He Quit India’s Elite Special Operations Police to Come Work for Siddhartha School.
“I feel happy not only for my son but for all the students and future generations who come through Siddhartha School. They get wonderful time to experience so many positive things in the school because of our highly qualified, dedicated teachers.”
—Tsering Angchuk
TTW: Tell us about how you came to Siddhartha School.
For about four years, I worked in special operations for the government police of Jammu and Kashmir. I held the post of subinspector. It was really challenging to be part of J&H department because of the civil unrest in that area. There were lots of antigovernment activities at that time, violence, civil unrest, and mobs demonstrating. The people of Kashmir were majority Muslim, and they wanted to be separated from India as their own state, or be merged with Pakistan. They did not want to be living in India. So it was a demanding job and was really challenging on an ethical level. I had known Khen Rinpoche and the project for some time, and when the opportunity came to work for Siddhartha School, I decided to resign from my police job and was grateful to join the school. Now the only fights I encounter are between kids, rather than gunfire exchanged by armed militants. I enjoy being a part of a school that is helping children learn and resolve their disagreements peacefully, rather than policing, breaking up the rioting of grown men. Much better.
“Now the only fights I encounter are between kids, rather than gunfire exchanged by armed militants. I enjoy being a part of a school that is helping children learn and resolve their disagreements peacefully, rather than policing, breaking up the rioting of grown men. Much better.”
—Tsering Angchuk
TTW: Tell us about your family.
For a few years, Sonam Chorol and I married. She is the music teacher at Siddhartha School and has her master’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, so it works out well that I no longer have to be away for months at a time as I did working for the police. We have a 16-month-old son, named Stanzin Gaisem; he can stand on his feet and is smart enough to imitate us and tries to talk to us all the time.
TTW: Tell us a little about what you think sponsors may not know.
During the winter, we are really cut off from our dear sponsors and donors, and the worst part is when the Internet totally gets unstable because of failure of the optical fiber cable (OFC) on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway. This is the only possible means to get connected through the Internet with other parts of the world, and often it gets severed or the service experiences problems and we go for weeks at a time without Internet service. Because of the harsh and long winter, schools in Ladakh declare a two and a half month holiday that starts on December 15 and goes through the end of February. Given our school teaches on certain Saturdays, this allows students and staff to get enough days off to spend with their family members and enjoy the many local winter festivals.
TTW: How have you seen education change in Ladakh? 
The system of education has seen great changes from what we used to have decades ago. I remember when my school (the Moravian Mission School, Ladakh’s first private school) computer lab used to have only a black-and-white computer system and there were like 30 to 40 students and they hardly got a few chances to touch it. Today, the present generation of students has one system for one student, fully updated. I think this example tells the whole difference between the past education system and the present one.
