Introduction

Herbertpur Tibetan Settlement Office was initially established and inaugurated on 14^th April 1982 by His Holiness the Great 14^th Dalai Lama.  The office is located at Lakhanwala Tibetan Colony, P.O. Jassowala, Distt-Dehardun, Uttarakhand State. It’s located at the height of 2454 feet above sea level. The average temperature of the area is around 34 – 38⁰ Celsius.

TSO Office has 3 Staff posted from CTA, Dharamsala as under-

• Tibetan Settlement Officer
• Sceretary cum Accountant
• Peon cum Driver (CTRC Rangkhung Staff)

Grievances are overseen by a Tibetan Settlement Officer appointed by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), supported by camp leaders from each village. He / She is the oversees the administration of the settlement, coordinating various development projects and ensuring the welfare of residents and even maintaining law and order. It acts as liaisons between CTA, state and central government agencies and any other concerns. The Settlement officer takes all major decisions in consultation with the camp leaders and is the most important link between the settlement office and the Tibetan community.

Administrative & Non-Administrative organizations within Tibetan Settlement

• Herbertpur Local Tibetan Assembly Office(LTA)
• Regional Tibetan Freedom Movement Office (BRDL
• Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (R.T.Y.C)
• Regional Tibetan Women’s Association (R.T.W.A)
• Tibetan Joint Co-operative Agriculture Society (TJCAS)

                  Local Tibetan Assembly office was established in year -1995, it comprise of eleven members.

                       Tibetan Joint Co-operative Agriculture Society was founded in 1978

           RTYC was founded in- 1980 and RTWA was founded in -1989

 

 

The Settlement has three compact and two scattered Tibetan Communities, two schools and one Tibetan Private Training Institute, One Monastery under the jurisdiction of the Tibetan Settlement Office, Herbertpur. These are under as –

1. Lakhanwala Tibetan Settlement, also known as Yougyaling is located in village of Lakhanwala Newat, Dehradun district in Uttarakhand, which has Land measuring 79.15 acre. It was established in 1972 primarily to accommodate 60 retired personnel families of the Special Frontier Force (SFF), a convert unit of the Indian armed forces composed mainly of Tibetan refugees.
2. Khera camp is also known as Doeguling, is located in prithipur jungle near vikasnagar Dehradun district in Uttarakhand, which has land measuring 90 acres. It was established in1969 primarily to accommodate 21 retired personnel families of Special Frontier Force (SFF).

   Lakhanwala and Khera colony land was purchased by Rehabilitation centre, Establishment no.22, for the Ex- force Tibetan Personnel as a token of reward for their outstanding performance and valuable Service rendered by them from Govt. of India. It was registered under Uttar Pradesh Co-operative act as Tibetan Agriculture Farming Co-operative Society, Dehradun in 1978.

3. Baluwala is special Frontier Force (SFF) Yugyaling Cooperative housing Society, Baluwala, Dehradun was registered under the UttaraKhand Society Act 05/2003 Article 06 Registration Number 1251 of District Dehradun dated 28 Feb 2008.The Society has a land measuring 13.19 acre consisting of 205 residential plots which are allotted to 146 serving and retired personal. As per society bylaw, every five year they elected board of members including twelve working management committee members which are either pensioners or those serving are on mid income slabs as one could expect being a soldier and total of around 400 members.

4. Herbertpur is one of small scattered Tibetan communities of retired special frontier force personnel which comprise of 8 household families. Apart from two families, rests of six families are living on rent.
5. Haripur Tibetan Community is a small cluster including former members of the Special Frontier Force and their descendants. It comprises of 9 Household families, participating in various community activities.

Established on July 1, 1970, the school began as the SFF Senior Secondary School in Chakrata, Uttararkhand.Its primary aim was to provide educational to the children of Tibetan personnel serving in the SFF, a Special paramilitary force formed in 1962. In June 1980, the school was relocated to Herbertpur, a town in the Dehradun district.

On July 25, 1994, administrative control of the school transitioned to central Tibetan Schools Administration (CSTA), and it was renamed Central School for Tibetan (CST) Herbertpur. Later on December 26, 2022, the school came under the management of the sambhota Tibetan School Society (STSS), operating under the Department of Education CTA in Dharamsala.

 

Academic Profile

• Affiliation- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• Grades offered – Classes 1 to XII
• Streams available – Humanities and Science (both PCB and PCM)

2. TIBETAN CHILDREN VILLAGE SCHOOL SELAKUI (TCV)

After having obtained the necessary approval from the State Authorities and forming a construction team, work started in August 2001. The school which has a capacity for 500 children is located in the vicinity of some of the best schools in India thereby have some apparent advantages.

 

As originally planned admission to this school is based selectively on merit and open to Tibetan students from different schools in exile. In early 2004, recruitment of necessary teachers and administrative co-workers was completed. After selection criteria and process of conducting special entrance tests were worked out, 198 students from class V-VII within TCV schools joined their new school on 1st July 2004. Beginning from class VI it has up to class VIII at present and the school will gradually be upgraded to Senior Secondary level. This co-educational residential institution is part of the broader TCV network, which is dedicated to providing care and education to Tibetan refugee children in India.

 

Academic Profile

• Affiliation- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• Grades offered – Classes VI to XII
• Streams available – Science (both PCB and PCM), Commerce and Arts

Tibetan Private ITI Dehradun was founded on 08th November 2000 under the administration of Tibetan Children Village, Dharamsala with the fund of SOS Kinderdorf International, Austria. The construction started way back in 1997 and was completed in the year 2000, having equipped with the latest infrastructure and resources.

The Centre is affiliated with NCVT, DGT under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Govt. of India) where we offer 09 different courses availing the opportunity to learn and excel professionally in various Technical, Services, and Hospitality courses. The affiliation of the trade is renewed after the period of every five years by DGT. According to the ITI grading system launched by DGT, Govt. of India, we ranked 4th among 104 ITI in the state of UttaraKhand. Tibetan Private ITI Dehradun is the only technical training institute in the Tibetan exile community where students are provided with excellent skill training & exposure as per today’s market requirements and opportunities. We also use to provide seats for our local Indian youth whenever there is a vacancy.

i)Gongkar Choede was established and inaugurated in 7^th March 2003 by His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama and situated in the Tibetan settlement of khera camp at Laldang, some 45 km north-west of Dehradun. Gongkar Choede follows the sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and is the only monastery outside Tibet belonging to the unique Dzongpa Lineage, the practice, study and preservation of which is the monastery’s main objective. Currently it accommodate about 90 monks of different ages who engage in the study and practice of Buddhism and it is able to offer the young monks a firm training in prayer recitation, chanting, ritual performance and the memorization of traditional scriptures. Advanced students can carry out scholastic studies in Buddhist ethics, logic, philosophy and debate.

ii) Gongkar Tsedrup Lakhang is branch of Gongkar choede monastery which was founded in 2008, it is significant Tibetan Buddhist Temple situated within the Tibetan Settlement of Lakhanwala. The term “tsedrub” refers to longevity practices of Tibetan Buddhism; it daily conducts “long life prayers” to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and also for the welfare of Tibetan nation. Apart from that, it also promotes unity and harmony amongst nearby Local religious organizations.

Lakhanwala Health Clinic was established in 1972 and Khera Health Clinic was established in 1969 by the rehabilitation center, headquarters Est. no. 22, Government of India to felicitate the ex-soldiers of Special Frontier Force for their unprecedented service to the Indian Military. However, in year 2011 and 2019 both Health clinic underwent significant renovation by Department of Health. A staff nurses at the center works under the supervision of settlement office and all the expenses of the health center is borne by the department of health, CTA. It provides basic health care services.

It has three sections including a dispensary room, a dressing room and two-bedded patient room. Health center also initiates health education program in the community as per the direction of the Department

 

Old Men Home, Lakhanwala was founded and established in 2^nd October 1977 with collaborative effort of Establishment no.22 and Home Department, CTA. OMH is a dedicated facility to support Ex-SFF or retired Tibetan soldiers of the special frontier force, ensuring cared for their needs and challenges in their retirement. These veterans, who serve in India’s covert military operation, are provided with shelter, medical care and implements programs aimed at improving the quality of retired personnel. This facility from Tibetan Settlement Office through the help of Home Department, CTA stands as enduring gratitude and respect for the sacrifices made by SFF veterans. Old Men Home is directly under administration of Establishment no.22 and at present, it accommodates around 35 elderly.

Bus Station- Nearest Bus Station at Herbertpur is 4 kilometers by road.

Railway station: – The nearest railway station at Dehradun is approximately 33 kilometers by road.

Airport – Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is approximately 61 kilometers by road.