From homes to schools, Tibetan govt-in-exile calls for language preservation

The guidelines, recently adopted by the exile government’s Kashag (Cabinet), outline the responsibilities of families, schools, officials and the wider exile community. They were issued as part of the observance of “Tibetan National Identity Preservation Week” from September 23.

The Dharamshala-based Tibetan government-in-exile, Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), on Wednesday unveiled a set of guidelines aimed at preserving the Tibetan language among the community living in exile, amid what it describes as China’s push to eradicate Tibetan identity.

The guidelines, launched by Tibetan political leader Sikyong Penpa Tsering, urge families to speak exclusively in Tibetan at home and during gatherings, avoid mixing foreign words, and use Tibetan folktales, films, stories and nursery rhymes to foster children’s interest in the language. (HT)

The guidelines, recently adopted by the exile government’s Kashag (Cabinet), outline the responsibilities of families, schools, officials and the wider exile community. They were issued as part of the observance of “Tibetan National Identity Preservation Week” from September 23.

The guidelines, launched by Tibetan political leader Sikyong Penpa Tsering, urge families to speak exclusively in Tibetan at home and during gatherings, avoid mixing foreign words, and use Tibetan folktales, films, stories and nursery rhymes to foster children’s interest in the language. They have been asked to observe traditional Tibetan festivals to instill religious practices, culture, and customs and traditions in children.

Exile schools have been asked to maintain the policy of making Tibetan language the primary official language of schools, except where foreign languages are specifically required. The guidelines also urged them to make Tibetan the primary medium of instruction through the primary level, with Tibetan textbooks and mother-tongue teaching prioritised in early education. Schools are also encouraged to hold debates, public speaking, calligraphy, essay, art, drama and poetry competitions to promote Tibetan.

The exiled community has further been asked to organise weekend and holiday Tibetan classes for children attending non-Tibetan schools and use Tibetan as the primary language on signboards, street signs, public announcements and in community spaces in settlements and Tibetan residential areas. The community has been told to encourage Tibetan social media users to use Tibetan as the primary language in their posts and account handles.

“The Chinese Communist government has placed nearly one million Tibetan children in residential schools in Tibet, shifting the medium of instruction to Chinese. It has imposed Chinese-language education in preschools and restricted the use of the Tibetan language in administrative offices. Furthermore, by introducing legal tools under the so-called ‘Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress,’ it has intensified policies aimed at identity eradication,” Penpa Tsering said.

“Within the Tibetan exile community, the rapid emigration to Western countries has outpaced the setup of Tibetan-medium preschools, while birth rates across India, Nepal, and Bhutan continue to decline. Strengthening practical strategies for studying and using the Tibetan language—both inside Tibet and in exile—has therefore become an urgent policy priority focused on education and everyday use,” he said.

The government-in-exile has also launched a global campaign to, as it said, confront and counter various methods and systematic policies implemented by the Chinese Communist government to eradicate Tibetan identity, particularly its recently enacted “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress”, which the Tibetan government-in-exile claims, under the guise of law, further intensifies the assimilation and eradication of national identities.