China Forces Monks and Nuns Out of Larung Gar After Demolishing Homes
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 28 July: Chinese authorities have begun forcibly removing monks and nuns from Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Serta, eastern Tibet. This comes after authorities demolished their residential quarters earlier this month. The monastics are now barred from remaining at the academy, one of Tibet’s most important centres of Buddhist learning, even after loosing their home.
The latest orders mean that monastics whose residences have already been demolished are no longer allowed to stay at Larung Gar. Those from other parts of Tibet have reportedly been instructed to return to their hometown monasteries or family homes, while even monks and nuns from Serta County have been ordered to leave the academy and relocate to local monasteries.
The expulsions come as authorities continue implementing a large-scale demolition campaign launched earlier this month, around 13 July. More than 1,000 residences are scheduled to be razed under plans that Chinese authorities have justified on grounds of overcrowding and safety.
According to a source cited by Tibet Times, authorities had initially planned to demolish the area surrounding Gyutrul Temple. However, following repeated appeals from monastery representatives, who warned that the plan would endanger the temple, the main assembly hall and the circumambulation route, officials reportedly redirected the demolition to the Joser residential settlement, where more than 1,000 monastic residences are now being torn down.
Beyond the demolitions, restrictions across Larung Gar have also intensified. Monks, nuns and local residents are reportedly under heightened surveillance, while pilgrims and visitors from outside the area are no longer being allowed to enter.
The measures suggest that the current campaign extends beyond reducing the academy’s physical size. By requiring displaced monks and nuns to leave Larung Gar altogether, authorities are also reshaping its resident monastic community.
Larung Gar has experienced repeated demolition and eviction campaigns since 2001, with further operations in 2016 and 2019 resulting in the destruction of thousands of residences and the forced removal of monks and nuns. Rights groups have long argued that such measures form part of broader efforts to tighten state control over Tibetan Buddhism and restrict independent centres of religious learning.
