The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS) is a deemed university located in Sarnath, near Varanasi, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an autonomous institution funded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and is dedicated to higher education and research in Tibetan and Buddhist studies, with a particular focus on preserving Tibetan culture, language and religious traditions in exile.
| Type | Deemed university |
|---|---|
| Location | Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Affiliation | Ministry of Culture, Government of India |
| Focus | Tibetan studies, Buddhist studies, Indian classical learning |
| Medium of instruction | Tibetan, Sanskrit, Hindi, English |
The institute was established as a result of discussions between Jawaharlal Nehru and the 14th Dalai Lama, with the aim of providing facilities for the education of Tibetan youth in exile and the diaspora communities in the Himalayan region, while also preserving the rich heritage of Tibetan culture and traditional knowledge systems that had been disrupted following events in Tibet.
It began operations in 1967 as a constituent wing of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. In 1977 it became an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture (then the Department of Culture). The institute was conferred the status of a deemed-to-be university by the University Grants Commission in 1988.
The institute organises its teaching and research activities through faculties and departments covering traditional Tibetan and Buddhist disciplines as well as modern academic subjects. Areas of study typically include:
The institute offers programmes from preparatory levels through to doctoral research, with degree titles drawn from the traditional Tibetan monastic curriculum (such as Shastri, Acharya and Vidyavaridhi) alongside conventional university nomenclature.
A distinctive activity of CIHTS is the restoration into Sanskrit of Buddhist texts that survive only in their classical Tibetan translations within the Kangyur and Tengyur. The institute publishes restored editions, translations and critical studies through its publication unit, and produces journals and monograph series in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. The Shantarakshita Library at the institute holds a substantial collection of Tibetan xylographs, Sanskrit manuscripts and modern works on Buddhism and Indology.
CIHTS occupies a unique position in Indian higher education as the principal centre devoted to traditional Tibetan learning within the country. It serves students from the Tibetan exile community, Indian Himalayan regions such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal_Pradesh, Spiti and Lahaul, as well as international scholars. Its location in Sarnath, the site associated with the Buddha's first sermon, situates the institute within one of the most significant landscapes of Indian Buddhism.