The Department of Information and International Relations is one of the seven main departments under Kashag. It has its origin in Chisee Khang (the Foreign Relations Office), which was re-established in exile in 1959, after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. In March 1969, the international relations section of Chisee Khang was placed under the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi. However, with the overwhelming demand for Information on Tibet by the International community as well as Tibetans; in understanding political, human rights and environmental consciousness, the Department had started publishing Tibetan Bulletin. Thus, in 1971, the information section was expanded with the inclusion of Sheja Publication and renamed as Information and Publicity Office. On 4 April 1988, the Office was further expanded and the international relations section of the Bureau in Delhi was made a part of it again. It was thus that the Office came to be renamed the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR).