Happy Valley, Mussoorie

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Happy Valley, Mussoorie
Hill station
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Happy Valley, Mussoorie
Location in Uttarakhand, India
India location map.svg
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Happy Valley, Mussoorie
Happy Valley, Mussoorie (India)
Coordinates: 30°27′N78°05′E / 30.45°N 78.08°E / 30.45; 78.08 Coordinates: 30°27′N78°05′E / 30.45°N 78.08°E / 30.45; 78.08
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Uttarakhand
District Dehradun
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
248179
Vehicle registration UK
Website uk.gov.in

Happy Valley is an area situated within the hill station of Mussoorie with majority of tibetans settled in area in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, India.

Contents

Location

Happy Valley is near the Indian Administrative Services Academy - Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. Within the valley is a Tibetan Monastery [1] with a clear view of Hathipaon. [2] [3]

Happy Valley is west of Mussoorie’s Dalai Hill [4] from where the mountain ranges of Jaunpur [5] and Nag-Tibba [6] are visible.

History

In 18 October 1929 Mahatma Gandhi addressed the European municipal councillors at Mussoorie. At that time he stayed at Birla House in Happy Valley. [7] [8] [9] [10]

One of the landmark events in the history of the Tibetan government in exile in India happened in April 1959 when a young Dalai Lama arrived at Happy Valley. [11] [12] In April 1960, he left Happy Valley for another hill town - Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh [13] [14] with an entourage of eighty officials of the Tibetan government in exile. [15]

Later, this government-in-exile moved to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh leaving behind at Happy Valley, a community of Tibetans who have integrated with the life and culture of Mussoorie, but had built a Buddhist Temple and Tibetan-style homes. [16] [17] As of 2016, Happy Valley still was home to about 5000 Tibetan refugees. [18] [19]

Characteristics

Happy Valley has an Indian Administrative Service Academy - The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. [20] [21] [22] it also has Tibetan Temples [23] and a Municipal Garden. The area of the valley leads to the Cloud’s End [24] - a place where the geographical borders of Mussoorie end. The Hathipaon Park Estate is also there. [25] From Happy Valley can be seen the whole of Mussoorie with George Everest's house on one side [26] and the Himalayan ranges on the other.

Related Research Articles

Central Tibetan Administration Tibetan government-in-exile based in India

The Central Tibetan Administration is Tibet's elected parliamentary government based in Dharamshala, India. It is also referred to as the Tibetan Government in Exile. It is composed of a judiciary branch, a legislative branch, and an executive branch. Since its formation in 1959, the Central Tibetan Administration has not been officially recognised by China. The Tibetan diaspora and refugees support the Central Tibetan Administration by voting for members of Parliament, the President and by making annual financial contributions through the use of the "Green Book." The Central Tibetan Administration also receives international support from organisations and individuals.

Dharamshala City in Himachal Pradesh, India

Dharamshala is the winter capital city of Himachal Pradesh, India. It has served as the location for the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after they were relocated from Kangra, a city 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from Dharamshala, in 1855.

Kangra district District in Himachal Pradesh, India

Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district.

Mussoorie Hill Station in Uttarakhand, India

Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km (180 mi) north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hill station is in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range. The adjoining town of Landour, which includes a military cantonment, is considered part of "greater Mussoorie", as are the townships of Barlowganj and Jharipani.

The Dorje Shugden is a controversy over Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, who some consider to be one of several protectors of the Gelug school, the school of Tibetan Buddhism to which the Dalai Lamas belong. Dorje Shugden has become the symbolic centre-point of a conflict over the "purity" of the Gelug school and the inclusion of non-Gelug teachings, especially Nyingma ones.

Namgyal Monastery

Namgyal Monastery is currently located in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, India. It is the personal monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. Another name for this temple-complex is Namgyal Tantric College.

Lobsang Tenzin

Lobsang Tenzin, better known by the titles Professor Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche and to Tibetans as the 5th Samdhong Rinpoche, was the Prime Minister, then officially called the Kalon Tripa or chairman of the cabinet of the Central Tibetan Administration, or Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, India.

Tibetan Childrens Villages

Tibetan Children's Villages or TCV is an integrated community in exile for the care and education of orphans, destitutes and refugee children from Tibet. It is a registered, nonprofit charitable organization with its main facility based at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, North India. TCV has a network spread across India with over 12,000 children under its care.

McLeod Ganj Suburb in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India

McLeod Ganj is a suburb of Dharamshala in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known as "Little Lhasa" or "Dhasa" because of its large population of Tibetans. The Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered in McLeod Ganj.

Khawa Karpo Tibet Culture Centre Charitable Trust is a non-profit organization that was founded on 16 April 2009. The organization is based in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India.

14th Dalai Lama Current Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama was born on 6 July 1935, or in the Tibetan calendar, in the Wood-Pig Year, 5th month, 5th day. Known as Gyalwa Rinpoche to the Tibetan people, he is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet and the retired political leader of Tibet. He is considered a living Bodhisattva; specifically, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. He is also the leader of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism, formally headed by the Ganden Tripa. The central government of Tibet, the Ganden Phodrang, invested the Dalai Lama with temporal duties until his exile in 1959. On April 29, 1959, the Dalai Lama established the independent Tibetan government in exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, in the north Indian hill station of Mussoorie, which then moved in May 1960 to Dharamsala, where he resides. He retired as political head in 2011 to make way for a democratic government.

Bir Tibetan Colony village in North India, India

Bir Tibetan Colony is a Tibetan refugee settlement in the Himalayan village of Chowgan adjacent to the town of Bir, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

Tibetan diaspora

The Tibetan diaspora are the diaspora of Tibetan people living outside China.

Buddhism in Himachal Pradesh

Buddhism in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh has been a long recorded practice. The spread of Buddhism in the region has occurred intermediately throughout its history. Starting in the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism was propagated by the Maurya Empire under the reign of Ashoka. The region would remain an important center for Buddhism under the Kushan Empire and its vassals. Over the centuries the following of Buddhism has greatly fluctuated. Yet by experiencing revivals and migrations, Buddhism continued to be rooted in the region, particularly in the Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur valleys.

Tenzin Bagdro

Tenzin Bagdro is a Tibetan Buddhist monk and former political prisoner who currently resides at Tashi Choeling Monastery in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Naddi

Naddi is a village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, in the upper reaches of the Kangra valley. The village is situated about 3 kilometers from Mc Leod Ganj, known worldwide for the presence of the Dalai Lama. On 29 April 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama established the Tibetan exile administration in the north Indian hill station of Mussoorie. In May 1960, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) was moved to Dharamshala.

Lhasang Tsering is a Tibetan poet, writer, and activist. He was President of the Tibetan Youth Congress and a founding director of Amnye Machen Institute in Dharamshala, India. He is a vociferous and ardent advocate of Tibet's independence and a passionate lover of literature.

Yeshi Dhonden Tibetan doctor

Yeshi Dhonden was a Tibetan doctor of traditional Tibetan medicine, and served the 14th Dalai Lama from 1961 to 1980. In 2018, the Indian government honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India.

India–Tibet relations Relations between Tibet and India

India–Tibet relations are said to have begun during the spread of Buddhism to Tibet from India during the 7th and 8th centuries AD. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to India after the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising. Since then, Tibetans-in-exile have been given asylum in India, with the Indian government accommodating them into 45 residential settlements across 10 states in the country. From around 150,000 Tibetan refugees in 2011, the number fell to 85,000 in 2018, according to government data. Many Tibetans are now leaving India to go back to Tibet and other countries such as United States or Germany. The Government of India, soon after India's independence in 1947, treated Tibet as a de facto independent country. However, more recently India's policy on Tibet has been mindful of Chinese sensibilities, and has recognized Tibet as a part of China.

Geshe Lhakdor

Geshe Lhakdor Tibetan: དགེ་བཤེས་ལྷག་རྡོར, Wylie: dge bshes lhag rdor , also Geshe Lobsang Jordhen and Geshe Lhakdor Lobsang Jordan Tibetan: བློ་བཟང་འབྱོར་ལྡན, Wylie: blo bzang 'byor ldan , is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar who has co-authored and co-translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was also an English translator of the 14th Dalai Lama. He is a Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala, India. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

References

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  26. Rao, Shruthi (5 July 2014). "Mussoorie: Debris of an odyssey". livemint. Retrieved 22 April 2016.