January 1 – Himalaya Parivar organised a two days’ workshop at Nishkasan Sewa Trust in Haridwar from January 1-2, 2005. More than 100 participants from various regions of India including executive members of Tibetan Youth Congress and India Tibet Coordination office participated in the workshop.
Mr. Indresh Kumar founder of Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch welcomed all the members. He spoke at length on the relation between India and Tibet. Expressing his anxiety over India’s security that was subjected to a looming threat after the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese, he said, “When Tibet was a free nation, there were no restrictions for pilgrims to visit Bodhgaya or Mt. Kailash.” “The Great Himalayas no longer remains a safeguarding frontier,” he added.
Dr. Bardeshwar who made a short visit to Tibet recently said, “The development that one may see in Tibet has benefited just the Chinese immigrants and not the local Tibetans. The condition of Tibetans remains poor”.
Mr. Dawa Tsering, a Member of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile expressed his gratitude towards Indians for giving its rich culture and religion to Tibet, which has now become the main identity of Tibetans.
The assistant coordinator of ITCO, Mr. Tenzin Dawa thanked all members of Hamilaya Parivar for their support towards Tibetan cause and expressed his hope that they would continue to support the issue of Tibet in the future too. Books, calendars and pamphlets related to Tibet were later distributed at the workshop.
