Casualties among Tibetan clergy unknown as last week’s earthquake shook monasteries

At least two Tibetan Buddhism monastic centres were severely damaged in Tibet with an unknown number of monks and nuns hurt, according to the few state media reports on the damage to religious sites since last week’s powerful earthquake.

The magnitude 6.8 quake reduced to rubble roofs and walls at a monastery and a nunnery about 15 kilometres east of the epicentre in Tingri county, China Tibet Online reported on Sunday.

Buddhist monasteries and nunneries are key to Tibet’s cultural identity. Families send at least one male child to a monastery for studies, while monks are a source of blessings and council in communities.

Authorities have yet to reveal how many monasteries and nunneries were damaged though they were quick to tally more than 3,600 collapsed houses. It was also unclear if the clergy were among the 126 people who died in a headcount that has not changed since the day of the January 7 quake.

The violent shaking trapped several of Dzongbu Temple’s nuns, who were later pulled out from underneath the collapsed structure, China Tibet Online said. Rescuers later moved them to makeshift facilities outside a less-damaged monastery.

The nearby Sengar Chode Monastery, founded in 1541, is home to a number of relics, which have since been moved into the custody of county officials, Global Times reported.

As of Tuesday morning, 3,614 aftershocks have been logged, including two tremors of magnitude 4.9 and 5.0 near the January 7 epicentre.

Local officials found “no obvious damage” to the region’s most significant structures including Tashilhunpo Monastery — the traditional seat of Tibetan Buddhism’s second-ranking Panchen Lama — Shalu Monastery and Pelkor Chode, Tibet Daily reported.

Sakya Monastery, the seat of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, suffered “only minor damage”.

The State Council Information Office (SCIO), which handles media queries on behalf of the central government, did not immediately respond to a request for information.

China’s information censorship poses challenges in verifying casualty reports, Penpa Tsering, leader of the Central Tibetan Administration in India, said on Sunday.

He also said the needs and rights of Tibetans should be taken into account.

The comments provoked an angry response from the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday, which accused it of harbouring a “political agenda”.

In the recent past, Tibetan monasteries in China had witnessed scenes of resistance to Chinese rule, with monks setting themselves on fire and demanding the return of the Dalai Lama.

During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, almost all of Tibet’s religious structures were destroyed.

Many have since been rebuilt and repopulated, though under strict supervision. The ruling Communist Party demands absolute patriotism from monks and nuns, who are required to denounce the Dalai Lama.

There are more than 1,700 Tibetan Buddhist sites with 46,000 monks and nuns practising in Tibet, and the freedom of religious belief in Tibet is fully protected, according to a 2021 SCIO white paper.