Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi

The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), later renamed the Central University for Tibetan Studies (CUTS), was founded in 1967 in Sarnath, Varanasi, India, through a joint initiative of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the 14th Dalai Lama. It was established to educate exiled Tibetan youth and Himalayan border students, whose education in Tibet had been disrupted by the Chinese occupation, and to re-translate Indo-Buddhist Sanskrit texts that survived only in Tibetan into Sanskrit, Hindi, and other Indian languages. Initially an adjunct institution of Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, it included departments representing the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, a library, and a clinic. The Indian government granted it autonomous status in 1977 and full financial support, later declaring it 'Deemed as a University' in 1988. On 14 January 2009, it was officially declared a university, inaugurated by the 14th Dalai Lama. The institution has been headed by notable figures such as Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Samdhong Rinpoche, and Ngawang Samten, with Lobsang Norbu Shastri becoming Vice Chancellor in 2016. It attracts students from Tibetan exile communities and Himalayan regions including Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti, Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia, offering courses in Tibetan medicine, astrology, and fine arts.