Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies

The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS; Tibetan: ཝ་ཎ་མཐོ་སློབ, Wylie: wa Na mtho slob ), formerly called Central University for Tibetan Studies (CUTS), is a Deemed University founded in Sarnath, Varanasi, India, in 1967, as an autonomous organisation under Union Ministry of Culture.[2] The CIHTS was founded by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru in consultation with Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai of Lama, with the aim of educating Tibetan youths in exile and Himalayan border students as well as with the aim of retranslating into Sanskrit and translating into Hindi and other modern Indian languages lost Indo-Buddhist Sanskrit texts that now exist only in Tibetan.[3]

Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
Former name
Central University for Tibetan Studies
Established1967
Location
Sarnath, Varanasi
,
Uttar Pradesh
,
India
AffiliationsACU[1]
Websitewww.cuts.ac.in

Early growth

The founding of the institute occurred after a year-long conference organized by Dudjom Rinpoche gathered exiled spiritual leaders from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. As overseen by the 14th Dalai Lama, the conference focused on preserving the culture and spiritual heritage of Tibet, and on salvaging buddhist teachings carried by the exile community in India. Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche attended the conference and became the institute's first Nyingma Professor in 1967.

The institute steadily progressed and the Indian government declared it a Deemed University on 5 April 1988. Formerly headed by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Lobsang Tenzin the Samdong Rinpoche (former Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan Administration), and Ngawang Samten, also a former alumnu. In 2016, Lobsang Norbu Shastri[4] became the institute's leader. Assisted by faculty members, the institute's goal is achieving excellence in the fields of Tibetology and Buddhology.

The university attracts a large number of students from many regions of the Himalayas, considered as family coming from Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti, Ladakh, Monpas from Arunachal. Students from Nepal include Sherpas, Lamas and many more from the bordering Tibetan regions of Mustang and Dolpo. Students also come from Bhutan and Mongolia.

The university also offers courses in Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa), Tibetan Astrology, and Fine Arts.

University

On 14 January 2009 the institute was officially declared as a university and the inauguration was made by the XIV Dalai Lama. Now the name of the university is Central University of Tibetan Studies.

References
  1. "Association of Commonwealth Universities Membars-Asia". Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  2. "Deemed Universities". Deemed Universities. UGC. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  3. Department of Culture, India (2002). Indian culture : tradition & continuity (1st ed.). New Delhi: Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. p. 13. ISBN 9788187614081.
  4. "VC's Message". CUTS. 2016. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.

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