Tibetan Torch Relay in Delhi
At noon yesterday, I spooned up the last bits of my beans and rice and chugged down a mango shake from my favorite roadside food vendor before heading over to Janpath to join the Tibetan mock torch relay. The Olympic torch was scheduled for its run through Delhi and as a result India´s large Tibetan community had planned a parallel protest.
Despite the 100+ degree temperatures, some 3000 Tibetans, Indians and foreigners marched along the roads, the massive crowd centered around a mock Olympic torch. Tibetan flags of all sizes waved above the heads as passionate anti-China and Free Tibet slogans were shouted in unison. Pro-Tibet t-shirts, face paint, posters and banners created a powerful sense of unity and urgency for their genuine cause. The procession was definitely peaceful but it certainly did not lack in intensity, strong enough to undoubtedly leave most participants and observers inspired and sympathetic.
Several hundred stick-wielding Indian police accompanied this march, although most seemed to be curious onlookers rather than officers of the law. When the procession finished at a cordoned off section of road just south of Jantar Mantar, the crowds swelled even more to listen to the endless series of speeches, given by a range of activists from Tibetan monks to Hindus to Sikhs.
The sense of community encompassed even the strangers and foreigners who were made to feel at ease and most welcome by the hospitable and often chatty Tibetans. The Tibetan greeting of ´Tashi Delek’ passed among the crowds along with flyers depicting the current human rights abuses taking place within Tibet. Older Tibetans in traditional dress wept and prayed, while the youth, sporting afros and wearing designer jeans, shouted with passionate anger. Others sat quietly, prayer beads in hand, pleading softly for justice and compassion.
This impressive display of solidarity and the clear message of struggle was covered extensively by dozens of media organizations, highlighted by interviews in Tibetan, Hindi and English of face-painted youth, saffron-robed monks and Indian activists.
By 4pm, as the event began to slow and with many Tibetans making their way to the path of the actual torch relay, I decided to return to my hotel. As I walked through Connaught Place towards the main bazaar of Paharganj, thinking of ways to get out of the heat, out of the polluted air, out of the routine of 6 hour daytime naps, it was no coincidence when my next destination became so clear. I am now off to the north, to the mountain village of McLeod Ganj, home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile.
Tags: India
dbaron
Again . . . wow!!! What a great moment to be a part of!!