08-08-07: Tibetan protest demo in Delhi

On 08-08-07 in Delhi, the Tibetan community and its supporters marched to protest the continued occupation of Tibet by China, and the continued human and religious rights abuses there.

It was the largest single protest (over 10 000 people, some reports say 20 000) by the Tibetans since the invasion of 1952 and suffered an impressive whitewash in the Indian media which failed to make a single mention of the demo in any TV or newspapers I saw the next day!

The date was chosen specifically as it was one year exactly before the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, and it also marked exactly one month to the day that 14 members of the Tibetan Youth Congress started their indefinite hunger strike. I was a bit scared of that tent, and really didn't feel right about taking photos of people who had chosen to die for something they believe in, but after a few curious visits, a few of them had made eye contact with me and, with nods and gestures and clasped hands, indicated that it was fine to take photos. Powerful and emotional moments. In fact, the whole day was like that - I was quite weepy, and the sound of the cheering that swept through the crowd when the final permission to march came through from the Indian Govt was just incredible - never have I heard anything so uplifting. Ever. Seriously.

Read more at the Tibetan Youth Congress website, or read my blog post about the march and the night before

119 photos | 4,059 views

items are from 08 Aug 2007.