Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 31: Larung Gar Buddhist academy, the largest Tibetan Buddhist institute located in Serthar (Ch. Seda) County, in the so called Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Tibet’s traditional province of Kham, has come under intensified military surveillance and repression by Chinese authorities.
Reports indicate that approximately 400 military personnel from Drakgo (Ch. Luhuo) and neighboring counties in Kardze (Ch. Ganzi) were deployed to Larung Gar on December 20. Helicopter patrols have been introduced, signalling heightened state control over this prominent religious site.
The exile Tibetan government run tibet.net reported that China plans to impose further restrictions at Larung Gar beginning in 2025. These regulations include a residency cap of 15 years for all monks and nuns at the academy. Authorities also intend to reduce the institution’s population through mandatory registration, compelling Chinese students to leave the academy. These measures appear part of a targeted strategy to diminish the religious community’s size and influence.
“The latest measures represent an escalation in China’s broader campaign to restrict religious freedom in Tibet, where traditional Buddhist institutions have faced increasing pressure under state policies aimed at controlling religious practice and education,” stated CTA’s report.
Founded in 1980 by the late Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, Larung Gar has served as a cornerstone for Tibetan Buddhist scholarship, drawing thousands of monks and nuns seeking spiritual education. However, this latest military deployment and helicopter surveillance marks a new phase in a series of crackdowns. The Chinese government’s actions began with large-scale demolitions and forced evictions in July 2016, which lasted until May 2017. During this period, the academy’s population was halved from approximately 10,000 residents, and thousands of homes were destroyed, displacing over 4,500 Tibetans who were subsequently relocated under strict surveillance.
The international community has strongly criticised China’s actions at Larung Gar. In October 2016, the co-chairs of the United States’ Human Rights Commission wrote to the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, expressing “deep concern” over the demolitions and urging Beijing to cease these activities, rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, and allow individuals to practice Buddhism without state interference.
Similarly, the European Parliament passed a resolution in December 2016 condemning the forced removals and demolitions at Larung Gar. The resolution called on China to respect Tibetans’ religious freedoms and halt its oppressive measures.
One Response
In offering corrections, the PRC government actions began in 1999/2000 with a demand to reduce the student population, to which Kyabje Jigme Phuntsok refused. He was arrested, tortured and passed in early 2002 while the first group of students were forcibly evicted. That was the beginning.
Forcible evictions continued over the years until 2016 when the bulldozers massively destroyed the homes of the students that were put on buses with unknown destinations. Shortly afterwards, 12 nuns were seen being forced to dance on a stage in their robes in Nyingtri, as a video illustrates.
Another correction: In 2016 the student population was estimated by reliable sources to be closer to 40,000, while at least 25,000 of those were nuns. This is a very import point because it means 35,000 students disappeared through forcible evictions since only 5,000 students were allowed to stay. The basic math reveals the extents of the crimes.
Most students were nuns, which means mostly nuns were disappeared. All evidence points to the conclusion that Larung Gar nuns were sex trafficked by the Chinese government. One researcher estimates that at least between 27,000 to 42,000 nuns from Larung Gar and Yarchen Gar from 2000 to 2019 were forcibly evicted for the purposes of human sexual trafficking, based on the documented and historical Chinese male obsessions with Tibetan women. (This estimate is low due to China’s restrictions on media/internet.)
These corrections are important, and additional research by your highly respected team could help magnify this report and multiply points of access to this terrible truth. Legs so!