About Us
History of MenTseeKhang Sowa-Rigpa Medical College, Bengaluru
- MenTseeKhang Sowa-Rigpa Medical College situated at The Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education, Bengaluru, Karnataka State (K.S), India, is built on 3 acres of land. The college was partially funded by Central and State government under the National Ayush Mission (NAM) Project. It was established under a society or a trust named “MenTseeKhang (Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute)”, headquartered in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The institute is registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
- MenTseeKhang was first established in 1916 by the 13th Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet. In 1959 the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet, which led His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to take asylum in India followed by 80,000 Tibetans. His Holiness was given residence in Mussoorie by the Indian Government and then a year later in 1960, granted permanent residence in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. Besides rehabilitation of the Tibetan refugees, His Holiness also started setting up many religious, cultural and educational Institutes in India in order to preserve the rich ancient cultures and traditions of Tibet. Thus, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama re-established MenTseeKhang (Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute) in Dharamsala on 23 March, 1961 with the vision to preserve and promote Sowa-Rigpa of Medicine and Tibetan Astrological system for the benefits of larger population. Tibetan Medical & Astro. College (TMA) in Dharamshala is the first formal Sowa-Rigpa College in India and hundreds of doctors and Astrologers graduated from this college and now practicing all over India and overseas.
- In 2010, the Government of India officially recognized “Tibetan Medical System” as an Indian system of medicine called “Sowa-Rigpa.” Sowa-Rigpa is a Tibetan term in which “Sowa” means Healing and “Rigpa” means Knowledge or Science. It’s a comprehensive science of Healing. “Sowa-Rigpa” system of Medicine is gaining popularity in India and abroad mainly as a result of the excellent healthcare services provided by the fifty-plus MenTseeKhang’s branch clinics centered all over India, Nepal and with some partner clinics abroad, interest for studying and research on Tibetan Medicine has been rapidly increasing particularly from the local and international students and experts. Therefore, in order to provide an equal opportunity of studying Tibetan Medicine and fulfilling the vision of the institute, MenTseeKhang Sowa-Rigpa Medical College was established in Bengaluru and it is the first Sowa-Rigpa medical college in South India. The foundation stone of this college building was laid by His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama on 14th December, 2016.
- The prime objective of the college is to provide excellent quality of Sowa-Rigpa medical education and to provide cost-effective Sowa-Rigpa healthcare services to the local people. The college administration became functional in 2020, however, the admission of first Bachelor of Sowa-Rigpa Medicine and Surgery (BSRMS) batch of students was commenced in March 2023 after fulfilling all the essential requirements as per the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM, Ministry of Ayush, Govt. of India) and the Karnataka State Government. The college is affiliated under the Rajiv Gandhi University, Bengaluru. Currently, through the NCISM SR NEET, two batches of BSRMS students have been admitted in the college and their professional study is taking place with a great stride.
Vision & Values
The main objective of Men-Tsee-Khang is to preserve, promote and practise Sowa Rigpa, the ancient Tibetan system of medicine, astronomy and astrology. It also aims to improve the health and sanitation of the refugees in particular and the public in general and to establish dispensaries in order to provide accessible health care to the people regardless of caste, creed or colour.
Education and Higher Studies in the fields of Tibetan Medicine and Astrology, Research and collaboration with scholars and institutes in India and abroad between different healing systems and to produce Tibetan medicines in an environmentally sensitive manner are the important goals in the development of this ancient healing system.
MISSION
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Men-Tsee-Khang College at Tibetan Medical & Astro. Institute, Dharamsala was founded on 2nd June 1961 under the visionary guidance of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The main aim and objective of the College is to train aspiring Tibetan doctors and Astro-Science Practitioners in order to preserve and promote the rich and valuable ancient system of Sowa-Rigpa and Astro-Science for the benefit of the whole humanity.
It is a pioneering Sowa-Rigpa College in India that basically offers Graduate Courses on Tibetan Medicine (Menpa Kachupa – BSRMS i.e. Bachelor of Sowa-Rigpa Medicine and Surgery) and Tibetan Astro-Science (Tseepa Kachupa). The duration of each course is 6.5 years, which includes six- month pre-first year followed by five-year main course, and 1-year internship. In addition to their mainstream subjects, the students also study Tibetan Medicine, Tibetan Astro-Science, Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy, and Modern Bio-medical Science as supplementary subjects. Since the inception of the college till date, 19 medical batches totaling 366 medical practitioners (333 Tibetans, 22 Indian citizens of the Himalayan region and 11 foreign nationals) and 10 Astro-science batches comprising 79 Astro-science practitioners (76 Tibetans, 1 Indian citizen of the Himalayan region, and 2 foreign nationals) have graduated. Sowa-Rigpa medical practitioners are registered themselves under CCIM, Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. Currently, there are 52 Medical students and 8 Astro-Science students studying in their 5th and 4th year in Medicine, and 4th year in Astro-Science. Besides, 19 students representing the first group of international students for the Kachupa Degree Course are undertaking their pre-first year program.
Our Teachers
“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.”
Dr.Dorjee Rabten (MD)
Professor
Principal
TSAP Mrs.Sonam Palmo
(Associate Professor)
Vice. Principal
Dr.Tenzin Yeshi (MD)
Assitant Professor
Registrar
Dr.Norchung (MD)
Assitant Professor
Department Head[OPD&IPD]
TSAP Mr.Kunga Dhondup
Assistant Professor
Dr.Lodoe kalsang
Associate Professor
Department Head [Materia Medica]