Lobsang Shastri, newly appointed Representative to Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama – New Delhi. Photo: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
Dharamshala: As per the circular issued by the Kashag dated 22 September, Lobsang Shastri, a former member of the 12th and 13th Tibetan Parliament was appointed Representative of the New Delhi-based Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
As per Article 19 (1) of the Public Service Commission’s rules and regulations, the Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Offices of Tibet must be appointed by the Kashag in the attendance of Sikyong and the Kalons.
Brief bio of Lobsang Shastri:
Lobsang Shastri completed his Shastri degree (equivalent to BA) from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi and later joined the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) as a translator in 1985. Subsequently, Lobsang was designated as the Chief Librarian of the Tibetan Manuscript Department from 1988 – 2009. In addition, he was also the LTWA’s Editor-in-Chief of Tibet Journal.
Besides his posting at LTWA, he undertook responsibility as Secretary of Ngari Chithun Association from 1986 – 1995. At the same time, he was appointed as the standing committee member of the U-Tsang Cholkha Association from 1994 -1995.
In 1995, he was elected as a member of the 12th and 13th Tibetan Parliament in Exile with support from the general public of U-tsang Cholkha and served the Tibetan community as a parliamentarian till 2005.
Apart from his services in the organisations mentioned above with various capacities, Lobsang has also worked as a Tibetan language instructor at the Department of History of Religion, Oslo University, Norway, in 1994 and as a Lecturer/Visiting scholar at the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University, USA in 2006.
He joined the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC), formerly the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC), on 24 August 2009 and has since been working there as a Senior Librarian.
Additionally, he has attended the conference of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (IATS) since 1992, as well as many other similar seminars in India and Bhutan where he has presented papers on Tibetan history and culture. In 2003, he was elected as an Advisory Board Member of the IATS.
