By Tendar Tsering
DHARAMSAHALA, September 15: The 11 marching monks from a Tibetan monastery in south India reached the north Indian city of Chandigarh earlier today after holding hunger strikes and peace marches in six major Indian cities.
The monks from the Gaden Jangtse monastery in the Tibetan settlement of Mundgod, observed a day-long hunger strike in the city highlighting the deteriorating human rights condition inside Tibet.
A US State Department report released this week had expressed continued concern over the protection of fundamental human rights in Tibet saying that “several monks reportedly committed suicide as a result of the harsh conditions and religious restrictions.”
Speaking to Phayul, a monk participant said that their voluntary campaign was received well by the Indian public and press alike.
“We successfully held hunger strikes and marches in six major cities without any health problem and tomorrow morning we will begin our peace march to Dharamshala,” said Lobsang Jampa.
The monks are expected to take 15 days to reach Dharamshala on the last leg of their campaign.
“We distributed lots of pamphlets highlighting the cause and issue of Tibet and we feel happy that we successfully covered some of the most populated Indian cities” Jampa told Phayul.
The monks had kicked off their campaign on September 3 from Pune.
“We can’t remain as silent spectators in a free country like India when our brothers and sisters are suffering under Chinese rule,” Jampa had told Phayul at the beginning of their campaign.
After the 15-day peace march from Chandigarh to Dharamshala, the monks will culminate their “hunger strike and march campaign” by observing a four-day hunger strike in Dharamshala.
