Shimla : The four-member delegation of the 16th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, comprised of Parliamentarians Mr. Dawa Tsering, Ven. Khenpo Jamphal Tenzin, Mrs. Samten Chodon and Mr. Tashi Dhondup, who had been advocating for the cause of Tibet in the states of Dehradun, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh for the past one month had successfully completed their Tibet-advocacy campaign with its final leg in capital city of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla.

After the completion of Tibet-advocacy campaign in the state of Jammu and Kashmir from Oct 16 to 18, they had left for Shimla.

Over there on Oct 20, the delegates called on Sh. B.K. Agarwal, Chief secretary of Himacha,  Sh. Neeraj Douneriya, Organisation Secretary of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Sh. Rajesh Sharma, Vice President of VHP  and Sh. Virender Vashesa Mohan, Co-ordinator of Himalaya Parivar.

The next day on Oct 21, they called on Sh. Sanjeevan Kumar, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Prant Pracharak, Sh. Ajay Kumar, RSS District Pracharak, Sh. Virander Speiya, RSS State Executive Member, Sh. Raj Kumar Verma, State Co-ordinator, Sh. Virbhadra Singh, Former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sh. Pradeep Singh, District Congress President, Sh. Ran Anirudh  Singh, MLA from Kasumati Shimla Constituency, Sh. Ravinder Thakur, Congress state Secretary, Sh. Mahender Kumar Dharmani, Officer of Special Duty (OSD) to the HP Chief Minister, Prof. Shashikant Sharma, Advisor to Governor, Sh. Archarya Dev Vrat, Governor of HP), Sh. Jayant Sharma, Press Secretary of HP Governor and Sh. Mukesh Agnihotri ,President of Opposition Party and Congress MLA from Haroli Constituency.

They also met with the executive members of Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society, Himalaya Parivar and Kinnaur-Lahaul-Spiti Buddhist Association and discussed on various issues ranging from bolstering further support and working towards the resolution of Tibet’s issues.

Thereafter, On Oct 22, the delegates had successfully called on Honorable Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sh. Jai Ram Thakur and hosts of state’s ministers and leaders including Dr. Ram Lal Markanda, Agriculture Minister, Sh. Govind Singh Thakur, Minister of Transport and Forest, Sh. Virender Kanwar, Rural development Minister,   Sh. Bikram Singh, Industries Minister,  Sh. Vipin Singh Parmar, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Sh. Mahender Singh Thakur, Irrigation and Public Health Minister, Smt. Sarveen Chaudhary, Town Planning and Urban Development Minister, Sh. Suresh Bhardwaj, Education Minister,  Dr. Pankaj Lalit, Former Additional Commissioner of Transport and Tibet supporter, Sh. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, President of HP State Congress and Congress MLA from Nadaun constituency, Sh. Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, State Congress Secretary.

At 3 in the evening, the Tibetan parliamentary delegation held a press-conference regarding issues of Tibet at the conference hall of Press Club of Shimla. Around 18 different media attended it and engaged in question-answer session between the two on urgent situations inside Tibet, the purpose of the delegation’s campaign etc.

The next day on Oct 23, the Tibetan Parliamentarian delegation called on Sh. Inder Dutt Lakhan Pal, MLA, Shri Inder Dutt Lakhan Pal, MLA, Sh. Pawan Nayyar, MLA, Sh. Vijay Kumar, MLA, Sh. Ravinder Singh, MLA, Sh. Inder Singh, MLA, Smt. Kamlesh Kumari, MLA, Smt. Rita Dhiman, MLA, Sh. Mohan lal Brakta, MLA, Sh. Nand lal, MLA, Shri Kishori lal, MLA, Shri Yashpal Sharma, Vidhan Sabha Secretary, Sh. Harsh Wardhan Chauhan, Congress MLA, Sh. Hans Raj, Deputy Speaker of HP, Smt. Kusum Sadret, Mayor of Shimla, Sh. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sh. Anurag Thakur, Member of Parliament, Sh. Vijay Singh Mankotia, Former Tourism Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sh.Shanta kumar, Former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh and National Convenor of All Party Indian Parliamentarian Forum on Tibet

In accordance with the designation of this year as ‘Thank-you India’ by Central Tibetan Administration, the delegates upon meeting with the respective leaders, expressed their gratitude to both the people and the government of India for their hospitality and generosity to the Tibetan people on their behalf. While expressing the depth of gratitude owed by Tibetans to the people and government of India, they also elucidated on the cultural ties between the two by referring to the incorporation of Indian cultural attributes and ancient knowledge within Tibetan.

They also briefed them on the endeavors of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and requested the respective personages to continue to render their support for the cause and issues of Tibet. Referring to the 152 self-immolation by Tibetans inside Tibet, they further supplicated them to initiate discussion on Tibet whenever bilateral meetings are held between the government of India and China and to adopt resolutions on the issues of Tibet in their respective meetings and sessions. They also proffered them with the invitation to visit Dharamsala, the seat of exile Tibetan administration in Himachal Pradesh, India. The five-points appeal to the Indian parliament and state legislatures, along with Tibetan Parliament souvenirs were also presented to the respective leaders.

The respective leaders, in turn, assured their continued support for the just cause of Tibet and opposed the hard-line policies exercised by the Chinese government inside Tibet. They were, in particular, enthralled by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s endeavors and deeds and stressed on the importance of preservation of Tibetan culture by the Tibetans themselves. They also highlighted the significance of inculcating a sense of nationalism towards the preservation of one’s race and culture among the Tibetan youth, rather than getting caught up in the hues of other cultures.

With the five days of Tibet advocacy campaign in the state of Himachal Pradesh since Oct 20, the Tibetan parliamentary delegates had successfully carried out an important campaign related to the cause of Tibet and held one press conference. They had successfully called on 61 different personages of the state viz., the state’s Governor, Chief Minister, Deputy Speaker of the state’s Legislative Assembly, two of its former Chief Ministers, two members of Indian parliament, two of its former Ministers, eight incumbent Ministers, 14 members of state’s Legislative Assembly, 8 personages of official authority, 21 personages from different non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Tenzin Norbu, Chief Representative of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla accompanied the delegation throughout the Tibet-advocacy campaign in Shimla.

In summary, this Tibetan parliamentary delegation, had been advocating for the cause of Tibet since Oct 2 for over 25 days, covering Indian northern states of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. They had successfully carried out 16 Tibet advocacy campaigns and issued three press-releases, while calling on around 159 personages in these states. They had successfully called on Governors, Chief Ministers of three different states, three former Chief Ministers, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of state’s Legislative Assembly, over twenty Ministers, four of former Ministers and members of Indian Parliament, three former members of Indian parliament and around 42 members of States’ Legislative Assemblies, 20 officials serving at different governmental posts and over 54 personages of non-governmental organizations.