ISTR Sixth International Conference Toronto, Canada / July 11-14, 2004 Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World

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Cultural Exclusion and Social Capital---An inclusive role for Third sector (A case study of Tibetan refugees at Bylukuppe in the state of Karnataka)
by
Achyutha Anantha Murthy
Member, Third Sector Research Group (India), University of Mysore, Karnataka - India

Cultural Exclusion and Social Capital – An inclusive role for Third sector (A case study of Tibetan refugees at Bylukuppe in the state of Karnataka) "Nowadays, the young generation hardly takes any interest in Tibetan music. They want rap and techno. They prefer electric guitar to traditional instruments like the dranyen," - - Dorjee Rapten ( Jay Shankar, AFP, Published by the Canada Tibet Committee, Friday, July 27, 2001) Nothing can be more despairing for the developing world, when cultural exclusion comes from within. Economic marginalization, cultural exclusion and political alienation have compounded the problems of refugee communities. The number of refugees has grown exponentially over the years, all over the world. From the malnourished African countries to developed western countries, refugees have been created because of economic, political and racial reasons. Their problems continue despite efforts by International agencies. To make matters worse, these refugees lose their identity continually vis-à-vis their counterparts from their land of refuge.

The main reason for economic exclusion is the blind implementation of western development paradigms by cash starved developing economies without any thought as to whether such a model is sustainable in the particular region it is being adopted. Sustainable and eco-friendly methods followed by the natives are considered “traditional” and hence primitive and naïve. Emphasis is on the western or euro-centric vision of modernization rather than on “traditional” models of sustainability.

Huge subsidies are offered by developed economies to their own farmers. They are also adopting protectionist measures like import restrictions on agricultural produce from the developing economies. These measures have led to the marginalisation of farmers in developing countries, resulting in the exodus of the rural poor into the cities in search of work. These people are refugees in their own land, driven away from their ancestral homes and heritage and thrown into the great unknown – the urban ghettos.

Refugees fleeing their native lands due to political and racial persecution usually choose a country which they consider better suited for their survival. But more often than not, they end up in camps set up exclusively for them, monitored and constantly policed. These camps, where people from the same political and racial affiliations are put together, are usually the breeding grounds for strong and often militant political underground, working against their erstwhile oppressors. On the positive side, they also form closely-knit societies rooted in their culture and history. The problem of the displaced is in their inability to get assimilated into the mainstream of their chosen land and the lack of opportunities for them to be self-sufficient.

More than 100,000 Tibetans live in India as refugees after their failed 1959 uprising against Chinese aggression, and their government-in-exile is in Dharmashala.

Lugsung Samdulping, situated in the town of Bylakuppe, 225 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of the Karnataka state capital Bangalore, was the first Tibetan settlement in India, formed in 1960. It now spreads over 3,000 acres (1,200 hectares) and is the home to more than 36,000 Tibetan refugees living in five settlements in and around Lugsung Samdulping and has monastaries, nunneries, primary health care clinics and hospitals.

This settlement is different from the usual refugee camp models as the people here enjoy the same freedom and facilities as the native Kannadigas ( people of Karnataka ) do. The refugees here are involved in agriculture, leather industry and garment industry selling their produce in the nearby tourist attractions like Bangalore, Mysore, Coorg and Ooty. By studying this camp, this paper attempts to study the impact of cultural exclusion on the development of social capital. The paper makes an attempt to understand how a focused third sector involvement could help in developing a positive social capital.

Date received: September 30, 2003

Copyright © 2003 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # caml-78.