Tibet – Fifty Years After

Two Indians-the first Tibet ologists from Gyagar sinces Rahuul Sankrityayan (1893-1963) went to Tibet to plug gaps in their knowledge of Himalayan Buddhism, and to see how Tibet compared with the neighbouring Ladakh region of India. What they found instead was an affluent, breathtakingly planned, 21st century town. With sparking six-lance roads and glass front shops that sold all the top international designer labels. Siddharth dubbed Lhasa ‘the most romantic city in the world.’ And yet, the mood of the people was somber, Tibet had been reopened to tourists only a few weeks before, after major riots that had taken place earlier in the year. There issues seemed to dominated their thinking: Has Tibet swamped by outsiders-and has its population been diluted? Is Tibet a self-sufficient land with enormous natural resources? And has Tibet historically been an independent land, a protectorate or a province?