Following the chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, communist policies attempted to dismantle and distroy traditional Tibetan culture, particularly its unique religious heritage and rich tradition of spiritual practice and scholarship.
Six thousand of Tibet's 6060 monasteries were destroyed.
Approximately 1000 Tibetan nuns, women who wish to live, work and study in accordance with the tenets of spiritual commitment, now live in exile in India. The majority of them are newly arrived from Tibet, where many of them suffered imprisonment, torture and other forms of persecution at the hands of the communist authorities. They arrive in India hoping for the opportunity to freely practice their religion, but the existing nunneries in India are extremely poor, overcrowded and unable to accommodate them.