Lhundup Dorjee (alias)

 
Lhundup Dorjee (alias)

born 1929
from Tibet

Lhundup Dorjee describes how his family gave him away in marriage to a woman whose family lived as tenants of Dechen Sangakha Monastery. This family acted as the ngotsap 'representative' of the monastery and performed various functions for it, including collecting butter and grain taxes. Lhundup Dorjee explains the roles played by genpo 'leaders' and ngotsap in collecting taxes on behalf of the government and private estates, in settling disputes, and in looking after villagers' welfare. Lhundup Dorjee provides an account of increasing Chinese oppression after the occupation of his region, including the tactics the Chinese used to force Tibetans into conducting thamzin 'struggle sessions.' The person subjected to thamzin had his hands tied behind him and was ordered to kneel in front of a huge gathering of people, some who participated in the beating of the accused. Lhundup Dorjee also describes the difficulties he and hundreds of other fleeing Tibetans faced when they reached Bhutan, including food shortages and death from heat exhaustion. Upon reaching India, he worked on road construction for eight years before moving to Bylakuppe. Transcript of entire interview

1 story

5.9 min
Describes how, before the Chinese occupation, Tibetan village leaders are selected and how taxes are determined and collected.
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