Posted by David Bell on April 15, 2000 at 15:04:23:

I'm hoping to get into a doctoral program here at Indiana, and to do a dissertation on the Baha'is of Tibet and the Himalayas. To me this sounds like an obviously great topic, since the whole issue of China/Tibet relations (or communalism in India) is something the Baha'is there would probably have a unique perspective on. Also it would be interesting to assess popular Baha'i attitudes toward the other religions there--Tibetan Buddhism, Bon, folk religions, Islam, Hinduism, etc.

However, a certain professor here whose cooperation is indispensible is unconvinced that this topic is important enough to let me do a dissertation on it. Basically it boils down to numbers. A few thousand would definitely be okay, though I doubt I'll get that.

So how many Tibetan-speaking Baha'is are there anyway? Remember that this would include the Tibetan-speaking populations of the following nations, states and provinces:

* People's Republic of China: Tibetan Autonomous Region, Chinghai, Gansu, Szechuan.

* Nepal

* Bhutan

* India: Himanchal Pradesh, Andra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir (i.e. Ladakh and Zanskar), Sikkim.

* Pakistan: Baltistan (Skardu, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir)

So, in order to do a quick-and-dirty head count, I would like to contact the NSA's or regional equivalent (I understand that India has another level between the NSA and LSAs, corresponding to the Indian states), or anyone else who might know. Can you folks tell me where to find these e-mail addresses?

Some considerations: Obviously the PRC does not have any NSA or LSA's since this is illegal, who then would I contact for information about Baha'is on Chinese territory? (I promise to be discrete.) Bhutan may also lack an NSA, I'm not sure.

Or should I just write the UHJ, or some particular person in their administration? What would y'all suggest?

Thanks a lot!

David Bell
dabell@indiana.edu

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