The Politics of Sorrow - (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia Un) by Tsering Wangmo Dhompa

About the Book

The Politics of Sorrow tells the story of the Group of Thirteen, a collective of chieftains and lamas from the regions of Kham and Amdo, who sought to preserve Tibet's cultural diversity in exile.

Book Synopsis

The Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet in 1959 after its occupation by China and established a government in exile in India. There, Tibetan leaders aimed to bring together displaced people from varied religious traditions and local loyalties under the banner of unity. To contest Chinese colonization and stand up for self-determination, Tibetan refugees were asked to shed regional allegiances and embrace a vision of a shared national identity.

The Politics of Sorrow tells the story of the Group of Thirteen, a collective of chieftains and lamas from the regions of Kham and Amdo, who sought to preserve Tibet's cultural diversity in exile. They established settlements in India in the mid-1960s with the goal of protecting their regional and religious traditions, setting them apart from the majority of Tibetan refugees, who saw a common tradition as the basis for unifying the Tibetan people. Tsering Wangmo Dhompa traces these different visions for Tibetan governance and identity, juxtaposing the Tibetan government in exile's external struggle for international recognition with its lesser-known internal struggle to command loyalty within the diaspora. She argues that although unity was necessary for democracy and independence, it also drew painful boundaries between those who belonged and those who didn't. Drawing on insightful interviews with Tibetan elders and an exceptional archive of Tibetan exile texts, The Politics of Sorrow is a compelling narrative of a tumultuous time that reveals the complexities of Tibetan identities then and now.

Review Quotes

Dhompa demonstrates that it is possible to hold all these messy goals and contradictions in tension, and she does so with sophistication, nuance, and grace, in a deeply compelling book that will benefit scholars of diaspora, nationalism, and identity in addition to those in Tibetan Studies.--Andrew S. Taylor, College of Saint Scholastica "Reading Religion"

Poignant and deeply personal, The Politics of Sorrow delves into the heart of the Tibetan struggle for identity. Grappling with the profound question of what constitutes a national identity amid the challenges of displacement, Dhompa chronicles Tibetans' arduous pursuit of building a nation in exile and invites readers to witness a community's journey to discover its voice.--Tsering Shakya, author of The Dragon in the Land of Snows: A History of Modern Tibet Since 1947

Bold, brave, and brilliant. In The Politics of Sorrow, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa unfolds an unknown, painful part of Tibetan history with the context and respect it deserves. Written with care, curiosity, and a poet's eye for detail, this book should be widely read and engaged.--Carole McGranahan, author of Writing Anthropology: Essays on Craft and Commitment

About the Author

Tsering Wangmo Dhompa is a professor of literature and creative writing at Villanova University. She is the author of the poetry collections My Rice Tastes Like the Lake (2011), In the Absent Everyday (2005), and Rules of the House (2002), as well as the memoir Coming Home to Tibet (2016). Her mother served as a member of parliament in the exile government for three terms.