In a bid to counter Chinese influence, Indian army officers are studying Tibetan history, culture and language to deepen the existing bond. This process was started in March 2021 when 15 officers were enrolled for the Tibetology course which involves culture, geopolitics, politics, demography and Buddhist philosophy underwent rigorous examination with an overall duration of roughly 2 months. The second batch of this course is to start from November in which 20 Indian army officers have already enrolled. 22 nominations have been received for the third course so far.
Indian Army and Central Institute for Himalayan Culture Studies from Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim-based Namgyal Institute of Tibetology signed Memorandum of Understandings.
“I was not aware of the Tibetan language and culture earlier but after attending the course it gives me a fresh perspective,” said an Indian Army officer who has completed the first batch of the course.
Talking about the course an official also said,” These are about six to eight weeks courses, which are run by domain specialists or as subject experts who are part of the institute, we go to them and they impart knowledge. There are guest lectures, we have interactive sessions. We visit various monasteries, interact with villagers, understand what the culture is all about.” He further remarked that going through the stringent procedure will empower soldiers. Indian army is also running courses on Chinese and mandarin languages in collaboration with Tezpur University.