Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 12: Veteran Tibetan independence activist, writer, and poet Lhasang Tsering passed away at the age of 74 at Jampa Ling Old Age Home in Dharamshala, India at 2:22 p.m. on Thursday. His mortal remains are currently being kept at his residence, Exile House.
Born in Tibet in 1952, Lhasang Tsering fled into exile in India with his parents and two elder brothers following China’s colonial occupation of Tibet. In 1962, he enrolled at the Central School for Tibetans (CST) in Mussoorie and later continued his studies at Wynberg Allen School in Dehradun. In 1972, he was offered an opportunity to study medicine at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. However, he chose to forgo the scholarship and instead joined the Tibetan resistance movement based in Mustang, Nepal.
Following the closure of the Mustang resistance camp in 1974, he returned to Dharamshala and went on to become one of the founding members of the Tibetan Research Centre. From 1976 to 1982, he served as principal of the Tibetan Children’s Village school in Upper Dharamshala, assuming the role at the age of 24.
In 1983, under the guidance of the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lhasang Tsering joined the Information Office of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, now known as the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). During his tenure, he helped expand the operations of Narthang Press and contributed to the development of its computer section.
From 1986 to 1990, he served two consecutive terms as president of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), the largest Tibetan pro-independence organization in exile. He also briefly served as acting editor of Tibetan Review, overseeing the publication from May to December 1986.
Lhasang Tsering was among the founding members of the Amnye Machen Institute, established in 1992 to promote Tibetan cultural and intellectual studies. He remained actively involved with the institute until 1999. He also founded Bookworm, a bookstore in McLeod Ganj that became a gathering place for readers, scholars, and visitors interested in Tibet and its struggle for freedom.
After leaving the Amnye Machen Institute, he devoted much of his time to writing, research, and educating students, journalists, and visitors about Tibet and the Tibetan freedom movement. His notable works include Tomorrow and Other Poems (2003), Ocean of Melody (2009), an English translation of the songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, and Hold On and Other Verses (2012). In addition to poetry, he authored numerous essays and articles on Tibetan history, culture, and politics.
Throughout his life, Lhasang Tsering remained an outspoken and ardent advocate for Tibetan independence and a passionate lover of literature. He devoted his life to advancing the Tibetan cause through activism, scholarship, and literature, leaving behind a lasting legacy in both the political and cultural spheres of the Tibetan community.
