Dehradun: The Tibet advocacy campaign by the four-member delegation viz., namely, Parliamentarians Mr. Dawa Tsering, Ven. Khenpo Jamphal Tenzin, Mrs. Samten Chodon and Mr. Tashi Dhondup, which began on Oct 2, concluded its advocacy program successfully in the state of Uttarakhand.
At 7 in the early morning of Oct 3, the delegation called upon Sh. Yudht Veer, RSS State Parcharak and later, met with Sh. Naresh Bansal, State General Secretary, BJP.
On the same day at 11 am, the delegation held a press meeting at Press Club Uttaranchal, which was attended by around 12 different media and engaged in question-answers with them while raising awareness on Tibet. Thereafter, they called upon Tibet supporter Sh. Subash Kumar Negi, Former Chief Secretary, and Present Chairman of Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission, Sh. Khajan Dass, Rajpur constituency, MLA, UK, Sh. Harbans Kapoor, Dehra Khas constituency, former Speaker and senior BJP leader and Sh. Ganesh Joshi, Mussorie constituency MLA, UK.
The delegation briefed the respective ministers on the endeavors of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, relationship between India and Tibet; the importance of Tibet to Central Asia, including India; atrocious policies implemented by Chinese government, inculcation of ancient Indian tradition by the Tibetans and gratitude felt by the Tibetans towards both the people and the government of India.
On Oct 4 at 9:30 am in the morning, the delegation called upon Smt. Neelam Sehgal, BJP President of Mahila Morcha. They later called upon Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Smt. Baby Rani Maurya, Governor of Uttarakhand and Sh. Utpal Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand.
The delegation briefed the dignitaries on Tibetan Parliament-in-exile’s delegation visit to every state in India to thank the state government and all the concerned authorities for their hospitality and support to the Tibetans and Tibet cause, in accordance to Central Tibetan Administration’s designation of this year as ‘Thank-you India’. They further elucidated the dignitaries on 152 self-immolations by Tibetans inside Tibet under the atrocious policies of the Chinese government and the significance o Tibet to Central Asia, including India.
They also solicited the dignitaries to initiate a discussion over Tibet when the leaders of India-China meets and to pass resolutions concerning the issues of Tibet during the session of both the State and Central legislative. They also presented the dignitaries with Tibet-issues related publications by Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and souvenirs.
The next day on Oct 5, the delegation met with Sh. Naresh Bhansel, BJP State Secretary and later in the day, they subsequently called upon Sh. Sachin Gupta, BJP Youth Vice President, and Sh. Balwant Singh Rawat, L.I.U Office, Dr. Harak Singh Rawat, Forest Minister, Sh. Yashpal Arya, Transport Minister, Sh.Vinod Khandari, Devapriya MLA, Sh. Umesh Sharma, Raipur MLA, Sh. Madan Kaushik, Minister of Urban Development, Sh.Prakash Pant, Finance Minister.
While expressing their gratitude to the concerned dignitaries for their support, the delegation also apprised them on the historical relationship between Tibet and India and the significance of Tibet in Central India, including India. The delegation also presented them with publication related to Tibet and its issues, including Tibetan parliament’s 5 points appeal letter. They also solicited the concerned personages to pass resolutions on Tibet and its issues in their house during both the assembly and parliamentary sessions. They were also accorded with an invitation to visit Dharamsala – the seat of exile Tibetan administration.
At 10:30 am on Oct 6, the delegation met with Sh. B. P. Singh, former Governor of Sikkim and former Home Secretary of Govt. of India, former Cultural Secretary of Govt. of India, Executive Director of World Bank, Smt. Rekha Arya, Minister of Women and Child Welfare, Sh. Arvind Pandey, Minister of Education and Sports, Swami. Yatiswarnanda, MLA, Haridwar, and Sh. Gopal Singh Rawat, MLA, Gangotri.
The delegation also apprised them on the Indo-Tibet relationship and the incorporation of ancient Indian traditions into Tibetan tradition and culture as well the 152 self-immolation inside Tibet under the repressive policies implemented by the Chinese government. While apprising them on the significance of Tibet to the Central Asian, including India, they solicited the extension of their support and to table discussion on Tibet and its issues in the concerned house during both the assembly and parliamentary session. They also expressed their gratitude on behalf of all the Tibetans and Tibetan parliament-in-exile to the people and the government of India for their hospitality and support. They were later presented with Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat’s souvenirs and its publications on Tibet-related issues along with the five-point appeal letter.
Over the past six days of advocating for the cause of Tibet and to call upon the conference leaders and personages in the state of Uttarakhand, the delegation has held a press conference, met the state’s Governor and seven state’s Ministers, including 10 members of state’s legislative, six concerned official authorities and six dignitaries from non-governmental organisations. The advocacy program in the state of Uttarakhand concluded successfully, thereby, after calling upon over thirty-one dignitaries in the said state. They were accompanied by Lt. Col. Norbu, Dehradun Tibetan settlement Officer, and Secretary Mr. Yeshi throughout the six days program.
On Oct 7, the delegation set out for Punjab and Haryana to continue with advocacy program in the designated northern states of India.