Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, July 28: Chinese authorities have ordered monks and nuns whose residential quarters have been demolished at the renowned Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Sertar County to leave the institute and return to their native monasteries, as Beijing presses ahead with its latest demolition campaign at one of the world’s largest centres of Tibetan Buddhist learning.
According to a report by the Dharamshala-based Tibetan outlet, Tibet Times, the order applies to all monastics whose residences have already been razed. Those from outside Serthar have been instructed to return either to their family homes or to monasteries in their native regions. At the same time, even monks and nuns originally from Serthar have reportedly been barred from remaining at Larung Gar and ordered to relocate to their local monasteries.
The latest measures follow a renewed demolition drive that began around July 13, 2026. Chinese authorities have justified the operation by claiming that the institute contains an excessive number of residential structures, creating safety concerns, and that the monastic population has grown beyond acceptable limits. Demolition crews have already torn down numerous residences, with the campaign continuing.
The current plan calls for the demolition of 1,060 monastic residences. Those whose quarters have been destroyed are no longer permitted to remain at Larung Gar and are being forcibly removed in successive groups.
Security restrictions across the academy have also been significantly tightened. Monks, nuns, and local residents are reportedly under heightened surveillance, while pilgrims and visitors from other areas are being prevented from entering the institute as authorities enforce stricter controls.
A source familiar with the developments told TT that Chinese authorities had initially planned to demolish the area surrounding Gyutrul Temple within the academy. However, monastery representatives reportedly appealed against the proposal, warning that such demolition would jeopardise the temple, the main assembly hall, and the circumambulation route. Following those representations, the authorities altered the plan and instead targeted the Joser residential quarters situated between the living areas of monks, nuns, and lay practitioners.
Larung Gar has been the target of repeated demolition campaigns over the past two decades. Chinese authorities carried out large-scale demolitions in 2001, 2016, and 2019, citing overcrowding and the absence of legally required construction permits. Those campaigns were also accompanied by stringent quotas on the resident monastic population and the forced removal of thousands of monks and nuns, particularly those who had travelled from other Tibetan regions to pursue Buddhist studies.
The 2019 demolition campaign also drew international attention after reports emerged that a nun, Tsering Dolma, died by suicide after leaving a final message describing how sustained state repression had driven her to despair.
Larung Gar, founded in 1980 by the late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, has long served as one of the most influential centres for the study of Tibetan Buddhism, attracting monks, nuns, and lay practitioners from across Tibet, China, and abroad. Human rights organisations and Tibetan groups have repeatedly criticised successive demolition campaigns and expulsions at the institute, arguing that they form part of broader efforts by the Chinese government to tighten control over Tibetan religious institutions and curtail independent monastic education.
