In 1949 the People's Republic of China made illegal invasion of Tibet. Prior to this, Tibet was an independent country with it's own Government, International border, Homogenous population, Currency, Postal, Defence, Language and Economy systems.
In 1959, the situation culminated in the flight to India of the Spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama - Gyalwa Tenzing Gyatso - along with approximately 85,000 Tibetans. The Government of India granted political asylum and later, His Holiness the Dalai Lama established a Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) which functions as the Tibetan Government in - exile. The CTA, headquarters are in small hill station called Dharamshala in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Northern India, under the foot of Himalayas. It has evolved as a competent democratic Government with legislative, judiciary and executive bodies. Tibetans within and outside of Tibet consider it their sole legitimate Government. The CTA also enjoys the strong support of parliamentarians of many countries, non-government organizations and individuals throughout the world.
After taking refuge in India, the first priority of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, CTA and the Tibetan refugees was to instigate long-term rehabilitation programs for themselves. This meant forming homogeneous Tibetan communities large enough to perpetuate and preserve their unique national identity. Those would provide places where they could secure food, shelter, medical care, education and means of livelihood to develop as economically self-supporting community during their period of exile. With generous assistance of the Government of India, Nepal, the United Nations High Commission for refugees and foreign donors, and through the work, faith and tenacity of the Tibetan people themselves, today 54 Tibetan settlements and over 37 residence and non-residence schools have been established in India, Nepal and Bhutan.
At present there are Tibetan settlements in ten Indian states and the largest population is in the state of Karnataka, where they are divided into five settlements. These were established during 1960 to 1974. The numbers of villages in each settlement vary from 6 to 22 per settlement, with varying population from 3,500 to 11,700.
The activities of all these settlements are predominantly based on agriculture. Although all the five settlements differ in location, circumstances and climatical conditions, the majority are situated on reclaimed forestland, and most experience dry conditions. The acreage of land per settlement varies from 3,400 to 11,643 acres. All the settlements have basic education facilities from nursery to higher secondary standard, places of worship, primary health care clinics and hospitals, and access to the traditional Tibetan Medicinal practice. There are also old age homes in three of the above five settlements. The major monasteries have also been re-established in these settlements. The settlement officer, known as the Representative of the Department of Home-CTA, Dharamsala, administers each settlement. The representative functions as the head of settlement, looking after the socio-economic welfare of the settlers. Guided by CTA, the local Tibetan Assembly (LTA) and the laws of the host Nation. The LTA, in line with the charter of the exile Government, form the settlement's policies, rules and directives. There are between eleven to thirty eight members who are elected for a five-year term. Each village also elects a leader who acts as a Liaison between the Representative's office and the public.
In each of the settlements there are Co-operative societies which play an important role in socio-economic condition of the people. These co-operatives have their own Board of Directors who are elcted by the shareholders, and their duty is to determine their own policies. On top all these, is the Office of the Chief Representative cum South Zone development coordinator's office who represents the CTA. The office is also known as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Central Tibetan Relief Committee and it is a registered charitable society. It also acts as the relief wing of Department of Home - CTA. Initially when it was set up in 1987, it was designed to assist the Tibetans living in the five agriculture settlements in the state of Karnataka, with their socio-economic development programs. Since then population has increased due to natural growth and migration. Now the jurisdiction includes not only the settlers but also all the non-settlers who are scattered in various towns and cities of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Taml Nadu, Kerala and Goa.
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