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Oct 1, 2020

Aukatsang in The Indian Express: A Gandhi in our midst

By Atlantic Council

On October 1, 2020, Kaydor Aukatsang published a piece in The Indian Express, arguing that “the Dalai Lama exemplifies Gandhian values, has been a great ambassador and admirer of India. He should be given the Bharat Ratna,” the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.

Civil Society Human Rights

Kelsang (Kaydor) Aukatsang is a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.

Kaydor was a close aide of the former Sikyong (the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration), Lobsang Sangay, under whom he held various official positions including the role of North America representative for the Dalai Lama, chief resilience officer of the Central Tibetan Administration, and the director of the Social and Resource Development Fund. Kaydor was a candidate in the 2021 Tibetan presidential (Sikyong) elections and was the runner up with over 45 percent of the votes in the general elections.

Kaydor was born in India in 1968. He was the son of Jampa Kalden Aukatsang, former secretary of the Department of Security, CTA; and Dickyi Dolkar. Growing up, he attended SFF Tibetan School, Chakrata; St. Augustine’s School, Kalimpong; and St Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun.

From 1973 to 1975, studied at SFF Tibetan School, Chakrata, India, then, from 1975 to 1986, studied at St. Augustine’s School, Kalimpong, India; and from 1986 to 1988, he studied at St. Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun, Dehradun, India; In 1991, Aukatsang graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the prestigious St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.

From 1996 to 1998, he studied at The Fletcher School at Tufts University with a Master of Arts in law and diplomacy, focusing on international business relations and China studies. The course content includes finance, international business strategy and Chinese foreign policy.