By IRNA,
New Delhi : Coinciding with the Olympic flame event, to protest against Chinese ‘atrocities’ in their homeland, hundreds of Tibetans on Thursday took out a parallel torch relay run in India’s national capital.
The torch was lit at Rajghat, the cemetery of Mahatma Gandhi, after an inter-religion prayer meeting.
A large number of Tibetans, who had assembled at Rajghat, took a pledge to ensure that the torch, which “signified the freedom of Tibet and humanity”, continued to burn.
The protesters, who took part in the rally, starting from Rajghat, carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as “Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat” and “Free Tibet”.
Among the participants in the rally were a large number of monks attired in traditional red robes, women and children besides Member of Parliament and former Defense Minister, George Fernadezes, spiritual leader Swami Agnivesh and actor- turned activist Nafisa Ali.
Agnivesh said majority of Indians were with Tibetans and the Dalai Lama was following the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi.
“The official relay has little spirit of Olympics as it is being organized under extreme security. So we decided to live up to the original spirit of Olympics and organize a parallel run,” Tseten Norbu, spokesperson of Tibetan Solidarity Committee, organizing the protests here, said.
At Jantar Mantar, which has been the epicenter of the Tibetan protests over the past several days, a large number of protesters had also assembled.
Meanwhile, the government has deployed thousands of police for the Olympic torch relay, which is scheduled to be held later in the day.
They also kept the time of the run a secret because of fears Tibetan protesters might try to disrupt the ceremony.
The protests have forced India to trim the route to a third of the original 9-km distance, restricting it to a high-security stretch used for the annual Republic Day parade in the capital.
India has been caught in a swirl of protests by exiled Tibetans since last month`s unrest in Tibet, and despite the Dalai Lama`s support for the Beijing Games, the protesters have vowed to disrupt the flame`s journey in New Delhi.