690.5
International Migration: A Study of Gender Equality Among Tibetan Women in Mysore India
Dr. Premula Raman,
Department of Sociology,
Teresian College, Mysore,
Karnataka, India-570011
ABSTRACT
Tibet, a peaceful country situated in the Himalayas faced changes with the occupation by China in 1951, since then exodus of the Tibetans began to take place to India, Nepal and Bhutan. The largest number of refugees came to India in 1959 along with his Holiness, the Dalai Lama. There are about 94000 Tibetans living in different settlements all over India today. In South India, all the five settlements of the Tibetans are located in the state of Karnataka out of which four settlements are very closely located to the city of Mysore.
After the completion of their schooling in the settlements, most young Tibetan youth move to Mysore for their University education. During their stay away from the settlements, the students are exposed to several new socio-cultural forces.
They are always told that they will return to their land and therefore Tibetan Buddhism is strictly practiced. Contact with the outside world has led to tensions in maintaining their identity since they are a drop in the ocean outside. Tibetans are a highly religious group but their religion is facing a competition from western influences. There have been changes in the lifestyle of the Tibetans along with generational differences. Attempts have been made to preserve and modify Tibetan culture.
The study is based on the sample of Tibetan women studying in the colleges of Mysore University. The study attempts to examine the impact of migration on gender equality, fertility, family size, treatment of women in the community and the efforts made by Tibetan women to adjust to new social spaces. The paper tries to examine the gendered changes.