NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY

Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) is a Tibet museum situated in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, named in honor of the 11th Chogyal of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal. The institute employs researchers who undertake various projects, including one that documents the social history of Sikkim's approximately 60 monasteries and records the information on a computer. Another project focuses on digitizing and documenting old and rare photographs of Sikkim for the purpose of knowledge distribution. The institute also has a Nyingma college called the Sheda attached to it, which was headed by Khempo Dhazar for six years. The foundation stone of the museum was laid by the 14th Dalai Lama on 10 February 1957. On 1 October 1958, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the institution as the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology. Later, Sir Tashi Namgyal, the Maharaja of Sikkim at the time, renamed it the Namgyal Research Institute of Tibetology. The institute also publishes an academic journal called the Bulletin of Tibetology.