Indian Army officers take 42-day-long course in Tibetology

For the first time, Indian Army officers undertook a course in Tibetology to gain comprehensive knowledge and strengthen their connection with the Tibetan community in the border areas.

The 42-day-long course was attended by Indian Army officers, JCO at the Central Institute of Himalayan and Cultural Studies, Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh.

As per a statement released by the Defence Ministry, the officers undertook research on subjects such as Tibetan Buddhism, People of Tibet, Sinicization of Tibet, and the Political system in Tibet before and after 1950.

Tibet after 1950 saw dramatic political changes including an invasion by China that led to the Dalai Lama, the top Tibetan spiritual Guru, leaving the region in 1959.

The course included learning of Tibetan Language, understanding Tibetan Buddhism and Literature, and visits to monasteries of Chillipam, Dirang, and Bomdila.

Many of these monasteries have deep linkages with Tibetan Buddhism. Other key features of the course included guest lectures by Guru Tulku Rinpoche, Abbot of Bomdila Monastery, and Tibet expert Claude Arpi.

The development comes at a time when India-China tensions remain high in the backdrop of Chinese aggressive moves at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.