Tibetan marchers complete 530 km ‘Peace March’ from Manali to Delhi

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 9: The three Tibetan marchers who began their ‘Peace March’ from Manali, Himachal Pradesh on Sept. 23 completed the 530 km journey on Friday at the Samyeling Tibetan settlement, also known as Majnu Ka Tilla (MT) in New Delhi. The Tibetan community welcomed the marchers in the presence of the General Secretary of Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, Pankaj Goyal.

The group visited the protest site Jantar Mantar on Friday and concluded the march by submitting their memorandum to the Chinese embassy and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in New Delhi. In their appeal, the activists urged China to allow His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, push for dialogue between the CCP and Dalai Lama or his representatives through Middle Way Approach (MWA) and to immediately release all the political prisoners including the 11^th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.

Tsering Dhondup, 47, Tsering Wangdue, 45, and Chungdak, 65 were lauded by Tibetans across the globe for their initiative and received huge support from Tibetans in different settlements through out their journey. The three members have refused to take any donations and has borne all the expenses on their own.

One of the three members, 65-year-old Chungdak had to withdraw from the journey earlier due to physical ailments. The remaining two marchers were later joined by 25-year-old Nyima from Chandigarh. They traversed the 530 km journey through numerous states from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, UT of Chandigarh, and Haryana, culminating their journey at New Delhi on Thursday. 

CTA President Lobsang Sangay earlier commended the marchers for undertaking such an initiative, “These non-violent marches help promote the issue of Tibet. I hope more people participate in such initiatives that are very effective for creating awareness.”