Tenzin Nyidon
NEW DELHI, Sept. 11: Hundreds of Tibetans took to the streets of New Delhi on Friday to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled participation in the 18th BRICS Summit, calling for greater international attention to Tibet ahead of his arrival in the Indian capital.
The protest march, organised by the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), began from the Samyelling Tibetan Settlement in Majnu Ka Tila and brought together Tibetans from more than 20 settlements across India. A heavy deployment of Delhi Police accompanied the march as protesters denounced Chinese regressive policies in occupied Tibet and Xi’s participation in the summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12–13.
Prominent Tibetan political figures attended the demonstration, including former Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) minister Gyari Dolma, former Tibetan Parliamentarian Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok, and sitting Tibetan MPs Wangdue Dorjee, Gyaltsen Choekyi, and Kunchok Migmar.
In a statement, the TYC condemned Xi’s participation in the BRICS Summit, accusing his administration of presiding over what it described as an ongoing campaign of cultural repression and forced assimilation in Tibet. “Xi Jinping is the primary architect of the ongoing cultural genocide in Tibet,” the organisation said, further alleging that Chinese policies had contributed to the erosion of Tibetan culture, language, religion, and identity.
The TYC also urged India and other BRICS member states to raise the issue of Tibet with Chinese leadership during the summit, arguing that international cooperation should not come at the expense of human rights and cultural preservation.
The organisation pointed to China’s recently enacted “Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress,” which came into effect on July 1, saying it would further accelerate the assimilation of Tibetans and marginalisation of their distinct cultural identity. The TYC also referenced the self-immolation of late Tibetan independence activist Lobga Rangzen outside the United Nations headquarters on July 2, describing it as a stark reminder of what it called continued repression in occupied Tibet. The organisation said nearly 170 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009 in protest against Chinese colonial rule.
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) staged a protest near Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan, the venue of the BRICS Summit, at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. Three Tibetan youth activists, along with a Tibetan journalist and an Indian college student working as a photographer, were later detained by Delhi Police after the protesters unfurled banners critical of Xi Jinping and displayed the Tibetan national flags.
Speaking to Phayul, SFT India National Director Tenzin Passang said the three Tibetan activists—two girls and one boy—were detained for displaying anti-Xi banners and Tibetan flags near the summit venue. According to Passang, the three activists were subsequently taken from Mandir Marg Police Station to Tihar Jail, where they are being held under preventive detention until September 14.
The actions by TYC and SFT come as security has been tightened across the Indian capital ahead of Xi’s scheduled arrival for the summit. The protests have placed Tibet once again in the spotlight as India prepares to host the Chinese president for the high-profile multilateral gathering.
Xi’s high-profile diplomatic trip marks his first visit to Indian soil in nearly seven years, with his last visit being the informal summit in Mamallapuram in October 2019. Reports say the highly anticipated visit comes against the backdrop of a gradual diplomatic thaw between Asia’s two largest nations following years of severe military confrontation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and is being viewed as a significant milestone in efforts to stabilise bilateral ties.
