A team of bikers and support staff from the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organisation of Tibetans in exile, is touring India to raise awareness about Tibet’s plight.

Calcutta was the fifth stop for the 15-member team, which will be on the road for two months. They were in the city on December 10. They left for Purulia the next day.

The team has already crossed Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, and Nagaland. They are now in Jharkhand.

The team also aims to express their “love and gratitude” to Indians for the country’s support of Tibet.

“China is committing a cultural genocide in Tibet by wiping out our culture and tradition,” said Gonpo Dhundup, the president of the Tibetan YouthCongress.

“We want to draw the attention of more people to the atrocities that the Chinese government continues to commit in Tibet,” he said.

Gonpo Dhundup, the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, in Calcutta.

Dhundup alleged that Chinese authorities were putting children above 5 years in Tibet into “colonial boarding schools” that teach them “the history of China and the Mandarin language”. “They do not allow children to learn the history of Tibetan people and their language.”

A Tibetan has to seek permission from the Chinese authorities before marrying, Dhundup alleged. “They interfere in the personal lives of people. It is not as simple as merely registering the marriage as is done in India. The authorities may even deny the permission,” he said.

The biking team has Tibetans like Dhundup, 30, who was born and raised in India and never got an opportunity to visit Tibet. Some were born in Tibetbut were sent to India at a young age.

“We also want to express our gratitude to the Indian government and the people of India for the continued support for the Tibetan cause,” said Dhundup.

The Tibetan team visited Purulia where a small group of Tibetan people come to sell winterwear. The small group comes to Purulia during winter every year and leaves after the season.

Asansol was the last stop of the team in Bengal. Then it went to Patna and Bodh Gaya in Bihar and from there to Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

“We want the Indian Parliament to pass a resolution declaring Tibet as an independent nation and Chinese occupation as an illegal act,” Dhundup said.

While Tibetans in exile have long demanded complete independence, the Chinese authorities have claimed sovereignty over Tibet for centuries, said Yigme Yeshe Lama, an assistant professor of political science at Calcutta University.

“The 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed independence of Tibet from Chinese rule in 1911. China started sending military into Tibet from 1950, a year after the People’s Republic of China was founded,” said Yigme, who has Tibetan ancestry and is from Darjeeling.

He met the Tibetan youth team on December 10 to show solidarity.

In 1959, an uprising by Tibetans was crushed by the Chinese authorities.