Book Review by Dhundup Gyalpo
Tibetan Community in Exile:
Demographic and Socio-Economic Issues 1998-2001
Planning Commission, Central Tibetan Administration
pp.122
We count 122,078 in exile; females make 44.2% of our population; 74.4% of our people can read and write; 26% of our people work; only 25% of our people are aged below 15; 44.05% of women aged 25-29 are unmarried; infant mortality rate stands as high as 38.9/1000-Vital statistics as these were brought home to many when the Tibetan Demographic Survey 1998 (TDS'98) came in print in June 2000.
Collected in a systematic and scientific fashion, these facts and figures have since then enhanced the quality of planning and development activities of the Tibetan administration in exile. They provide extensive references to many independent researchers as well.
Some revelations of the TDS'98 were shocking-exceptionally low fertility rate, high mortality among workers, intensive mobility and migration, and weak economic foundation. These alarming findings necessitated a massive overhaul of past policies and in-depth probe into the nature of these issues for future planning.
Thus, in pursuance of the critical issues discovered by the TDS'98, the Planning Commission performed a socio-economic survey, covering 14 sample settlements across India, from April 2001 to Dec. 2002. Its findings are now released in the Tibetan Community in Exile: Demographic and Socio-Economic Issues 1998-2001.
In addition to demographic and socio-cultural cross-examinations, the survey makes an analytical study of socio-economic indicators-infrastructure, health, literacy and education, workforce, income and expenditure of the Tibetan settlements.
