans to seek asylum in India. When India spread her arms for Tibetans fleeing Chinese suppression, she also opened her resources for these alien refuges of Tibet, which their indigenous home with its limited resources with severely dry weather could not provide.
A number of young Tibetans, including two daughters of Paljor, are now settled in developed countries like USA, Canada and England benefiting from the education facilities available in India. They are vibrant and respect Indian customs and traditions keeping their Buddhist and Tibetan identity alive.
Though Tibetans are languishing in the country for about four decades, reflect a strong desire to settle back in their motherland free from Chinese occupation. Paljor says he is quite hopeful that negotiations with China would reap results and he would go back to his country quiet opposite the way he had left it.
Aurangabad: Tibetan refugees have become synonymous to the winter in Aurangabad. Short in stature and with different facial appearance from Indians the Tibetan refugees meet the demand of warm clothing of locals every winter without fail.
Sonam Paljor, a 54-year-old Tibetan refugee, has been coming to Aurangabad since he left school to support his parents in seasonal business of selling sweaters, woolen caps and mufflers.
Like other Tibetan refugees Paljor's exit from his own country was not a planned migration in pursuit of a bright future. He had to flee to Northern India at the age of six along with the first batch of 85,000 Tibetan refugees in 1959 that rallied behind the spiritual leader of Tibet---Dalai Lama to escape Chinese crackdown in his country.
Ever since India is the home of Sonam Paljor, who makes his living through selling sweaters in winter and farming in the rest of the year.
During his stay in the city he bargains everyday with the locals infected with a common tendency that Tibetans struck the deal at any cost. "We earn around Rs 200 to 300 per day here", says Paljor. He resides in a refugee settlement in Karward district near Hubli in Karnataka where over 40,000 refugees from Tibet are settled.
The life for Poljar and his countrymen is not so easy or it is harder than it could have been in their homeland. These refugees lead a spartan life in a country which is struggling with her own burgeoning population and poverty. They slog out their lungs farming the land provided by GOI as an option other than selling sweaters if it is not winter in India.
Paljor says his Indian friends were a great help in training Tibetans about farming, as they were not familiar with the ways of farming in the alien land.
The Tibetan refugees in India hold the refugee status since the GOI granted asylum to their temporal leader. Often referred to as model refugee community, Tibetans officially form the largest refugee group in South Asia and is perhaps the only refugee community, which does not live in camps, says a report based on social and demographic statistics of Tibetan refugees.
Tibetan refugees are spread across the country in tens of thousands since 1959 with a major part settled in the state of Karnataka.
However, this refugee community with Buddhism as the major religion has adopted urban Indian life. One can see young Tibetan girls and boys dressed up in modern outfits mingling with Indians. They speak Hindi and English with equal fluency. Concerned about keeping the Tibetan culture alive, the Tibetan Refugee Sweater Sales Association has made it mandatory for women to put on Tibetan traditional dress.
Young Tibetans who opened their eyes in India do look this country as a launching pad. Sonam Chodon is a young Tibetan girl based in Aurangabad is pursuing her masters in commerce from a local college. She helps her parents in seasonal business who hail from Karnataka every year in winter. "I join them after college and stay here till the shops are closed", says she. Sonam epitomizes the young Tibetans in India who are aware about their status and know where they have to go at the end. But her ambitions are like Indian friends. She wants to do a job that would earn her dignity with good money.
At some extent it proved fortunate for Tibetans to seek asylum in India. When India spread her arms for Tibetans fleeing Chinese suppression, she also opened her resources for these alien refuges of Tibet, which their indigenous home with its limited resources with severely dry weather could not provide.
A number of young Tibetans, including two daughters of Paljor, are now settled in developed countries like USA, Canada and England benefiting from the education facilities available in India. They are vibrant and respect Indian customs and traditions keeping their Buddhist and Tibetan identity alive.
Though Tibetans are languishing in the country for about four decades, reflect a strong desire to settle back in their motherland free from Chinese occupation. Paljor says he is quite hopeful that negotiations with China would reap results and he would go back to his country quiet opposite the way he had left it.
