Stories of Self: Interpretation of Life Stories as Strategy for Survival A case of Tibetan refugees from Ladakh, (India)

How individuals interpret their life stories gives an insight into how they perceive their reality. While the previous research on Tibetan refugees shows them as one of the better placed refugees, is this the reality the Tibetan Refugees perceive as well? How do Tibetan refugees(TR) perceive their reality as part of the Tibetan Diaspora and the causal relations TRs draw describing the influence of an event on their livelihoods is the main focus of this paper. Defining for oneself ones identity as refugees, understanding for oneself why one is a refugee and believing that as refugee one is vulnerable, deprived, is deserving of protection and sympathy is the most basic survival strategy adopted by the Tibetan refugees. Such identity construction leads to multiple layers of inclusion and exclusion thus creating what is termed as graded citizenship. These layers create diverse possibilities for claim and support at different levels of inclusion. Through the interpretation of the life stories of the Tibetan refugees, from the Changtang region, Ladakh, India, I argue that creating a narrative identity itself is a survival strategy on which lies the foundation of the livelihood strategy.