Tshering Dorje

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Tshering Dorje
Tshering Dorje.jpg
BornApril 1936
Guskiar village, Lahaul tehsil, Kullu Sub-division, Kangra district, Punjab Province, British India
Died13 November 2020 (aged 86)
NationalityIndian
EducationTholing monastery, Western Tibet
Sa-ngag-choling monastery, Central Tibet
OccupationCultural historian
Known forExpertise on the cultural history of the Buddhist regions of the Western Himalayas
Role in the construction of the Atal Tunnel

Tshering Dorje (April 1936 - November 13, 2020; also spelled Tsering Dorje and Chhering Dorje) was a cultural historian from Himachal Pradesh, India. He was regarded as an authority on the cultural traditions and histories of the Lahaul and Spiti district and some neighboring regions. He also played an important role in bringing about the construction of the 9.02 km-long, high-altitude Atal Tunnel.

Contents

Life and career

Dorje was born in village Guskiar of Gahar valley, Lahaul, Kullu tehsil, Kangra district, Punjab Province, British India - later a part of the Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh state. His family was Tibetan Buddhist and practiced agropastoralism. He received his schooling in Urdu medium at Keylong. Then, following family tradition, Dorje went to Tibet to train as a Lama. He first studied Tibetan language and Mahamudra at the Tholing monastery in western Tibet, and then went to the Sa-ngag-choling monastery in central Tibet to receive Kagyu teachings. However, he had to leave his education unfinished and return to Lahaul following political unrest in Tibet due to Tibet's annexation by the People's Republic of China. Following the creation of the Lahaul and Spiti district in 1960, Dorje got a job at the office of the Deputy Collector of the district at Keylong as a teacher of 'Bhoti' (Tibetan). In his youth, he had a meeting with the Russian Tibetologist George Roerich, which was influential in shaping his scientific and creative pursuits. After many years, Dorje was promoted to the position of Public Relations officer of the district. Following retirement, he divided his time between his native village Guskiar and Kullu. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Dorje died of covid-19 on November 13, 2022, at Nerchowk Medical College, Mandi. [5]

Influence

Research and scholarship

Despite his limited formal education, Dorje came to be known for his extensive knowledge of western and Trans-Himalayan regions including Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti, and Kinnaur. [6] In Lahaul and Spiti district and neighboring regions, he was widely referred to as an 'encyclopedia of the Himalayas'. [6] [2] [7] [8] [5] He was regarded as an expert on Tibetan language; Tibetan Buddhist scriptures; the Buddhist, Bon, and Hindu cultural traditions of the Lahaul and Spiti district; the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist history of Tibet, and the historical and cultural interrelations between the western Himalayas, Tibet, and Central Asia. Dorje also did some research on the Zhang Zhung language. [6] [2] [3] [9] He undertook numerous journeys on foot in the Himalayas. [10] [11]

Dorje was closely associated with the International Roerich Memorial Trust in Naggar for several decades. 1980 onwards, he collaborated with the Russian Indologist and Roerich scholar Ludmila Shaposhnikova over various research interests. In 2006, Dorje founded the Roerich Society of Lahaul. By 2017, he was instrumental in reconstructing the summer study of the famous Russian Orientalist, philosopher, painter, and explorer Nicholas Roerich in Kyelong (originally built in 1930-32 and destroyed by a snowstorm in 2012). [2] [12]

Dorje wrote a number of articles in Hindi and Tibetan. [2] [6] Over the years, he guided numerous researchers doing research in the Kullu and the Lahaul and Spiti districts. [2] [6] This list includes, among others, the Tibetologists John Vincent Bellezza and Tashi Tsering, [13] [14] [15] and the anthropologist Himika Bhattacharya. [16] He spoke at many scholarly and literary seminars and at other cultural events in Kullu. [17] [18] [19] [20] He was also occasionally sought by the media for comments over current developments in the Kullu valley. [21] [22]

In 2012, Dorje served as the Vice-President of the Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Samiti in Himachal Pradesh. [23]

In 2018, Dorje was appointed to the General Council of the Himachal Pradesh Academy as the representative for the Lahaul and Spiti district. [24]

Role in Atal Tunnel construction

Over 1999-2000, alongside fellow Lahauli Tashi Dawa (aka 'Gopal Arjun'), Tshering Dorje played a key role in floating the idea of constructing a tunnel below the Rohtang Pass to then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This would enable round-the-year road access to the Lahaul valley, which otherwise got cut-off from road access for up to six months every year due to the closure of the Rohtang Pass by snows. Dawa and Dorje were part of a delegation of four from Himachal that met PM Vajpayee several times over two years to push their proposal to get a tunnel made under the pass. This eventually culminated in the construction of the Atal Tunnel, which opened in October 2020. [25] [22] [26] [27]

Others

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kullu district</span> District of Himachal Pradesh, India

Kullu is a district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Shimla district to the south, Mandi and Kangra districts to the west, Kinnaur to the east and the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north and east. The largest valley in this mountainous district is the Kullu Valley. The Kullu valley follows the course of the Beas River, and ranges from an elevation of 833 m above sea level at Aut to 3330 m above sea level at the Atal Tunnel South Portal, below the Rohtang Pass. The town of Kullu, located on the right side of the Beas River, serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district. The Kullu district also incorporates several riverine tributary valleys of the Beas, including those of the Parvati, Sainj, and Tirthan rivers, and thus some regions somewhat distant from the Kullu valley. The economy of the district relies mainly on horticulture, agriculture, tourism, and traditional handicrafts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rohtang Pass</span> Mountain pass

Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern end of the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km (32 mi) from Manali in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahaul and Spiti district</span> A district in Himachal Pradesh, India

The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti. The present administrative center is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged, Kardang was the capital of Lahaul, and Dhankar the capital of Spiti. The district was formed in 1960 and is the fourth least populous district in India. It is the least densely populated district of India, according to the Census of India 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyelang</span> Town in Himachal Pradesh, India

Kyelang is a town and the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, 71 kilometres (44 mi) north of Manali via Atal Tunnel and 120 km (75 mi) from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Manali-Leh Highway, about 7 km northeast of intersection of the Chandra, Bhaga, and Chenab valleys, on the banks of Bhaga River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kullu</span> Town in Himachel Pradesh, India

Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the airport at Bhuntar, Kullu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pir Panjal Range</span> Mountain range of the Lower Himalayas

The Pir Panjal Range is a range of mountains in the Lower Himalayan region located in the Western Himalayas of northern Indian subcontinent. It runs southeast to northwest between the Beas and Neelam/Kishanganga rivers, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, with its northwestern end extending into territory administered by Pakistan. The Himalayas show a gradual elevation towards the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges. Pir Panjal is the largest and westernmost range of the Lesser Himalayas. Near the bank of the Sutlej River, it dissociates itself from the main Himalayan range and forms a divide between the Beas and Ravi rivers on one side and the Chenab on the other. Further west, the Pir Panjal range forms the southwestern boundary of the Kashmir Valley, separating it from the hills of Jammu region, forming a divide between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiti</span> River valley in Himachal Pradesh, India

Spiti is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Spiti incorporates mainly the valley of the Spiti River, and the valleys of several rivers that feed into the Spiti River. Some of the prominent side-valleys in Spiti are the Pin valley and the Lingti valley. Spiti is bordered on the east by Tibet, on the north by Ladakh, on the west and southwest by Lahaul, on the south by Kullu, and on the southeast by Kinnaur. Spiti has a cold desert environment. The valley and its surrounding regions are among the least populated regions of India. The Bhoti-speaking local population follows Tibetan Buddhism.

Himachal Pradesh, although railways and airways serve very limited transport needs, the road network of the state serves the transport needs of the people. Although, the geography of Himachal presents considerable challenge to the development of transport infrastructure, it has the highest road density among all the Hill States of India. Himachal also has 3 airports, 2 narrow gauge rail tracks and couple of other under-construction broad gauge railway tracks, but roads remain the main mode of transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaza, Himachal Pradesh</span> Town in Himachal Pradesh, India

Kaza, also spelled Kaze, Karze, Karzey, is a town and the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the western Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is a high altitude or cold desert having close similarities to the neighbouring Tibet and Ladakh regions in terms of terrain, climate and the Buddhist culture. Kaza, situated along the Spiti River at an elevation of 3,650 m (11,980 ft) above mean sea level, is the largest township and commercial center of the Spiti valley.

Atal Tunnel, named after former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a highway tunnel built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas on the National Highway 3 in Himachal Pradesh, India. At a length of 9.02 km, it is the highest highway single-tube tunnel above 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in the world. With the existing Atal Tunnel and after the completion of under-construction Shinku La Tunnel, which is targeted to be completed by 2025, the new Leh-Manali Highway via Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road will become all-weather road.

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