Dozens of Tibetan protesters clashed with police outside the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday as Tibetans living in exile commemorated the 66th anniversary of their uprising against China, which was crushed by Chinese forces.
As in previous years, authorities prevented the demonstrators from entering the embassy, with police briefly detaining some protesters after forcibly restraining them.
In Dharamshala, the northern Indian town that serves as the seat of the exiled Tibetan government and home to their 89-year-old spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, hundreds of Tibetans took to the streets in protest.
Meanwhile, around a hundred Tibetan women gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, a designated protest site near Parliament.
The demonstrators chanted anti-China slogans, waved Tibetan flags, and played the national anthems of both Tibet and India.
Although India recognizes Tibet as part of China, it provides refuge to the Tibetan exiles. The Tibetan independence uprising of 1959 was suppressed by Chinese forces, forcing the Dalai Lama and his followers to flee to India.
Many protesters painted their faces in the colors of the Tibetan national flag. They observed a moment of silence in remembrance of Tibetans who lost their lives in the struggle against China.
Tibetans in New Delhi Protest
Monks, activists, nuns, and schoolchildren marched through the town holding banners with messages such as “Free Tibet” and “Remember, Resist, Return.”
Penpa Tsering, president of the Central Tibetan Administration—the formal name of the exiled Tibetan government—accused China’s leadership of executing a “deliberate and dangerous strategy to eliminate the very identity of the Tibetan people.”
“This marks the darkest and most critical period in the history of Tibet,” Tsering said during the gathering.
“As we commemorate the Tibetan National Uprising Day, we honor our brave martyrs and express solidarity with our brothers and sisters inside Tibet who continue to languish under the oppressive Chinese government.”
The Tibetan government-in-exile in India has long accused China of denying Tibetans their most basic human rights and attempting to erase Tibetan identity.
China asserts that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, while Tibetans argue that the Himalayan region functioned as an independent entity until China’s occupation in 1950.
The Dalai Lama, meanwhile, rejects China’s claim that he is a separatist, stating that he advocates only for meaningful autonomy and the preservation of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture.
