Guwahati: The people of Assam in northeast India had seen the Tibetan flag for the first time, as hundreds of Tibetans in the region observed 53rd Tibetan National Uprising Day in Guwahati on March 10.
Clad in traditional dress and holding Tibetan national flags along with the Indian tricolor, the nearly 300 Tibetan exiles moved through the streets of Guwahati, the virtual capital northeast India. A rally was also organized at the bank of historic Dighalipukhuri in the city, where Tibetan leaders and Assam based intellectuals delivered inspiring speeches. The day long activities culminated with a candlelight procession in the evening.
"We have organized the March 10 Uprising Day for the first time in Guwahati, commemorating Tibetans first massive uprising against the Chinese occupation in 1959. It represents an important day of national pride for Tibetans everywhere and has traditionally been a day of protest inside and outside of Tibet", said Dawa Thakchoe, an activist-organizer, who briefed the local media.
March 10th also marks the 53rd anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama's exit from Tibet (to India through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam) after the uprising against the Chinese authority failed. It was followed by the Chinese aggression towards India in 1962, when the Chinese troops arrived in Tezpur of Assam, after capturing Arunchal Pradesh. Of course, the Communist forces soon fled as Beijing received warnings from America and France following pleas from Jawaharlal Nehru.
Organized by the Tibetan Solidarity Community of Northeast India, the Saturday protest march was joined by Tibetans living in various States of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
A statement from Tibetan exile government head, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, was read aloud both in Tibetan and English.
Dr. Lobsang, to whom the Dalai Lama ceded political power last year, urged the UN to live up to its objective and address the crisis in Tibet through sending a delegation to Tibet.
The international community and media must send a fact-finding delegation into Tibet to remove the veil of censorship and disinformation campaign, he insisted.
The prime minister of Tibetan exile government also appealed to the officials and member states of ASEAN and SAARC to include the issue of Tibet on their agendas. However, he clarified that the Tibetan struggle is not against the Chinese people or China as a nation. It is against the PRC governments politics. China must acknowledge the depth of the problems in Tibet and understand they cannot be solved through violence, he added.
"To address the tragedy in Tibet, I call on Beijing to accept our Middle Way Policy, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the framework of the Chinese constitution, as proposed in the Memorandum and Note of 2008 and 2010 respectively". Hong Kong and Macau have been granted a high degree of autonomy. Despite resistance from Taiwan, China has offered them a high degree of autonomy towards re-unification. "Why are Tibetans still not granted genuine autonomy, as stipulated in the Chinese constitutions?", questioned young primeminister of the exile government.
