Tibetans observe 64th National Uprising Day at Jantar Mantar, leaders talk about Chinese surveillance

TYC president Gonpo Dhondup at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. (Express Photo by Dorjee Wangmo)

Citing the United Nations Human Rights Council’s recent press release on the alleged forced assimilation of over a million Tibetan children, Dhondup claimed, “Tibetan children have been separated from their families and forcefully detained at state-run boarding schools. It is an attempt to rob the Tibetan children of their cultural roots.”

As a result, the UNHRC report dated February 6 stated, “Tibetan children are losing their facility with their native language and the ability to communicate easily with their parents and grandparents in the Tibetan language, which contributes to their assimilation and erosion of their identity.”

Rajya Sabha MP and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Sujeet Kumar, the event’s chief guest, paid his respects to the Dalai Lama for being the “biggest ambassador of Tibet as well as India”.

Rajya Sabha MP and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Sujeet Kumar (Express Photo by Dorjee Wangmo)

Kumar also spoke on alleged Chinese interference in the appointment of the reincarnation of Dalai Lama. “Only the 14th Dalai Lama has the right to appoint his reincarnation,” Kumar said at Jantar Mantar.

Earlier, former president of Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) Dr Lobsang Sangay had told The Indian Express, “The Chinese want to interfere in selecting the reincarnated Lamas… They have already selected 300. Now, they say they have a list of 1,300 that they have selected and given certificates as Lamas.”

Among those who attended were a student, a nurse, and a mother of two. “For me, March 10 is more important than my birthday because of the memories I have. My school (Tibetan Children’s Village School) had made it compulsory for students to attend events that day,” said Tenzin Kunsang, a German-language student who has been attending for a decade now. “It is a responsibility for a third-generation Tibetan refugee like me because we are the future of the community.”

Tenzin Kunsang, a German-language student has been attending the Tibetan National 10th March protest for a decade now. (Photo credit: Tenzin Kunsang)

Lhamo Tsering, a mother of two, came dressed in a chupa (a traditional Tibetan dress), though she couldn’t stay for long. “One of my daughters is hospitalised and she hasn’t eaten anything since morning. So, I have to check up on her,” she said, while looking for an auto to take her to Sant Parmanand Hospital in Civil Lines. “I do feel guilty for leaving her but attending the protest is an annual habit for me. It was just too important to ignore.”

Tenzin Palmo (28), a nurse, said it is crucial for the youth to turn up: “A lot of Tibetan refugees of my grandparents’ generation, who came here directly from Tibet, never fail to attend the Uprising Day. But Tibetans in their 20s; we tend to be relaxed at times.”

It was on March 10, 1959 that thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Tibet’s capital Lhasa and surrounded the Potala Palace, the abode of the Dalai Lama, to protect his life and the future of Tibetan nations against the Chinese Communist Party. Since then, the date has been annually commemorated by Tibetans as the Tibetan National Uprising Day.