By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, Mar. 30: 41 people who walked from the remote Chuthangmo village to Tezpur town in India’s North-eastern corner on Friday to commemorate the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s journey across Indian border arrived here at the hill-town of Dharamshala where the exile Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama resides. The padyatris are commemorating the Tibetan leader’s journey from Tibet to India in 1959, six decades ago.
Exile Tibetan government known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration’s Minister of Health Choekyong Wangchuk, Secretary of the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations, Sonam Norbu Dagpo and representatives of various Tibetan NGOs as well as local Tibetans welcomed the participants of the initiative at main square of McLeod Ganj earlier today.
Rinchen Khandu Khrimey, National Convener of Core Group for Tibetan Cause and also co-organiser of the march said, “Since we can’t go inside Tibet, we chose Chuthangmo, the Indo-Tibetan border and the first place in India where His Holiness was officially received by the Indian officials.”
“When we came to know that 2018 will be celebrated as ‘Thank You India’ year, we decided to relive His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s journey from Tibet to India in 1959 to commemorate the 60th year of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s journey from Tibet to India,” he said. The group will also take part in the marque ‘Thank you India’ event scheduled for Saturday here.
The ‘Path Yatra’ from Chuthangmo in Tawang district to Tezpur in central Assam, took 10 days and marks the 60th year of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s journey from Tibet to India in March, 1959, in the aftermath of his country’s violent occupation by Chinese communist forces.
The ten-day march retraced the steps of the Dalai Lama’s journey in 1959 when he was escorted by the Assam Rifles unit from Chuthangmo through Gorsum Chorten, Lumla, Tawang, Jang, Senge, Dirang, Bomdila, Rupa, Tenga, Chaku, Khelong and Doimara and to Tezpur.
The march is organized by the Core Group for Tibetan Cause, the apex body of Tibet support groups in India, with cooperation from the people of Tawang and West Kameng along with NGOs and monasteries.
