Centre for Tibetan Literature

The department of Tibetan literature (formerly known as the Centre for Tibetan Literature) was founded as a part of the Research Departments in 2009. The Centre is currently in the process of producing four comprehensive volumes on the History of Tibetan Literature that provides an exhaustive analysis of the subject over several centuries.

Tibet possesses a literature that stretches back over 1300 years. It is one of the great literary traditions of Asia, in terms of both its size and range of influence. From ancient pillar inscriptions, to manuscripts sealed away in long-forgotten caves, to xylographic texts on every imaginable subject piled high in monastic libraries, the Tibetan corpus numbers tens of thousands of works. It has exercised an abiding influence not only in Tibet itself, but in the larger cultural area at one time dominated by Tibet, which includes Mongolia, Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and parts of northern Pakistan, northern India, western China and southern Russia. In spite of its size and influence, Tibetan literature was largely unknown to either scholars or the public in the West as recently as thirty-five years ago.

The study of Tibetan literature has thus been long overlooked in Tibetan studies and the establishment of the Centre is aimed to fill this vacuum. Tibetan literature can refer to religious texts, historical works, biographies, philosophy, fiction, drama, and poetry, etc. Much of it is connected with Buddhism but it also concerns with other themes.

It was not until 2017 that Tibetan literature began to be taught as a subject at the Institute under the department for Tibetan language and literature. This is an innovative development since until recently there has been little wider scholarly interest in Tibetan literature as a subject outside the scope of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Only one other institution in India teaches Tibetan literature at Master’s Level, although the CIHTS program elevates the subject to a higher standard with the inclusion of other important components. It is hoped that a rigorous and comprehensive program of study will help to raise the profile of Tibetan literature as an area of study. 

The recently established department specializing in Tibetan Literature was previously recognized as the Centre for Tibetan Literature since its inception. In coherence with the strategic alignment of other research departments within our esteemed Institute, aimed at fortifying our contributions to the Tibetan literary domain, the 61^st Board of Governors convened on March 23, 2023, and unanimously resolved to elevate the status of the Centre to that of a comprehensive department, formally named the Department of Tibetan Literature. This transition signifies a pivotal milestone in our dedication to the progression of Tibetan literary exploration and scholarly research.