The Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre in Darjeeling is one of the most inspiring and historically significant institutions in North Bengal — a place born from great hardship and sustained through extraordinary human resilience. Established to support the hundreds of Tibetans who fled their homeland after the Lhasa uprisings of 1959, the centre has grown from a small shelter for refugees into a celebrated community that is internationally recognised for the quality of its traditional Tibetan handicrafts.
History of the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre
When His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans were compelled to leave their homeland and seek refuge in neighbouring countries, they arrived in India with almost nothing — in a completely different environment, with little knowledge of the land or language. The difficulties they faced were immense. Yet they were determined to stand on their own feet, relying first and foremost on self-effort — and from this spirit of "Self-Help," the Centre came into existence.
The Centre began as a ten-member committee tasked with organising and establishing a rehabilitation facility. It started with just four workers, but today it is home to 650 refugees. Over the years it has been fully registered as a charitable organisation under Indian law.
