Arunachal CM praises Tibetan settlers in the state

Itanagar, Oct 19 (IANS) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday said the people of his state "have learnt a lot from the Tibetan settlers in practicing and keeping alive their traditional textile and handloom, language and rich culture".

The Chief Minister said the Tibetans, despite being settled in a different country, have maintained utmost cordial relationship with local indigenous communities while preserving their rich Buddhist culture, tradition and language.

"I make a point to visit the Tibetan settlements whenever on tour. I have visited both the settlements in eastern Arunachal and found that the indigenous communities around these settlements have in fact benefitted from the Tibetans," Khandu said while addressing the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Sambhota Tibetan School.

Formerly known as Central School for Tibetan, Sambhota Tibetan School at Tenzing Gang is near Kalaktang in West Kameng district. It was established 50 years ago in 1972 as a primary school. As "middle school", today it is imparting formal education not only to children of the Tibetan settlers but also of local communities residing nearby.

Tenzing Gang is one of the three official settlements for the Tibetans in Arunachal Pradesh while two other settlements are in Tezu (Lohit district) and Miao (Changlang district).

Congratulating the students, alumni, faculty and residents of the area on the "glorious 50 years" of the school, the Chief Minister appreciated the school management for rendering yeoman service of imparting quality education and producing bright students, who are today contributing in the country's growth.

"This is indeed an incredible journey of Sambhota Tibetan School since 1972. The institution is doing great work, especially focusing on education of girls, the Tibetan community and local Arunachalis," he said.

He said the state government is committed to preserve the rich cultural heritage of each indigenous community of the state but asserted that the responsibility lies more on today's generation of elders, seniors and parents.

He conveyed the same message to the Tibetans, who are today spread and settled across the world.

Referring to a message from the Dalai Lama, which was read out earlier, Khandu reiterated teaching human values to students along with formal education -- essence of Dalai Lama's message.

"I would like to reiterate the Dalai Lama's message that our focus should be on inculcating compassion and human values in our children. And also teach them about the significance of our environment, climate and our planet," Khandu said.