New Dehli –Nehru had said that he failed Tibet by his China policy. Well, a stadium named after him seemed to be doing the same. After a long negotiation between the organizers and the authorities, the run for Tibet was decided to be cancelled and the venue for the football match will now be Ambedkar Stadium, a stadium for major international and national football matches located in North Delhi. The police and anti riot forces escorted the Tibetans to the Ambedkar stadium to ensure that politics stood away from sports. The Tibetans hugged each other on hearing the news but their joy was short-lived as there came another twist in the tale. A last minute denial of permission to allow the event to be held at Ambedkar stadium forced the organizers to change the venue to Kirori Mal College, Delhi University.
The organizers of ‘International Run for Tibet’ were denied clearance by the External Affairs Ministry to hold the event at Nehru Stadium a few days back. However, it was decided that the run will begin from outside of the stadium but the organizers received a major setback when more than 3000 Tibetans and supporters were stopped at Majnu Ka Tilla Tibetan camp by anti riot forces.
Sources say that the Indian government is suspicious of any possibility of the Tibetans gate crashing the Chinese Embassy which is located not so far from the venue.
But there still seemed to be a lot of controversies surrounding the event as thousands of Tibetans from all over India and Nepal are wandering on the streets of Delhi in confusion as to whether the football game between the Tibetan National football team and Delhi XI Stars will ever be played and if so, where?
A few veteran Indian sportspersons have reached the Indian capital to show their solidarity with the Tibetans and for love of sports.
Meanwhile, cellular phones proved a boon for the Tibetans who inform each other of the latest developments surrounding the event to ensure that as many people gather for what is termed as the Tibetan People’s Movement.
At the time of this report going online, cellphones exchanged text messages that read “Kirori Mal finalized as venue, please forward to other people”
