Dölma Gyari (born 1964) is a well-known

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

an politician in exile, a former activist, active since the early 1980s.

Early life and education

Gyari was born in 1964 in Kalimpong in India. She studied at the Central School for Tibetans (CST) Darjeeling and graduated in 1981. She was a recipient of the school's best girl medal. She received her BA in Political Science at Punjab University and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

Family

Dolma Gyari was born in India to a prominent Tibetan family from Kham Nyagrong. Her grandmother Chimi Dolma, the female chieftain of Nyarong, led the Gyaritsang army into many battles with the invading Communist army. Dorje Youdon, Gyari's mother, also the wife of a chieftain, led the Tibetan army into many battles at the age of 18. Her brother, the late

Lodi Gyari Rinpoche Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari Rinpoche, Kasur Lodi Gyari or "as he is universally known to the Tibetan-speaking world (as well as to Himalayan community), Gyari Rinpoche" (25 August 1949 – 29 October 2018) was a Tibetan politician, and journalist who ser ...

, the envoy of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

, and chairperson of International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), raised the profile of Tibet in the global sphere and for leading the ten rounds of Sino-Tibet dialogues until 2010. He was a much-respected diplomat in the global political corridors, representing Tibet and Tibetans for most of his life.

Activism

Gyari was a student leader who represented girl students, international students, Tibetan students, and Tibetan women students through various student groups and committees during her days in Darjeeling and Chandigarh. She worked for the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in Chandigarh during the same time and joined the central

Tibetan Youth Congress The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) is an international non-governmental organization that advocates the independence of Tibet from China. With around 30,000 members in the Tibetan diaspora, it is the largest of the pro-independence organizations o ...

(TYC) later. TYC is the largest grassroots Non-governmental organization in the Tibetan exile community across the world. Gyari was elected as the executive member of Central TYC and worked as Information Secretary and Joint Secretary for two terms in the late 80s.

Political career

She was elected to the Tibetan parliament in exile at 26 and served for close to two decades, from 1991 to 2011, as a member of parliament and as deputy speaker, the highest position held by a Tibetan woman in the history of Tibet. During her time as MP and Deputy Speaker, she was a part of the major transitions the Tibetan democracy adopted, from the drafting of the charter-in-exile to direct election of Kalon Tripa (Head of the Cabinet) by the people, to revisiting Tibetan political approach, connecting with world leaders and people to the devolution of political power by the Dalai Lama. In 2011, Gyari announced her decision to run for

Sikyong The () is the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, a Tibetan exile organisation also known as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile based on the 2011 Charter of Tibetans-in-exile. The title was created in 2012 after the 14th Dalai ...

of the

Central Tibetan Administration The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, comp ...

, equivalent to the prime minister of a country, but withdrew later. After the election, she was appointed as the Nangsi Kalon (Home Minister) of the CTA. During her tenure as CTA Home Minister, the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy of 2014 was formulated by the government of India, which addressed the many lands and social welfare concerns of the Tibetan refugees. In 2004, she was appointed by the

to be the Chairperson of the

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is a Tibetan non-governmental nonprofit human rights organization. The TCHRD investigates and reports on human rights issues in Tibet and among Tibetan minorities throughout China. It i ...

(TCHRD), taking over from Prof. S. Samdhong Rinpoche. In 2020, Gyari once again announced her candidacy for

Awards

Gyari is a recipient of the Nari Shakti award presented by International Nepali Sanskritik Parishad, Uttam Nagrik Puraskar by the Maharashtra Dalit Sahitya Akademy, and Peace of India award presented by Goa state.

References

*https://books.google.co.in/books?id=5MY6AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=gyari+dolma&source=bl&ots=WmJhurpvFx&sig=ACfU3U00VRt5AxAzf1x7ObpVRhs1qg6x9A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinvLOx757rAhWwgUsFHTiTCis4RhDoATAAegQIChAB#v=onepage&q=gyari%20dolma&f=false
First Tibetan woman to contest for PM post
*https://savetibet.org/tibetan-parliamentarians-join-ict-roundtable-on-tibetan-democracy/ *https://www.tibetanyouthcongress.org/former-centrex/ *https://tibetanwhoswho.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/dolma-gyari-drawu *http://cuj.ac.in/eminentpersonalities.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyari, Dolma 1964 births Living people Tibetan politicians