The Tibetan Women’s Peace March flagged off from four different regions in India came to an end with the closing ceremony observed in three metro cities. The marchers from Pune to Mumbai had already concluded the march a week before.
The Dehradun to Delhi marchers on the morning of March 25 reached Jantar Mantar accomapnied by local Tibetans on Delhi. The group could not begin the march from Majnu-ka-tilla since the permission to do so was denied by the city police. The march to observe the closing ceremony began from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street. The chief guest at the closing function was Mr. Indresh Kumar (Himalaya Parivar). Chairman of Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet, Lama Chospel Zoepa. Other guests present were Dr. Gita (JNU lecturer and member of Himalaya Parivar), the Welfare Officer of Majnu-ka-Tilla and representatives of Majnu-ka-tilla business committee. Mr. Indresh Kumar stressed the need to organize more and more activities like the peace march as it helps in keeping alive the issue of Tibet. He said small gains should not discourage the Tibetans as these add up to a major change in the long run. The Tibetan Welfare Officer expressed his appreciation to the marchers and called H.H. the Dalai Lamas Middle Way Approach as pragmatic and most feasible in bringing a change in the present political situation in Tibet. At the end of the function, the marchers were honored wit traditional Tibetan scarfs.
The Dharamsala to Chandigarh marchers walked from Kharar to Chandigarh in the morning of March 25. The marchers reached BJP Bhavan in Sector 37 around afternoon. They were received at the Bhavan by the student community in Chandigarh led by executive members of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Freedom Movement. The president of RTYC gave the welcome speech followed by the introductory speech by TWA general secretary Ms. Passang Dolma who briefed the audience on the purpose of the peace march and experiences and happenings during the 14 day walk. The RTYC members also took the opportunity to honor those students who had volunteered in activities organized in the past for the release of Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, the Tibetan Lama who was spared of execution by the Chinese authorities early this year. The marchers then walked to Sector 14 from where the candle light vigil was started in the evening. TWA president, Joint Secretary and PRO who had arrived from the Delhi closing function joined the vigil. The candle light march gathered at the main square of Sector 17 market. Around 200 people took part in the march. Th chief guest at the function was Mrs. Anu Chatrath (Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation), Mr. Arvind Thakur (Lawyer, National Human Rights Center), Mr. Om Prakash Sharmsa (president, BTSM, Patiala), Mr. HS Lucky ( president, Chandigarh Youth Congress), Mr. Ram Naresh (president, Anand Marg) and other representatives from Chandigarh Youth Congress and Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch (BTSM).
TWA president gave the opening speech where she outlined the purpose of the march and emphasized the need to begin an early and actual negotiation on the future of Tibet. The youngest participant in the peace march, 15-yr-old Tenzin Lhamo from Shimla recounted her experiences in an emotional speech that stirred everyone. She talked about how hard it was to walk for days getting blisters and feeling thirsty but the thought of Tibetans suffering in Tibet kept her going. She also pledged that she would take part in such activities in future and keep walking for the freedom of Tibet.
Unlike others, the marchers from Siliguri to Kolkata held the closing function on March 26 in Kolkata. They had stopped for a day at Haringhata village in Mohanpur district for a day as March 25 happened to be Holi festival. On the morning of March 26, the marchers started their walk from Mohanpur and reached Kolkatas Gandhi Maidan in the evening. The leaders of the march read out statements of the peace march in Hindi, English and Bengali. The pla to submit a memorandum to the Governor of West Bengal was deferred to March 28 as the governor had gone pout the state and will return on Monday.
