With a Deep Sense of Gratitude and Humility, I Offer Thanks to the Many Tibetans Whose Histories and Memories Comprise the Heart and Soul of This Book
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With a deep sense of gratitude and humility, I offer thanks to the many Tibetans whose histories and memories comprise the heart and soul of this book. I have written this book with and through the generosity of each of the following people: Adhe Tapontsang, Aga Thubten, Adho Chodak, Anyetsang Pema Gelek, Athar Norbu, Baba Lekshey, Baba Yeshi, Bachung Pön, Beri Lhaga, Chamdo Dronyik, Chatreng Wangyal, Chodak, Dawa Dhondup, Dogah, Dorje Yudon, Gedun Phuntsok, Gedun Rinchen, Gyalo Thondup, Gyari Nyima, Gyato Kalsang, Ibila, J. Paljor, Jagod Se Dhonyod, Jampa Kalden, Jampa Wangdu, Kalay Jampa, Kargyal Thondup, Karma Tashi, Kesang Norbu, Khedroob Thondup, Khyen Rin- poche, Jamyang Nyima, Lingstang Kamphel, Lobsang Jampa, Lob- sang Palden, Lobsang Tinley, Lobsang Tsultrim, Namgyal Tsering, Namkha Dorje, Ngatruk, Ngawang Dadhag (Lithang), Ngawang Dadhag (Sog), Ngawang Lhamo, Norbu Dorje, Norsang, Nyarong Aten, Nyarong Gyurme, Oga Toptsang, Palden Wangyal (Wangyal Lama), Pema Choonjoor, Pema Ngabo, Phupa Tsetop, Phurpu Tsering, Potsa, Ratuk Ngawang, Rinchen Dharlo, S. Khedup, S. G. Tharchin, Sadhu Wangdor, Sonam Gelek, Sonam Tsering, Sur- khang Lhachem, J. T. Surkhang, Tachen, Tashi Choedak, Tenchoe, Tenpa Dorje, Tenpa Gyaltsen, Tenzin Tsultrim, Thubten Gyaltsen, Thubten Thargy, Trindu Pön Chime Wangyal, George Tsarong, Tsatultsang Wangchuk Dorje, Tseten Tashi, Tsewang Youngdon, and Tsewang Paljor. In many instances, to my delight, spending time with these individuals meant spending time with their fam- ilies, and so my thanks and greetings also to the children, spouses, and extended family members who were such good company and often a great help during my research. Lodi Gyari Rinpoche introduced me to the intricacies of Khampa history in 1992. I am indebted to his insights and experience, his long support of this project, and his willingness to discuss history and politics with me in taxis and offices around the world. In Dharamsala, Tashi Tsering was a mentor and guide beyond compare; his knowledge of Tibetan history has no match, and I am grateful for all he so generously shared with me; he is truly one of the national treasures of the exile com- munity. I first met Dawa Norbu on the stairs of the library in Dharamsala, and before I knew it we were engrossed in a discussion of Marxism, nationalism, and exile politics over momos; his premature death is a loss for us all. Jamyang Norbu always cuts to the heart of the politics involved in any issue and does so with his characteristic passion and eloquence; in a community where speaking out is discouraged, Jamyang’s public voice is invaluable as both critique and inspiration. Many retired cia officers spoke with me in person and over the phone about their work with the Tibetans. My thanks to Clay Cathey, Frank Holober, Joan Kiernan, Ken Knaus, Roger McCarthy, Tony Poe, Mr. Ray, and Bruce Walker. The time I spent with these individuals revealed the layers of the U.S. relationship with Tibet and the deep personal commit- ments held by many of the Americans involved. In San Diego and Scot- land, George Patterson warmly shared memories about his time in Kham in the 1940s and in exile Tibetan communities in the 1950s and 1960s. Dating from our days at Cultural Survival in 1990, Warren Smith encour- aged my study of Tibet and also generously shared U.S. government archival documents about Tibet with me. Also at Cultural Survival, Ann Armbrecht was one of the first to send me off to the field and remains a cherished anthropological didi to this day. I have long appreciated Jigme Ngapo’s insights on Tibet and am grateful for the help and introductions he provided. Paljor Phupatsang helped me navigate Dharamsala life and politics as well as Chushi Gangdrug history from the perspective of the next generation. Tenzin Bhagentsang has read and discussed Khampa history with me for hours on end. His participation in this project as research assistant, translator, and friend has been a gift for which I would not have dared to xii Acknowledgments ask. His contributions, care, and questions have enriched this project in important and innumerous ways. I also extend my deep appreciation to Tinley Dhondup, my first Tibetan language teacher and invaluable re- source in the Kathmandu Tibetan community. Tinley helped me start this research project in 1994 by introducing me to many people, including the Tibetan family with whom I lived over the next five years and for which I am beyond grateful. Also in Kathmandu, I was honored to have the translation assistance of Samten and hope to someday reciprocate on a research project of his. It has been a joy and an honor to work with each of these three teachers. Research in India and Nepal between 1994 and 1999 was funded by dissertation research grants from the American Institute of Indian Stud- ies and the Social Science Research Council as well as generous support from the National Science Foundation and, at the University of Michi- gan, the Program in Anthropology and History, the International In- stitute, and the Rackham Graduate School; at the University of Colorado, the Department of Anthropology funded a return trip to Nepal in 2003, and both the Department and the Center for Asian Studies provided invaluable funding for research assistance. Thanks also to numerous of- fices, institutes, and individuals who provided crucial assistance during my research, including the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, espe- cially Lobsang Shastri and Pema Yeshi; Tashi Namgyal, the former repre- sentative of the Dalai Lama in Nepal; the Department of Anthropology at Tribhuvan University; E. Gene Smith and all at the Himalayan and Inner Asian Resource Center; the staff at the India Office Records of the British Library; and staff of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University and the Hoover Archives at Stanford University. For im- ages, my thanks to Bruce Walker, who donated the cover drawing to DePauw University, to Kaytie Johnson, Director and Curator of Univer- sity Galleries, Museums and Collections at DePauw University, Jigme Deden Shakabpa and all at the Center for South Asia at the University of Wisconsin, Lauran Hartley at the C. V. Starr East Asian Library at Co- lumbia University, and Eugene Louie of the San Jose Mercury News and istoryteller.net, and in connection with the cia Museum, Toni Hiley, Carolyn Reams, Bruce Walker, and Keith Woodcock. For his deep sense of the cultural politics of geography as well as for the maps in this book, my thanks to John Isom. Rapten Dahortsang introduced me to Wangpo Acknowledgments xiii Tethong’s German-language book about the Tibetan exile community, and Chris Morris translated relevant parts for me; my appreciation to both. Thanks also to Champa Tenzin Lhunpo and Kunga Tsering for their friendship as well as assistance with Tibetan translations. For their hospitality and help in India, a very special thanks to, in Kalimpong, Kazi Lhendup Dorje, Namgyal Tsering, Ola of Shangri La Services, Tempa at Deki Lodge; in Delhi, Gyato Kalsang, the Gyaritsang family, the Ratuktsang family, and the family of Athar Norbu; in Darjeel- ing, everyone at Hotel Dekeling; and in Dharamsala (and also Toronto), Paljor Phupatsang and family. For friendship, guidance, and inspiration in Nepal, I thank Ian Baker, Dor Bahadur Bista, Chophel, Dilli Dahal, Deepak Gurung, Kamala Joshi, Tom Laird, Kim Luce, Bishnu and Kiran Ranjitkar, Sonam Dolma and family, Tharchin, Tsering Choeden, and the family of Shambhu Sharan Prasad and Bina Verma. Students in my courses on Tibet, history and memory, and anthropo- logical theory at the University of Colorado have long been some of my most valuable interlocutors. To undergraduates, graduate students, and those on my Tibet study abroad course in summer 2005, my heartfelt thanks for your feedback, questions, and provocations over the years. I am especially grateful to those in my history and memory graduate seminar of fall 2008 who read and engaged with this book in draft form: Rachel Fleming, Kate Fischer, Keith Kloor, Meryleen Mena, Ricardo Moreno-Contro, Colleen Scanlan Lyons, Marnie Thomson, and Crystal Watson. Kate Fischer and Marnie Thomson provided excellent assistance in getting the book into final shape, and Eileen Stack was a brilliant early reader of the manuscript. Friends, colleagues, and teachers around the world contributed to this book; to my thinking about anthropology, history, and Tibet; and to my well-being in ways for which I will be forever grateful. My thanks to John Ackerly, Vincanne Adams, Ann Anagnost, Lisa Barbash, Robbie Barnett, Jane Baxter, Pam Cannon, Fernando Coronil, Tenzin Dazie, Keila Diehl, Heidi Fjeld, Carina Frantz, Sumit Ganguly, Mel Goldstein, Losang Gyatso, Kira Hall, Rachel Heiman, Isabelle Henrion-Dourcy, Toni Huber, Sandra Hyde, Lynne Johnson, Karen Kim, Julie Klein, P. Christiaan Klieger, Laura Kunreuther, Elsa Lechner, Veve Lele, Donald Lopez, Alex McKay, Mary Moran, Javier Morillo-Alicea, Laurie Mullin, xiv Acknowledgments Amy Oberkircher, Penelope Papailias, Michael Peletz, Losang Rabgey, Tashi Rabgey, Rachel Reynolds, Matt Rudolph, Lucie Schmidt, Tamar Scoggin, Kathryn Selig-Brown, Tsering Shakya, Jen Shannon, Elliot Sper- ling, Tenzin Tethong, Gina Ulysse, Stacey Van Vleet, Cairn Verhulst, Amani Weusi-Williams, Terry Woronov, Sonam Yangzom, Abe Zablocki, and my colleagues in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado. This book began as a portion of my Ph.D. thesis in anthropology and history at the University of Michigan, and I remain grateful for the oppor- tunity to learn from an exceptional group of scholars on my dissertation committee: Larry Epstein, Erik Mueggler, Leslie Pincus, and my two co- chairs Nick Dirks and Ann Stoler. My intellectual debts to Nick and Ann are great; it has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with each of them. Nick changed the way I saw anthropology and led me to get a Ph.D.