Uprooted: A Comparative study of Tibetan and Kashmiri Pandit Refugees

Tibet has demurred China‟s occupation of their territory since inception. Self immolation is not unheard of when it comes to the struggle of Tibetan people against China for attaining autonomy in their region however; these self immolations have been on the up rise at an alarming rate since the last decade. China has formulated hard line policies for Tibet which has in turn made Tibetan people‟s lives miserable to say the least. However, the case of Tibetan refugees is far more devastating. China tightened policy in Tibet since 2008 and further went on to pressure Nepal to become a partner in restricting basic rights for Tibetan refugees settled there. Due to China‟s occupation and their atrocities upon Tibetan people, the Tibetans fled from their own country during the period of 1959-1960 to South Asia where a majority of them migrated to India. This paper will focus on how these refugees have adapted themselves in the new physical and socio- cultural environment of their host countries. It will also compare the situation of Tibetan refugees with that of KP refugees. It tries to understand how they have adapted themselves with the host community post migration in order to sustain their livelihood in a different environment.