Fluctuating identity and host refugee dynamics a study of Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala

Abstract

The concept of identity remains pivotal in the analysis of communities enduring prolonged refugee scenarios. This study, rooted in ethnographic research conducted in Dharamsala, endeavours to elucidate the Tibetan exilic identity as perceived and expressed by community members themselves. Despite being characterized as highly successful due to their economic self-sufficiency and cultural resilience,Tibetan refugees have encountered numerous trials and transformations during their stay of over six decades of exile. These shifts are most comprehensible when viewed through local and generational perspectives, particularly as the Tibetan government-in-exile tends to present Tibetan identity as monolithic and immutable. Through examining spatial, generational, and interactional dynamics, this research contends that diverse perceptions of the Tibetan self emerge, challenging and reshaping traditional notions of Tibetan identity. Moreover, it illustrates how the relationship between Tibetans and non-Tibetans in Dharamsala complicates the conventional host- refugee dichotomy while reinforcing the prevailing social perception of refugees as subordinate. In essence, the study underscores the agency exercised by Tibetans in constructing their identities through dynamic, pragmatic, and performative means, despite their marginalized status as de facto refugees in India. newline