Introduction
In 1959 and later years many Tibetan settlements were established to rehabilate and cope with an influx of several thousand Tibetan refugees with kind support from Government of India. Among them Norgyaling Tibetan settlement was established in 1972 and many Tibetans working in road construction as labourer in different part of Himalayan foothills were moved to this settlement. It is the only Tibetan settlement in the Maharashtra state of India.
Settlement Location:
This settlement is situated in the north east of Maharashtra State of India at an altitude of 850 Fts above the sea level. The average summer temperature of the place is 46° – 47° Celsius and average annual rainfall of 55-56 inches.
Settlement Population
No of Villages:
This settlement consists of 2 villages or refugee camps.
Settler’s Livelihood:
Agriculture is the main stay of the settlement people. They cultivate maize, rice, ragi etc. Apart from the agriculture, some of the settlers also do sweater selling during winter season to earn extra income to their family.
Facilities in the settlement
| School | One primary school up to 8th Std. |
|---|---|
| Health facilities | One modern allopathic hospital One branch clinic of Tibetan Medical & Astro Institute |
| Monastery | The settlement has 2 monasteries |
| Co-operative Society | The settlement has one co-operative Society with few public service section, namely fair price shop, tractor repair and rental section, handicraft Center. |
Administrative setup
Representative
Each settlement has a settlement officer who is the Representative of the Department of Home appointed by Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dharamsala. Settlement officer is the principle post of the settlement. He is charged with overall control of running of affairs in the settlement. Under the Representative there are chief executive officer Co-operative society, appointed by CTA, Manager of the workshop and other small handicraft and also village leaders.
The Representative acts as the liaison between the settlement and the Department of Home (CTA) and is the main source of information for the people in the settlement. The roles of Chief Diplomat, Chief Justice and Head of the settlement are all combined in one post. Daily task for the representative range from adjudicating disputes to communicating with group leaders and outside authorities, and generally watching over the running of all aspects of the settlement.
Local Assembly
The functioning or activities of every settlement are more or less similarly to each other. There are 2 villages in this settlement and each of these 2 villages possess an elected group leaders whose job is to act as an intermediary with relevant authorities, pass on information, settle disputes and collect money. Group leaders are not elected for their policy-making idea, nor do they campaign on certain issue. These group leaders are chosen on the basis of their strength of personality and once ability to stand before the interest of their village. The duty of the leader is more or less like the representative, but on smaller and more personal scale.