A three-member delegation of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile (TPiE) on Sunday met members of the civil society in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar and alleged that China was carrying out a cultural genocide inside Tibet. They sought civil society’s support in resisting it.

Addressing the civil society members at the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) here on Sunday evening, Youdon Aukatsang, a member of the unicameral, the highest legislative organ of the Central Tibetan Administration of the government-in-exile of Tibet, explained the current situation in Tibet and asserted that Tibet also mattered for India which was having border problems with the China.

Asserting that Tibet was never a part of China, Youdon Aukatsang said: “Chinese are behaving aggressively in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other border areas of India to put pressure on New Delhi so that it refrains from supporting the Tibetan cause.”

Aukatsang, along with fellow members Geshi Monlam Tharchin and Tashi Dhondup, has been trying to highlight the worsening situation in Tibet under the Chinese regime.

Aukatsang also said: “From 1930 to 1950, there was an independent government in Tibet. But after the Chinese invasion, we lost our independence and now our very identity is facing a threat. Tibetan children are being taken forcibly to China and being indoctrinated. A systematic effort is being made by the Chinese to finish the Tibet’s cultural, social and religious identity.”

She urged Rajya Sabha member and convenor of the Parliamentary Forum on Tibet, Sujit Kumar, to take up the issue in Parliament. “India should try to assert itself,” she said.

Thanking India for its support, Aukatsang said: “After India, it’s Japan which has supported the Tibetan cause.”

Rajya Sabha member Sujit Kumar said: “Everyone knows that Tibet was never a part of China. But due to some blunders in the past Tibet has been a so-called part of China. When the Chinese aggression took place, the US and the rest of the world remained silent”

Stating that Odisha has a Tibetan settlement at Chandragiri in Gajapati district in Odisha, Sujit Kumar said: “The community has never been in conflict with the locals.” Nearly 3, 200 people reside in the settlement.

TPiE is based at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh and the 45-member TPiE represents over 60 lakh Tibetans.

The delegation which is on an advocacy visit to Odisha, plans to meet students, intellectuals and governor to raise awareness about their cause.

Since the 1951 annexation of Tibet by China, the entire plateau has been under Chinese administration. The government led by the current (14th) Dalai Lama, was forced to flee to India in 1959.

The delegation wants genuine autonomy for Tibet and demilitarisation of the area.

They also protested the Chinese interference in the reincarnation of Dalai Lama.