Friends of Tibet

Ustad Sultan Khan

2011-11-27T19:09:00.001+05:30

'Melting Boundaries': Nawang Kechog, Sultan Khan and Mahesh perform

during the Festival of Tibet 2000 in Mumbai organised jointly by

Friends of Tibet and Tibetan Youth Congress.

Words cannot express how sorry we at Friends of Tibet are to hear about the demise of Ustad Sultan Khan (1940-2011), one of the greatest Sarangi players from India who also happened to be a true friend of Tibet.

It was almost ten years ago, Sultan Khan, popularly known as "Ustad" was first introduced to Friends of Tibet by Shri Mahesh Babu of Banyan Tree when we approached him with the idea of organsing a music concert in Mumbai with Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog. After a week-long vigorous training and coordination – 'Melting Boundaries' – a fusion between Indian and Tibetan musicians was performed as a part of the 'Festival of Tibet 2000' in Bombay. Probably for the first-time ever Shri Nawang Kechog, Shri Ustad Sultan Khan and Shri Mahesh performed for the hundreds of music lovers and Tibet supporters who turned up for the music evening at the YB Chavan Centre on March 16, 2000. Ustad Sultan Khan remained a friend of Tibet throughout his life.

Ustad is no more with us. He will always live in our hearts.

Sethu Das

sethu.das@friendsoftibet.org

Friends of Tibet, PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050, India.

फ्रेंड्स ऑफ तिब्बत, पीओ बॉक्स १६६७४, मुम्बई ४०००५०, भारत.

Friends of Tibet is a people’s movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China’s occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence. Friends of Tibet is also one of the principal organisers of World Tibet Day around the world. To know more, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org

Reg the 'Removal' of Tibet from the Movie Rockstar

2011-11-06T23:38:00.003+05:30

November 7, 2011

Dear Friends,
Thanks Friends of Tibet for bringing this up. Is there a readiness to take this to its logical and moral end?

The CBFC has shamed us as a sovereign people and nation by acting on behalf of People's Republic of China (PRC), particularly at a time when PRC is openly showing with impunity its aggressive stance against India. Its hostility to India needs no evidence. We have lost our land to China, it has weakened our national security. Has it also weakened and conquered our morals? We may not act in a similar shameless aggressive manner as a nation, but to assert our self-honor in the eye of a bullish aggressor is not only our right but a duty, above all a diplomatic and political necessity. In the face-off with China, Indian servility, unasked for, is an evidence of anti-national elements within the system, who have deliberately failed to protect, much less promote our national sovereignty, our truthfulness and justness.

This step by CBFC disrespects our national sovereignty, our right to independence in thinking and saying what is right, just, moral and also in national interest at a time when politically also correct when it needs to be clearly conveyed to Chna. Has CBFC become slave to the Chinese interests? This action of removing Tibetan Flag from the film is as shameful, unbecoming as Indians as it is slavish, besides that it betrays to the world that we are a nation so fearful of the Chinese that we are ready on our own to go on out knees before, even before they ask. We hope the sense of honor will prevail in the CBFC and they would withdraw this self-imposed PRC-descipline and PRC's Code of Conduct. If only this much the CBFC keeps in mind that we are India, not PR China, they represent India and not PRC, this action will be easily corrected.

Rajiv Vora
Former editor of Gandhi Marg
Chairman, Swaraj Peeth Trust

Dr Niru Vora
Director, Swaraj Peeth Trust
Convenor, Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj

. . . . . . .
Global Gandhian Movement for Swaraj (GGMS), a network of individuals, organizations, campaigns and movements, subscribes to the vision of 'Swaraj' – Self-Rule or Home Rule – as explained by Mahatma Gandhi in Hind Swaraj. Created on the occasion of Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference, November 2009 in Delhi by more than a hundred eminent thinkers, scholars and activists, GGMS has His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the most respected voice of humanity’s conscience today, as its leader. The network, with Swaraj Peeth Trust as its Secretariat, aims at building Gandhian perspective on all forms of violence and injustice; formulate action programmes; and, carry out experiments in nonviolent action. To know more, log on to: www.gandhianmovement.org
. . . . . . .
Swarajpeeth Trust: www.swarajpeeth.org
Hind Swaraj Centenary Conference 2009: www.hindswaraj.co.cc

November 7, 2011

To,

Smt Leela Samson,

Central Board of Film Certification,

Bharat Bhavan,

91E Walkeshwar Road,

Mumbai 400006,

Maharashtra, India.

Subject: Regarding the 'Removal' of Tibet from the Movie Rockstar

Respected Smt Leela Samson,

This is with reference to the recent Censor Board directive to the filmmakers of the Hindi movie Rockstar, directed by Imtiaz Ali.

We are surprised and shocked to learn about the Central Board of Film Certification's decision to remove of the Tibetan National Flag and blurring the 'Free Tibet' banners from the movie sequence. We see no logic in preventing the filmmaker either from discussing Tibet or displaying the Tibetan National Flag of an occupied country when the Government of India has officially given asylum to lakhs of Tibetans in this country and has even allowed the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to function from the Indian soil for the last fifty years.

We, the concerned citizens of India and the supporters of Tibetan struggle for Independence would like to know from you the reason for such a drastic step, as there was no Indian Government directive on the use of the Tibetan National Flag in the country. Instead any Indian citizen and those Tibetans living in exile in India are free to fly the Tibetan National Flag anywhere in India. We would like to bring to your notice that we do not consider China a friendly nation as it had a long war with us in 1962 resulting in Chinese annexation and occupation of 32,000 Sq miles of Indian Territory. Recently Chinese Army had entered many places in Chumar Sector of Ladakh region. The Chinese government openly claims Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as their territory and the Chinese Embassy continue to issue stapled visas to the residents of the state of J&K and Arunachal Pradesh to provoke the Indian people. Referring to all these 'friendly' activities of China, we cannot term the relations India has with china as cordial but aggressive.

May I recall movies such as Haqeeqat by Chetan Anand and Prem Pujari by Vijay Anand that prominently highlighted the issue of Tibet and the Chinese aggression on India. Tibet is a strategic issue for India from the defence point of view. The recent controversial acts of the Central Board of Film Certification raise doubt about its loyalty to the Union of India. We would request you to explain and clarify the reasons to the concerned people in this country which may once again strengthen our beliefs in institutions such as CBFC.

Your decision to ‘remove’ the Tibetan National Flag and Free Tibet slogans from an Indian movie gives us an impression that you have either acted under the Chinese pressure or have deliberately tried to appease the Chinese Government thus jeopardising the security and integrity of the Indian nation. We protest the denial of freedom of speech and expression enshrined to us by our Constitution.

Yours Sincerely,

Rohit Singh

(Campaigns Coordinator, Friends of Tibet)

rohit.singh@friendsoftibet.org

"Two Days for Tibet" (Mumbai, Nov 9-10, 2011)

2011-11-06T12:30:00.001+05:30

Wed, November 9, 2011

The Root Reel in association with Friends of Tibet invite you for the screening of the documentary "The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" by Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam at the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 6:15pm. The award-winning documentary film will be presented by Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet and activist followed by a question and answer session. All are invited.

Thu, November 10, 2011

Join us for a book reading session by Tibetan poet-writer-activist Tenzin Tsundue as he reads from the seventh edition of Kora and shares his thoughts, hopes and concern around his homeland - Tibet. The event will be held at Kitab Khana, Somaiya Bhavan, 45/47 MG Road, Fort, Mumbai at 5:30pm. All are invited.

To know about the event, call Nitesh Mohanty of The Root Reel at: 9820095432 or email: jointheroot@gmail.com

More about Tenzin Tsundue: www.friendsoftibet.org/tenzin/

More about "The Sun Behind The Clouds": www.thesunbehindthecoulds.com

Two Days for Tibet (Mumbai, November 9-10, 2011)

2011-11-03T23:07:00.001+05:30

2011-10-26T18:29:00.003+05:30

Summary of The 14th Dalai Lama: Buddha Of Compassion

About The Book: Portrait of a man who is a living embodiment of the ideals of peace,democracy and freedom—perfect for young readers!

Published: Puffin / Penguin
Language: English
ISBN: 9780143331834
Page: 120
Format: Paperback
Our Price : Rs. 90

Buy

The road to Lhasa was lined with people who had gathered to see the new reincarnation. Dressed in finery they thronged the streets waiting for a glimpse of their new ruler. Looking out of his carriage, the Dalai Lama saw people crying with joy. Their Kundun had returned.

Born to a family of farmers in a remote corner of Tibet, Lhamo Dhondup,was recognized as the fourteenth reincarnation of the Dalai Lama at the age of two. He took charge of his country in 1950 when the Chinese invaded Tibet. The rest of his teens were spent in negotiations with the Chinese government. However, as Chinese violence against Tibetans increased, Kundun was forced to flee his native land. His escape over the Himalayas is the stuff of adventure novels.

Exiled now in India for over five decades, the Dalai Lama constantly champions Tibet’s independence while remaining its greatest spiritual mentor. He received the Nobel Prize in 1989 for his non-violent efforts to gain freedom for his country.

Rich in personal anecdotes, this engaging biography shows how Kundun blends spirituality with politics. To the Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is God incarnate. To the world, he is the face of Tibet.

About The Author: Aravinda has always loved books and stories and it seemed only natural that when she grew up, she too would write. She has had several jobs in dotcoms (in the 90s) and other places. Her longest and most enjoyable stint has however been with a children’s library called Hippocampus. Aravinda is part of a small group called Think Tibet that organizes events to introduce people to the Tibetan community. For Think Tibet, Aravinda set up Lama Mani Books to publish Tibetan stories for children. She has authored two books, Dorje’s Holiday at the Gyenso Khang and Dolma Visits the City (2009). Aravinda lives in Bangalore with her husband, dog and a visiting menagerie of dogs, squirrels, crows and snails.

14th Wellbeing Camp (Kochi, Nov 2-4, 2011)

2011-10-18T21:51:00.000+05:30

മെന്റ്-സെ-ഖാംഗും ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് ടിബറ്റും ചേര്‍ന്ന് സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന പതിനാലാമത് പരമ്പരാഗത തിബത്തന്‍ ചികിത്സാ വെല്‍ബീയിംഗ് ക്യാമ്പ് നവമ്പര്‍ രണ്ട് മുതല്‍ നാലു വരെ കച്ചേരിപ്പടി ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍, എറണാകുളത്ത് വെച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടും. എസ്.എം.എസ് രജിസ്ട്രേഷന്‍: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 ഇമെയില്‍ :wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org ഓണ്‍ലൈന്‍ രജിസ്ട്രേഷന്‍: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

The 14th Traditional Tibetan Medical Camp will be held from November 2-4, 2011 at Asheerbhavan, Kacherippadi, Ernakulam. SMS registration: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495, Email: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org, online registration: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

NDTV 24x7 to show "The Sun Behind the Clouds"

2011-10-17T15:59:00.000+05:30

NDTV 24x7 to show "The Sun Behind the Clouds", an award-winning documentary film by Ritu Sarin & Tenzing Sonam on October 22 at 3 pm and on October 23, 2011 at 1pm. Don't miss the screening! Spread the word!

Synopsis: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom, Tibetan filmmaker, Tenzing Sonam, and his partner, Ritu Sarin, take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by one of the world’s biggest and most powerful nations. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between his representatives and the Chinese government.

Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course. For more information: http://www.whitecranefilms.com/

"50 Years of Men-Tsee-Khang" (Kochi, Sept 6-7, 2011)

2011-08-31T19:21:00.000+05:30

In order to mark the 50th Anniversary of Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India, we are very pleased to inform you about the two-day long exhibition and free medical and astrological consultation on Tibetan Medicine and Astrological Calculation in Kochi city. The two-day event will be inaugurated by Justice VR Krishna Iyer, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India at 10am at Ashirbhavan, Kacherippadi, Ernakulam on September 6, 2011. Dr V Madhavachandran (R&D, Nagarjuna Ayurvedic), Yesudasan (Cartoonist), Rev Msgr Fr Joseph Thannikkottu (Director, Ashirbhavan) and Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar (Chief Medical Officer, Bangalore Men-Tsee-Khang) are few among the resource persons who will be speaking at the event.

There will also be an exhibition of ancient Tibetan Medical Thangkas (Scroll Paintings) based on sacred medical texts and some of the rare photos from Chinese occupied Tibet and from exile. The photo exhibition will showcase the development stages of Men-Tsee-Khang in exile, from its humble beginning to a full-fledged Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Tibetan Astrology in India; its progress and advancement, research, publications, traditional therapies and astrological paintings, skin and health care products, and its health care services practiced for thousands of years in Tibet and the Himalayan regions. One of the main attractions of this two-day event in Kochi will be the presence of a Tibetan Astrologer from the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute, Dharamshala, the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile.

To know more, call: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495
Email: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org Web: www.friendsoftibet.org/wellbeing/

Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer, popularly known as Justice VR Krishna Iyer, is a former judge in the Supreme Court of India. He was born in a village in Malabar region of Kerala. In 1952, he was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly; in 1957, he became a minister in the first Communist government in Kerala, serving until 1959. Having been the minister of law, power, prisons, irrigation and social welfare in the Government of Kerala, he was instrumental in bringing about many significant changes in thse sector. In 1973, he was sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India; as of 2011, he is the last Supreme Court judge to have previously served as a politician. He was conferred with Padma Vibhushan in the year 1999. (Wikipedia)

പത്രക്കുറിപ്പ്

മെന്റ്-സീ-ഖാംഗ് അഥവാ തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യജ്യോതിഷാലയം ഭാരതത്തിലെ അതിന്റെ പുനരുദ്ധാനത്തിന്റെ അമ്പതാം വാര്‍ഷികം കൊണ്ടാടുകയാണ്. സുവര്‍ണ്ണ ജൂബിലി ആഘോഷത്തിരകള്‍ നമ്മുടെ കൊച്ചുകേരളത്തിലും എത്തുന്നു. എറണാകുളം കച്ചേരിപ്പടിയിലെ ആശിര്‍ഭവനില്‍ പ്രത്യേകം സജ്ജമാക്കിയ ഹാളില്‍ നടക്കുന്ന പ്രദര്‍ശനത്തിന്റെ ഉത്ഘാടനം ബഹുമാനപ്പെട്ട ജസ്റ്റീസ് ശ്രീ വി ആര്‍ കൃഷ്ണയ്യര്‍ നിര്‍‌വ്വഹിക്കുന്നതാണ്. ഡോ വി. മാധവചന്ദ്രന്‍ (റിസേര്‍ച്ച് & ഡെവെലപ്മെന്റ്, നാഗാര്‍ജുന ആയുര്‍‌വദിക്), യേശുദാസന്‍ (കാര്‍ട്ടൂണിസ്റ്റ്), റവ മോണ്‍സിഞ്ഞോര്‍ ഫാ ജോസഫ്‌ തണ്ണിക്കോട്ട് (ഡയറക്ടര്‍, ആശിര്‍ഭവന്‍), ഡോ ദോര്‍ജി റാപ്തന്‍ നേഷാര്‍ (ചീഫ് മെഡിക്കല്‍ ഓഫീസര്‍, മെന്റ്-സീ-ഖാംഗ്) എന്നിവര്‍ ചടങ്ങില്‍ സംസാരിക്കുന്നതാണ്.

തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യജ്യോതിഷശാസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ആവിര്‍ഭാവവും പുരോഗതിയും ചിത്രീകരിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങളും, പ്രാചീന വൈദ്യശാസ്ത്രഗ്രന്ഥങ്ങളെ ആസ്പദമാക്കി തയ്യാറാക്കിയ പുരാതനങ്ങളായ അപൂര്‍‌വ്വചുരുള്‍ ചിത്രങ്ങളുടെ ശേഖരവും സെപ്ത്ംബര്‍ ആറ്, ഏഴ് തീയതികളില്‍ ആശിര്‍ഭവനില്‍ ഒരുക്കിയിരിക്കുന്നു. പ്രദര്‍ശനം തികച്ചും സൗജന്യമായിരിക്കും.

അധിനിവേശാനന്തരം തിബത്തിന്റെ സംസ്കാരവും കലകളും ശാസ്ത്രവും ഉന്മൂലനം ചെയ്യുവാനായി ചൈന തീവ്രപദ്ധതികള്‍ നടത്തിവരുന്നുണ്ടെങ്കിലും ഇന്ത്യയില്‍ അഭയം തേടിയ പതിനാലാം ദലൈ ലാമ അവയെ പുനര്‍ജീവിപ്പിക്കനുള്ള ശ്രമങ്ങളുടെ ഭാഗമായി ആയിരത്തി തൊള്ളായിരത്തി അറുപത്തിഒന്നില്‍ ഹിമാചല്‍ പ്രദേശിലെ ധര്‍മ്മശാലയില്‍ തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യജ്യോതിഷാലയ കേന്ദ്രത്തിന് തുടക്കമിട്ടു. തുടക്കം വളരെ ലളിതമായിരുന്നെങ്കിലും, അന്‍പതു കൊല്ലം പിന്നിട്ടപ്പോള്‍ തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യശാസ്ത്രത്തെ ലോകമെമ്പാടും അംഗീകരിക്കപ്പെടുന്ന ഒരു ചികിത്സാസമ്പ്രദായമായി മാറ്റാന്‍ മെന്റ്-സീ-ഖാംഗിന് കഴിഞ്ഞു.

രണ്ടായിരത്തിപ്പത്ത് സെപ്ത്ംബര്‍ നാലാം തീയതി സം‌പൂജ്യനായ പതിനാലാം ദലൈ ലാമയുടെ ആദ്യ കൊച്ചി സന്ദര്‍ശനത്തോടനുബന്ധിച്ചാണ് തിബത്തന്‍ ചികിത്സ കേരളീയര്‍ക്ക് പരിചിതമായത്. അതിനുശേഷം എല്ലാ മാസവും നടക്കുന്ന വൈദ്യക്യാമ്പുകളിലൂടെ നൂറുകണക്കിന് രോഗികള്‍ക്ക് ചികിത്സാസൗകര്യം നല്‍കാനായി എന്ന് ഈ ക്യാമ്പുകള്‍ സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് തിബത്ത് എന്ന സംഘടന കൃതാര്‍ത്ഥതയോടെ രേഖപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു. തിബത്തിന്റെ സമ്പൂര്‍ണ്ണ സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യത്തിനായി പ്രവര്‍ത്തിക്കുന്ന ഈ സംഘടനയുടെ ബഹുസ്തര പ്രവര്‍ത്തനങ്ങളില്‍ ഒന്നാണ് തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യകാമ്പുകള്‍. മെന്റ്-സീ-ഖാംഗ് സുവര്‍ണ്ണജൂബിലിയും കേരളത്തിലെ പ്രവര്‍ത്തനങ്ങളുടെ വാര്‍ഷികവും ഒരേ ദിവസങ്ങളില്‍ നടക്കുന്നത് ആഹ്ലാദകരമാണെന്ന് ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് തിബത്ത് പ്രവര്‍ത്തകര്‍ അഭിപ്രായപ്പെടുന്നു.

തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യശാസ്ത്രത്തെപ്പോലെ തന്നെ വളരെ വികസിതമാണ് തിബത്തന്‍ ജ്യോതിഷവും. സെപ്ത്ംബര്‍ ആറ്, ഏഴ് തീയതികളില്‍ ഒരു തിബത്തന്‍ ജ്യോതിഷവിദ്വാന്റെ സാന്നിദ്ധ്യം ഈ പ്രദര്‍ശനത്തിന്റെ തിളക്കം കൂട്ടൂന്നു. ഈ ദിവസങ്ങളില്‍ പ്രവേശനവും വൈദ്യ-ജ്യോതിഷ വിദഗ്ധാഭിപ്രായവും സൗജന്യമായിരിക്കുമെന്ന് സംഘാടകര്‍ അറിയിക്കുന്നു.

കൂടുതല്‍ വിവരങ്ങള്‍ക്ക്: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 ഇമെയില്‍ : wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org

മെന്റ്-സീ-ഖാംഗ് സുവര്‍ണ്ണ ജൂബിലി (കൊച്ചി)

2011-08-23T17:14:00.000+05:30

തിബത്തന്‍ വൈദ്യജ്യോതിഷശാസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ആവിര്‍ഭാവവും പുരോഗതിയും ചിത്രീകരിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രങ്ങളും, പ്രാചീന വൈദ്യശാസ്ത്രഗ്രന്ഥങ്ങളെ ആസ്പദമാക്കി തയ്യാറാക്കിയ പുരാതനങ്ങളായ അപൂര്‍‌വ്വചുരുള്‍ ചിത്രങ്ങളുടെ ശേഖരവും സെപ്ത്ംബര്‍ ആറ്, ഏഴ് തീയതികളില്‍ ആശീര്‍ഭവനില്‍ ഒരുക്കിയിരിക്കുന്നു.

In order to mark the 50thAnniversary of Mentsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) in India, we are very pleased to inform you about the two-day long exhibition and free consultation on Tibetan Medicine and Astrological Calculation in Kochi city. The exhibition and consultation will be held at Ashirbhavan, Kacherippadi, Ernakulam from September 6-7, 2011.

The exhibition will showcase the development stages of Men-Tsee-Khang in exile, from its humble beginning to a full-fledged Institute of Tibetan Medicine and Tibetan Astrology in India; its progress and advancement, research, publications, traditional therapies and astrological paintings, skin and health care products, and its health care services practiced for thousands of years in Tibet and the Himalayan regions. There will also be an exhibition of ancient Tibetan Medical Thangkas (Scroll Paintings) based on sacred medical texts.

It is popularly believed that Tibetan Medical System is essentially a teaching of Buddha himself as part of the ways to liberate the human beings from the vicious cycle of suffering. Later, with the rich contribution from the medical traditions of its neighboring countries like India, China and developed with the genius of its own people, today the Tibetan Medicine has emerged as one of the most sought after Alternative Medical System.

The central issue of the Tibetan Medicine is prevention, healing of the disease, health & longevity, and ultimate happiness. With its strong background of Buddhist Philosophy, Tibetan Medicine lays greater emphasis on the issues of mind and body; doctor and patient relationship; healthy diet and lifestyle, and sound treatment approaches to offer total quality health. The diagnosis is carried mainly through visual examination of sensory organs, pulse and urine analysis. Though seemingly simple, Tibetan physicians have mastered their art of diagnosis in such a way that mere feeling of the pulse is enough to give them the detail map of the patient's physiological & psychological problems.

For more info please call: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 Email: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org

2011-08-07T22:26:00.000+05:30

Dr Nicholas Bequelin on "Human Rights Issues in Tibet"

Friends of Tibet (Delhi) and the Tibet Forum of Jawaharalal Nehru University, New Delhi invite you for "Human Rights Issues in Tibet", a talk by Dr Nicholas Bequelin, Senior Asia Researcher, Human Rights Watch. The presentation followed by a question and answer session will be held at the Seminar Room, Centre for International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 4 pm. Jigme Yeshi Lama of Department of East Asian Studies will introduce the speaker and moderate the event. All are invited.

About the Speaker:

Nicholas Bequelin is a senior researcher on China at Human Rights Watch, based in Hong Kong, and a fellow at the Universities Service Centre for Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD in History from the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS,) Paris, in 2001, and is a graduate in Chinese from the School of Oriental Languages and Civilisations (INALCO), also in Paris. His publications have appeared in The China Journal, The China Quarterly, Asian Studies as well as many newspaper and magazines such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune. He is a regular interviewee of major international media on legal, political, and human rights developments in China. Dr. Bequelin’s former speaking engagements include The Council on Foreign Relations, Chatham House, Jardines Matheson, and Yale University, where he was a visiting scholar in spring 2010. (July 2010). (For more on Human Rights Watch reporting on China, please visit: www.hrw.org/china)

For any queries regarding the event, kindly email: yeshijigme@gmail.com/9811612378; aprajita.sarcar@friendsoftibet.org/9899086964 or pema.abrahams@hrw.org/8860370380.

“A Poet, A Painter and Seeds (New Delhi, July 6, 2011)

2011-07-03T00:05:00.000+05:30

“A Poet, A Painter and Seeds: An Evening of Three New Faces of Tibet”

at 7pm on Wednesday, July 06, 2011, at Kunzum Travel Cafe, T 49, GF, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, India. (Admission Free)

The Tibetan Art Collective and the Friends of Tibet present “A Poet, A Painter and Seeds: An Evening of Three New Faces of Tibet”. On the occasion of World Tibet Day, 6th of July is being celebrated in varied countries, simultaneously, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. As part of the worldwide events, we in Delhi are presenting to you, young artists who express the dilemmas of exile hood, through their verses, brush strokes and film. So, we showcase for you:

Jamyang Phuntsok (25): Born in Chauntra in Himachal Pradesh, he studied in Central School for Tibetans, Mussoorie. A Masters in Physics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, particle physics and poetry fascinate him alike. Apart from Radiohead, he indulges in Russian literature, trekking and Test cricket.

Tenzin Gyurmey (23): Born in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, taught by his father, a traditional visual artist, he was recently launched by Peak Art Gallery in Dharamshala. A final year student at Delhi College of Arts, he contributes to the Tibetan Art Collective, with raw forms which resonate with both traditional and modern roots.

SEEDS- the film, (28:37): Made by Tenzin Dazel and Tenzing Dakpa, is set in Amar Colony in Delhi, a locality with Tibetans living in the vicinity, most of who are call center employees and college-goers. It follows a circle of friends in the eve of the controversial Olympic torch relay 2008 in New Delhi, over a single day. It unfolds the frustration of the Tibetan youth today living with the task of freeing their own country, yet caught in attempts to catch up with the modern world. www.seeds-thefilm.com

To know more, call 9650869216, 9899086964 or visit www.friendsoftibet.org; www.thetibetanartcollective.org; www.worldtibetday.org

July 6, 2011: World Tibet Day and the Commemoration of Second Anniversary of the Uyghur Uprising

2011-06-26T13:10:00.003+05:30

M E D I A R E L E A S E & I N V I T A T I O N

On the occasion of 76th Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Friends of Tibet and World Tibet Day to screen the documentary: “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” and commemorate the second Anniversary of Uyghur Uprising on July 6, 2011. The organisations express their solidarity with the people of East Turkestan on the second anniversary of the crackdown on the Uyghur Uprising by Chinese security forces on July 05, 2009.

The global event of World Tibet Day will be observed worldwide by Tibet Support Groups. In Mumbai, Friends of Tibet will organise film screenings and light candles in memory of those who sacrificed their lives in their struggle for freedom in both Tibet and in East Turkestan. The Mumbai event will be held at the YMCA Seminar Room, first floor, 12 Nathalal Parekh Marg, Lane opp Regal Cinema, Colaba, Mumbai at 6:30pm. Admission is free.

About World Tibet Day: Founded by Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history, World Tibet Day was created with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in Chinese-occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. Founded in 1998, World Tibet Day has grown into one of the most important events on the Tibetan calendar. World Tibet Day is held on July 6 – birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama. To know more about the event or to get involved, email: info@worldtibetday.org or visit: www.worldtibetday.org

About Uyghur Uprising Crackdown: On 5 July 2009, Uyghurs in Urumqi, the capital of East Turkestan, staged a peaceful protest which was brutally suppressed by Chinese security forces and subsequently led to ethnic unrest in the city that left hundreds of people dead. Approaching the second anniversary of these events, and despite international calls, no independent investigation into the incident has been allowed by the Chinese authorities and the number of people killed, detained, imprisoned, executed and disappeared remains unclear. The July 2009 protest began with a peaceful demonstration by Uyghurs in Urumqi that was brutally and lethally suppressed by Chinese security forces. The Uyghurs were protesting against a lack of government action in regard to a deadly attack on Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province in the south of

China

The violent and illegal reaction of the Chinese security forces to the peaceful protest led then to ethnic violence and riots between Uyghurs and Han Chinese, during which hundreds of Uyghur and Han Chinese civilians were killed. According to data published by the Chinese Xinhua news agency, 197 people were killed, but the World Uyghur Congress estimates – based on eyewitness reports – that more than 1000 people died in the riots. However, until today, the exact death toll on both sides is not clear since so far no independent investigation of these events has been undertaken.

About the Documentary Film: In The Sun Behind the Clouds, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by China. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course. The film had its North American premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in California where it became the focus of much media attention when the Chinese government tried to get the festival to remove the film, ostensibly for its anti-China stand. When the festival refused, two Chinese films were withdrawn in retaliation. The film had three sold-out screenings and a fourth was added when it was voted one of the Best of the Fest films.

To know more about the event, contact Friends of Tibet at: 9322978566, 9594717393 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org Web: www.friendsoftibet.org

8th Tibetan Medical Camp (May 18-21, 2011)

2011-05-02T09:22:00.002+05:30

ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് ടിബറ്റും മെന്റ്-സെ-ഖാംഗും ചേര്‍ന്ന് സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന എട്ടാമത് പരമ്പരാഗത തിബത്തന്‍ ചികിത്സാ ക്യാമ്പ് മേയ് പതിനെട്ട് മുതല്‍ ഇരുപത്തൊന്നു വരെ. ഡോ. ദോര്‍ജ്ജി റാപ്തന്‍ നേഷാര്‍, ഡോ. താര നവാംങ് ലോധേ എന്നീ തിബത്തന്‍ ഡോക്ടര്‍മാര്‍ നയിക്കുന്ന ഈ നാലു ദിവസത്തെ ക്യാമ്പ് ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍, കച്ചേരിപ്പടി, എറണാകുളത്ത് വെച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടും. രജിസ്ട്രേഷനും, മാദ്ധ്യമങ്ങള്‍ക്കും, വിളിക്കുക: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 ഇമെയില്‍: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org ഓണ്‍ലൈന്‍ രജിസ്ട്രേഷന്‍: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

The 8th Tibetan Medical Camp will be held from May 18-21, 2011 at Asheerbhavan, Kacherippadi, Ernakulam, Kochi 682018, Kerala, India. For registration and media enquiries, call Friends of Tibet: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 or email: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org. For online registration, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

Shakra-Friends of Tibet (SL) Peace Band

2011-02-10T23:19:00.001+05:30

SHAKRA affiliates with Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) voicing for the Freedom of Tibet through musical performances raising awareness among the Sri Lankan population. SHAKRA has already performed in several platforms ranging from youth talent shows to social interactive programmes. The team is nurtured with the vision of becoming a socio-conscious entity in voicing for PEACE among all underprivileged and marginalized communities.

SHAKRA comprises of eight performers lead by Theekshana Ranasinha. The performers are Aseniya Wijeratne, Anuradha Wijesinghe, Maneth De Zilwa, Dhanishka Jayasekera, Kulanjith Jayaneththi and Kavya Ranasinha. The band is fully equipped with the knowledge and skills that make them exceptional in the field through innovative guidance of the Dance Maestro Ravibandu Vidyapathi.

To know more or to get involved with Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) activities, contact Ravindra Ranasinha at: ravindra.ranasinha@friendsoftibet.org or visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/srilanka/

6th Tibetan Medical Camp (Kochi)

2011-01-26T15:16:00.002+05:30

ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് ടിബറ്റും മെന്റ്-സെ-ഖാംഗും ചേര്‍ന്ന് സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന

ആറാമത് പരമ്പരാഗത തിബത്തന്‍ ചികിത്സാ ക്യാമ്പ് ഫെബ്രുവരി പതിനേഴ് മുതല്‍ ഇരുപത് വരെ. ഡോ. ദോര്‍ജ്ജി റാപ്തന്‍ നേഷാര്‍, ഡോ. താര നവാംങ് ലോധേ എന്നീ തിബത്തന്‍ ഡോക്ടര്‍മാര്‍ നയിക്കുന്ന ഈ നാലു ദിവസത്തെ ക്യാമ്പ് ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍, ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍ ലെയിന്‍, കച്ചേരിപ്പടി, എറണാകുളത്ത് വെച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടും.

രജിസ്ട്രേഷനും, മാദ്ധ്യമങ്ങള്‍ക്കും, വിളിക്കുക: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 ഇമെയില്‍: kochi@friendsoftibet.org ഓണ്‍ലൈന്‍ രജിസ്ട്രേഷന്‍: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

The 6th Tibetan Medical Camp will be held from February 17-20, 2011 at Asheerbhavan, Kacherippadi, Banerji Road, Ernakulam, Kochi 682018, Kerala, India. For registration and media enquiries, call Friends of Tibet: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 or email: kochi@friendsoftibet.org. For online registration, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/register/

Men-Tsee-Khang Medical Camp (Jan 2011)

2011-01-09T17:34:00.001+05:30

The January 2011 traditional Tibetan medical camp by Men-Tsee-Khang will be hosted by Friends of Tibet (Kerala). The camp will be held from January 19-22, 2011 at Ashirbhavan, Banerji Road, Kacherippadi, Ernakulam, Kochi 682018, Kerala, India. Registration for the medical camp begins from January 15, 2011. For registration and media enquiries, call Friends of Tibet: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495 or email: kochi@friendsoftibet.org. Online Registration: friendsoftibet.org/register/

ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് ടിബറ്റും മെന്റ്-സെ-ഖാംഗും ചേര്‍ന്ന് സംഘടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന അഞ്ചാമത് പരമ്പരാഗത തിബത്തന്‍ ചികിത്സാ ക്യാമ്പ് ജനുവരി പത്തൊമ്പത് മുതല്‍ ഇരുപത്തിരണ്ട് വരെ. ഡോ. ദോര്‍ജ്ജി റാപ്തന്‍ നേഷാര്‍, ഡോ. താര നവാംങ് ലോധേ എന്നീ പരമ്പരാഗത തിബത്തന്‍ ഡോക്ടര്‍മാര്‍ നയിക്കുന്ന ഈ നാലു ദിവസത്തെ ക്യാംമ്പ് ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍, ആശീര്‍ഭവന്‍ ലെയിന്‍, കച്ചേരിപ്പടി, എറണാകുളം വെച്ച് നടത്തപ്പെടും.

രജിസ്ട്രേഷന്‍ ജനുവരി പത്തു മുതല്‍. രജിസ്ട്രേഷനും, മാദ്ധ്യമങ്ങള്‍ക്കും, വിളിക്കുക: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777, +91.8089443495
ഈമെയില്‍: kochi@friendsoftibet.org
ഫ്രെണ്ട്സ് ഓഫ് ടിബറ്റിനെക്കുറിച്ച് കൂടുതല്‍ അറിയുവാന്‍: www.friendsoftibet.org
മെന്റ്-സെ-ഖാംങിനെക്കുറിച്ച് കൂടുതല്‍ അറിയുവാന്‍: www.men-tsee-khang.org

2011-01-01T11:13:00.000+05:30

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ravindra Ranasinha

ravindra.ranasinha@friendsoftibet.org

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) commenced its activities with the arrival of Shri Sethu Das on 15th February 2009. The personal communication between him and Ravindra Ranasinha for a considerable period of time paved way for this launching of Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka).

Ravindra Ranasinha is a veteran theatre activist in Sri Lanka and a journalist attached to the sister paper of ‘The Sunday Leader’ writing profusely on the local and global political happenings with special focus on Tibet. He is actively engaged with civil society organizations that operate in the country voicing for democratic rights and freedoms of the people. Presently he works as a teacher promoting alternative methods in educating children and considers children as a strong source in carrying the message of Free Tibet to their communities.

Ravindra Ranasinha and Sethu Das launched the initial campaign of Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka), ‘The World with Tibet’ at a Buddhist temple in Moratuwa, a suburb in Colombo. Buddhist monks, children and elders in the vicinity attended the meeting.

As the civil conflict in the country was reaching crucial levels, especially with the Chinese backing, the introduction of Friends of Tibet in Sri Lanka signals the need of all people in the world to fight against all Chinese intrusion and aggression.

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) presently collaborates with several organizations in the country in planning and organizing awareness campaigns to make the message of Free Tibet reach the masses in the island. Ravindra’s own residence has been turned into the co-ordinating office of Friends of Tibet which is situated in Moratuwa.

On July 06th 2009 Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) celebrated the World Tibet Day with a participation of 40 young and old people who actively engaged in a dialogue on the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions and the drawbacks of the spiritual life of Sinhalese people who have been entrusted in protecting the invaluable teachings of Lord Buddha. The dialogue was initially commenced in delineating the differences between Theravada and Mahayana practices and then moved on to the question whether the Sri Lankans really uphold the values taught by Buddha, especially at a time the Tamil brothers and sisters suffer in the hands of President Rajapakse’s armed forces. The Sinhala people lost the Buddhist teachings of Metta (loving-kindness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy) and Upekkha ( non-reactive, equanimous mind) when Rajapakse regime together with the Buddhist monks accelerated the war against the Tamils.

All those who attended the World Tibet Day ceremony lighted oil lamps and wished for the Freedom of Tibetans and long life to HH Dalai Lama. It was accepted by the participants of the need to create a discourse that will enlighten the Sinhala people on local and global issues and how such issues could be resolved through Buddha’s teachings. It was pointed out that the Buddhist Monks who are the real guardians of Buddha’s word are engaged in promoting war and now have gone into the extent of suppressing the Tamil cause. The situation of this island was then compared with what the Tibetans undergo presently with the Chinese occupation in Tibet.

The participants at the World Tibet Day ceremony was further shown a PowerPoint presentation on Tibet and it depicted how HH Dalai Lama leads a nonviolent struggle according to the Word of Buddha. Further, a Sinhala translation made by Ravindra Ranasinha on one of the interviews given by HH Dalai Lama was read to the crowd which focused on the loving kindness people need to have cosmically. This whole event inspired the participants to accept the struggle of the Tibetans. It is worthy of noting here that one child recited several poems by Venerable Sikhim Mahinda whom they consider had arrived to Sri Lanka from Tibet. A note on Ven. Sikkim Mahinda was written by Ravindra Ranasinha to a website hosted by Friends of Tibet. That article clearly depicts as to how the Tibetan monk inspired the Sinhala people to fight against the British colonialists. This was discussed at length and was shown the need to support the Tibetan cause through means of nonviolent action.

Presently, Sri Lanka is under the neo-colonial grip of the Chinese regime which helped Rajapakse regime to continue with a horrendous war which ultimately crushed the Tamilian struggle for autonomy with billion rupees worth of ultra-modern weapons. Hence, Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) is now making all effort to make people aware of this Chinese intrusion into the country with the building of the new Port in Hambanthota and many more projects creating a strategic base for its military operations in the region.

Special emphasis is made here that Chinese intrusion into this beautiful island has brought immense damage to its social life, environment, eco-system and politics towards which all Sinhala people need to be rallied. Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) has sensed and accepted this serious responsibility that rests on it to make all communities in the country aware of these conditions using all possible means and gather the masses to protest for a Free Sri Lanka.

Under these conditions Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) has partnered with two important organizations in the country to conduct awareness programmes, seminars, film shows that create an understanding about the Tibetan struggle. They are the Peace Gang, Colombo and 3 Y Net, Anuradhapura.

The Peace Gang, Colombo is headed by Mrs. Bernie Anderson, an influential social activist and 3 Y Net is headed by Mr. Priyanka Edirisinghe, a very dynamic youth activist whose actions with Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) has reached the masses. The Peace Gang covers the Southern part of the country whereas 3 Y Net covers the North West and the Eastern parts catering to the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in the country bringing them to consciously voice for the Freedom of Tibetans.

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) appreciates the action of the partner groups since Sri Lanka is presently in the grip of the Chinese authorities and all action for a Free Tibet is defied by the Rajapakse regime of which Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the Secretary of the Defense Ministry clearly stated that ‘Beijing appreciates Sri Lanka’s firm support on the issue of Tibet, which were related to the China’s core interests. As Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government and armed forces are in continuous support from China and the relationship between the two States is strengthening at an amazing rate, Friends of Tibet action in the country is in the offing of receiving threats which we consider as unavoidable.

Presently, a Freedom March for Tibet is being planned which would be implemented in 2011 with mass participation. Further, Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) has an email base through which Sri Lankans are made aware of worldwide Friends of Tibet actions, Chinese aggression on Tibet and all related events.

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) plans to have Sinhala writings to be included in its website so that the Sinhala readers in the country will have the opportunity of learning more about Tibet, its struggle, Chinese strategies, aggressions and all that action of the Friends of Tibet worldwide.

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka) welcome all support the global Friends of Tibet movement could give in order to promote and strengthen its activities.

To know more about the activities of Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka), visit: : www.friendsoftibet.org/srilanka/

Also you are welcome to communicate with Ravindra Ranasinha (ravindra.ranasinha@friendsoftibet.org)

through emails and visit Sri Lanka if any possibility arises to assist in the actions.

Thank you.

Friends of Tibet (Sri Lanka)

Tibetan Medical Camp (Dec 19-22, 2010)

2010-11-29T23:29:00.006+05:30

4th Friends of Tibet-Men-Tsee-Khang traditional Tibetan medical camp will be held from December 19-22, 2010 at Fort Kochi. The camp will be led by Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar and Dr Thara of Bangalore branch clinic of Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Venue: Above Tourism Information Centre, Opp Park Avenue Hotel, Princess Street, Fort Kochi 682001, Kerala. To know more about the camp and to register for the January camp, contact VJ Jose at: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777 or email kochi@friendsoftibet.org. (Registration for the month of December remains closed)

Read a report on 3rd Tibetan medical camp.

“Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine”

2010-11-08T00:18:00.004+05:30

Friends of Tibet in association with Changampuzha Nagar Elders Forum to host the 4th Tibetan Medical Camp from November 18-21, 2010 at the Changampuzha Nagar School Building, Kalamassery, Kochi 682 033. The camp will be led by Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Chief Medical Officer of Bangalore branch clinic of Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

On Saturday, November 20, 2010, Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar will deliver a lecture on “Health and Harmony Through Tibetan Medicine” followed by the screening of a documentary on Compassionate Tibetan Holistic Healing. To know more and for registration, contact VJ Jose at: +91.9895103483, +91.9995181777 or email kochi@friendsoftibet.org.

View Larger Map

Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional system encompassing spiritual,medical science and social behavior in the paradigm of holistic health. Disease or imbalance is diagnosed mainly through pulse analysis, urinalysis and healthy interrogation and understanding of one’s dietary and life style factors. Herbo-mineral formulations in the form of pills, powders, decoctions etc and several accessory therapies are used to treat illness. Proper diet and lifestyle changes along with healthy mental attitude will be strongly emphasized. The Tibetan medical system is based upon a synthesis of Ayurveda, Unani, Greek, indigenous Tibetan, and Chinese medical systems. It is practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, and more recently in parts of Europe and North America. It embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the "three poisons" of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. Therefore, the mind, body and spirits play very crucial role in understanding and the treatment of disease as a whole. The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the notorious Cultural Revolution that took place from 1966 to 1976 virtually destroyed all the precious cultural heritage of Tibet and Tibetan people including its ancient medical system. How ever, the efforts of the Government in Exile headed by HH the Dalai Lama has established in 1962, the Men Tsee-Khang (House of Medicine and Astrology) at Dharamsala in Himacahl Pradesh which now has 55 Branch clinics all over India and Nepal. Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar and his medical team cover the health services through Tibetan Medicine in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and other south Indian cities and towns.

Tibetan Medical Camp (Oct 13-15, 2010)

2010-10-10T20:29:00.002+05:30

In keeping with the growing interest on Tibetan Medicine by the people of Kerala, Friends of Tibet in association with Spice Holidays to host the second traditional Tibetan medical camp at Fort Kochi from October 13 till October 15, 2010 at Spice Holidays, Burgher Street, Fort Kochi 682001, Kerala. This is in continuation with the one-day medical camp that was held on the occasion of HH the Dalai Lama’s visit to Kerala in September 2010. The medical consultation will be given by Dr Dorjee Rapten Nehar, Chief Medical Officer of Bangalore branch clinic of Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama). To register and to schedule interviews with Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, contact VJ Jose at: +91.9895103483, vj.jose@friendsoftibet.org.

Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional system encompassing spiritual,medical science and social behavior in the paradigm of holistic health. Disease or imbalance is diagnosed mainly through pulse analysis, urinalysis and healthy interrogation and understanding of one’s dietary and life style factors. Herbo-mineral formulations in the form of pills, powders, decoctions etc and several accessory therapies are used to treat illness. Proper diet and lifestyle changes along with healthy mental attitude will be strongly emphasized. The Tibetan medical system is based upon a synthesis of Ayurveda, Unani, Greek, indigenous Tibetan, and Chinese medical systems. It is practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, and more recently in parts of Europe and North America. It embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the "three poisons" of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. Therefore, the mind, body and spirits play very crucial role in understanding and the treatment of disease as a whole. The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the notorious Cultural Revolution that took place from 1966 to 1976 virtually destroyed all the precious cultural heritage of Tibet and Tibetan people including its ancient medical system. How ever, the efforts of the Government in Exile headed by HH the Dalai Lama has established in 1962, the Men Tsee-Khang (House of Medicine and Astrology) at Dharamsala in Himacahl Pradesh which now has 55 Branch clinics all over India and Nepal. Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar and his medical team covers the health services through Tibetan Medicine in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and other south Indian cities and towns.

2010-09-01T11:28:00.001+05:30

First Ever Traditional Tibetan Medical Camp in Kochi

The first ever traditional Tibetan medical camp will be held at Kochi on September 05, 2010 at Augastyathreeram Ayurvedic Centre, Peter Celli Road, Fort Kochi 682001, Kerala. The programme is organised on the occasion of HH the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Kerala on September 04, 2010 and organised by Friends of Tibet in association with Augusthyathreeram Ayurvedic Centre. The medical consultation will be done by Dr Dorjee Rapten Nehar, Chief Medical Officer of Bangalore branch clinic of Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute of His Holiness the Dalai Lama). The diagnosis/consultation is free.

Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional system employing a complex approach to diagnosis. It includes techniques like pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification for diagnosis. Herbo-mineral drugs and physio therapiesare used to treat illness. The Tibetan medical system is based upon a synthesis of Ayurveda, Unani, Greek, indigenous Tibetan, and Chinese medical systems. It is practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, and more recently in parts of Europe and North America. It embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the "three poisons" of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. The Chinese invasion of 1950 and its 60-70 aftermath; Cultural Revolution; tried the total destruction of the traditional Tibetan health practices and the Men Tsee Khang. How ever the work of individual practioners inside Tibet and the efforts of the Government in Exile with HH the Dalai Lama the Men Tsee Khang still survives.

For further details contact, Friends of Tibet:

Sethu Das (Founder) 09995348647, V J Jose (Campaigner) 09895103483, Suku Das (Campaigner) 09847044248, Eldho Mathew (Campaigner) 09447081334, Appu John (Campaigner) 09895884379.Web site: www.friendsoftibet.org/ E mail: support@friendsoftibet.org

Tibetan Medicine - An introduction

Prepared by Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, CMO, Men-Tsee-Khang, Bangalore

When there is a birth, there is a suffering. And in this vicious cycle of human existence & its fourfold fundamental suffering: suffering of birth, ageing, illness & death, Gautam Buddha found an answer: a noble way to comprehend & cure all the sufferings. As a matter of fact, the entire teaching of Buddha revolves around the truth of these fundamental sufferings. And in this background of Buddha’s teaching, Tibetan Medical System (TMS) find its expression.

There are two schools of thoughts about the origination of TMS. Yung- and Run-Bon: Tibet’s pre-buddhist culture, argues that the system was taught by Lord shenrab Mewo who is said to have lived some 3800 years before passed his precious healing knowledge to his most favorite disciple named Cherbu Trishe who, in turn, was instrumental in propagating this ancient system of Medicine. But the most dominant thought was that of Buddhist school who believes that the system was taught by none other than Lord Buddha himself in the manifestation of Medicine Buddha, the Supreme Healer.

Significantly, TMS enter into its most productive stage during the 7th & 8th century when the Kings started patronizing the medical lineages. Many celebrated physicians were invited to Tibet & cross border exchange of scholars flourished. It was during that time that TMS has started incorporating other Asian Medical System notably Indian Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine & Greek System Of Medicine into its fold. Among many luminaries in the field of TMS, Yuthog Yonten Gonpo Nying-ma (708 AD), the Father of Tibetan Medicine was instrumental in synthesizing the essence of all other neighboring medical system into an ocean of healing knowledge which later came to be known as the Great Four Tantra which is considered to be the most authoritative & main source book of Tibetan Medicine. Literally known as Sowa Rigpa, the science of healing that consisted of 156 chapters is still widely practiced in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Ladakh & many others in the Buddhist Himalayan regions.

It is a unique system where medical science & spirituality are blended harmoniously together to offer total health to all. Its principle objective is the prevention of disease for healthy living, treatment of the diseased, to attain longevity, prosperity & spiritual realization, & above all: perfect health & happiness. This is being summarized in the form of body & disease, the Healing, Healing method & the Healer. Passed down through the centuries in a most closely guarded secret, it still enjoys unbroken continuity.

Unfortunately, TMS too suffered heavily after the Chinese occupation of Tibet since 1959. However, in order to preserve & promote this unique tradition, His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama has established Tibetan Medical & Astrological Institute better known as Mentsee-Khang in Dharamsala (India), 1961. The Institute now has over 40 branches all over India & Nepal serving the local health needs. There are some societies for Tibetan Medicine abroad where the doctors pay periodical visit for giving teaching & consultation.

The fundamental concept of TMS revolves around the theory of Five Cosmo-physical elements & three humoral energies (Nes-pa) the balance & imbalance of which attributes to health & disease respectively. The food & behavioral regimen, seasonal factors & evil spirits are considered to be four causative factors responsible for the manifestation of Nes-pa into disease. Based on the Buddhist concept of Mind & Body Relationship, TMS recognizes Marigpa, the Ignorance as the root cause of all the suffering.

Ignorance literally means not knowing the non-existence of the Self because of which one suffers from 3 inborn mental poisons like lust or desire, hatred or anger, delusion or confusion all of which gives rise to various forms of imbalance in our body system which can be grouped under rLung, mKrsipa & Badkan. Therefore, unless we study & purify our mind from its black clouds of negative mental afflictions, we cannot enjoy the clear blue sky of perfect health.

TMS strongly advocates the dynamic interrelationship between our body, environment, disease & the treatment. All of them are made up of same basic element of nature popularly known as five Cosmo-physical elements: earth, water, fire, air & space, which form our life sustaining energies. And particularly, our human body (Micro-cosmic) enjoys very close & dynamic relationship with our external environment (Macro-cosmic) the balance of which directly affects our very life & existence. Therefore, the environmental pollution & its related health hazards were clearly mentioned in the centuries old medical text. And, the message here is that if we want to enjoy good health & happiness, we should first respect & keep our environment healthy & unexploited.

The medicines used are chiefly natural herbs. Besides, some precious & semi-precious stones, salts, minerals & some animal extract are also being used. The therapeutic effect of medicines is mainly determined by their inherent taste, potency & qualities. They are combined & prepared in keeping with their taste & potency so as to ensure total & quality health of the patient without any unwelcome side effects. Besides the medicines, some accessory therapies are also given to support the treatment process.

The diagnosis of the disease is carried mainly through the interrogation, visual & palpation. Significantly, the pulse & urine analysis forms the most unique & important part of Tibetan diagnostic method.

One of the unique features of the TMS is its close relationship with the Tibetan Astronomy & Astrological aspect. The changing season & its effect on our body can be best explained through the Astrological calculations. Tibetan doctors also consider wide range of Astrological calculations during the collection & preparation of the medicines. Astro- calculations are also made before giving some minor surgeries & accessory therapies, & also to ascertain the nature of the disease & its prognostication.

Tibetan Medicine considers the right approach to the patient & their treatment as a very important factor rather than the treatment itself. The doctor patient relationship is considered to be the gateway of the successful healing. Doctors are viewed as that of medicine Buddha: with infinite compassion & dedication to patient care; his instructions as Buddha’s own teaching: with unmistakable truth & rewarding, & medicines as deathless nectar: revitalizing & life giving. Doctors too view their patients as precious human being, & should be treated with equal devotion given to his or her own beloved mother

Lastly, the ultimate aims of objectives of TMS is to provide to the evergreen tree of our body system the two blossoming flowers of health & longevity bearing three fruits of spirituality, prosperity & happiness.

2010-08-28T00:56:00.000+05:30

Kochi Tibet Events (Aug-Sept, 2010)

August 29-September 04, 2010

Friends of Tibet in association with Kashi to hold an exhibition of selected cartoons on the Tibet issue (1950-2005) and the tumultuous Indo-Chinese relations by renowned Indian cartoonists at the Kashi Art Cafe, Burgher Street, Fort Kochi from August 29, 2010 till September 04, 2010. The selected cartoons are from some of known cartoonists of our times - Shankar, Ranga, OV Vijayan, RK Laxman, Ravi Shankar, Mario Miranda, Rajinder Puri, Prriya Raj, Yesudasan, Nanda Soobben, Abe Gowda, Kaak, Madhu Omalloor, Balu, Thommy, Ponnappa, Morparia and Prakash Shetty. The introduction and text of the 'Indian Cartoonists on Tibet' are by Claude Arpi, Tibet expert, who has authored several books on Tibet. The exhibition will be inaugurated by renowned cartoonist Yesudasan on August 29, 2010 at 6pm.

August 29-September 03, 2010

Friends of Tibet in association with Kashi to hold an exhibition of artifacts from Tibet at the Kashi Art Cafe from August 29 -September 03, 2010. Coins and currencies from Tibet, the first passport of Tibet, a radio used by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the banned Tibetan national flag, photos from Tibet will be on display.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Friends of Tibet in association with Kashi to organise the Kochi premier of the documentary ‘The Sun Behind The Clouds’ at the Kashi Art Café on August 29, 2010 at 6pm.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Friends of Tibet to organise an exhibition of historic photographs and artifacts from Tibet at The Gatway Hotel of Taj Residency, Marine Drive, Ernakulam on September 04, 2010. (Entry by invitation)

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Friends of Tibet to organise the screening of the documentary ‘The Sun Behind The Clouds’ at at The Gatway Hotel of Taj Residency, Marine Drive, Ernakulam 12.30pm. Noted Tibetan poet-activist Tenzin Tsundue to present the film. (Entry by invitation)

All Friends of Tibet programmes in city will remain open to public.

More details on Kochi Tibet programmes and the visit of HH the Dalai Lama: www.friendsoftibet.org

Press Statements in Malayalam, Invitation Status:

VJ Jose / vj.jose@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9895103483

Press Statements in Malayalam:

Appu John / appu.john@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9895884379

Press Statements in English:

Tenzin Tsundue / tenzin.tsundue@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9418079832

Press Materials, Travel, Accommodation, City Directions:

Eldtho Mathew / eldtho.mathew@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9447081334

Enquiries at Taj Hotel:

Suku Dass / suku.dass@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9847044248

Feedback, Concerns:

Sethu Das / sethu.das@friendsoftibet.org / +91.9995348647

Online Support/ Gtalk: support@friendsoftibet.org

2010-08-23T19:03:00.003+05:30

Download Design & Poster

“I Saw It with My Own Eyes”

Abuses by Chinese Security Forces in Tibet, 2008-2010

Human Rights Watch and Friends of Tibet (India) are pleased to invite you to a seminar to be held on September 21, 2010 at 5pm to discuss a Human Rights Watch report documenting abuses by following the March 2008 protests. This report is the first to document, solely through eyewitness testimonies, how the crackdown unfolded, and the scale of abuses that Chinese security forces committed, including use of disproportionate force to suppress protesters; deliberate ill-treatment by police; and politically determined judicial proceedings.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 203 Tibetan refugees and temporary visitors outside China between March 2008 and April 2010. The interviews were conducted by speakers of all three Tibetan regional languages, transcribed, and then translated into English. The interviews were conducted as soon as possible after the interviewees had left Tibetan areas of People’s Republic of China. This 73-page document has been circulated widely in the media.

What: Discussion of the report, with the author, a Tibetan eyewitness, and an Indian commentator.

Who: Nicholas Bequelin, senior researcher, Asia division, Human Rights Watch and Dr. Srikanth Kondapalli, former Chairperson, Department of East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

When: September 21, 2010, 5pm.

Where: School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110 067.

For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact:

Meenakshi Ganguly: 09820036032. Meenakshi.Ganguly@hrw.org
Aprajita Sarcar: 09899086964. aprajita.sarcar@friendsoftibet.org
Tenzin Tsundue: 09418079832. tenzin.tsundue@friendsoftibet.org
To read the report and for more on Human Rights Watch’s work on China and Tibet, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/china

About the speakers:

Dr Nicholas Bequelin is senior researcher on China at Human Rights Watch, based in Hong Kong, and a fellow at the Universities Service Centre for Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His publications have appeared in The China Journal, The China Quarterly,Asian Studies as well as many newspaper and magazines such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune. Dr. Bequelin’s former speaking engagements include TheCouncil on Foreign Relations, Chatham House, Jardines Matheson, and YaleUniversity, where he was a visiting scholar in spring 2010.

Dr Srikanth Kondapalli is Associate Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University from August 2006. He learnt Chinese language at Beijing Language & Culture University and was a post-Doctoral Visiting Fellow at People’s University, Beijing from 1996-98. He was a Visiting Professor at National Chengchi University, Taipei in 2004. He has published two books, two monographs, co-edited a volume and several articles in edited books and in national and international journals and newspapers. He is a guest faculty member at College of Naval Warfare, Army War College, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Academy and Border Security Force Academy.

About the organisations:

Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. (www.hrw.org)

Friends of Tibet (India) is a people’s movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China’s occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence. Friends of Tibet is also one of the principal organisers of World Tibet Day around the world.(www.friendsoftibet.org)

2010-08-22T22:02:00.000+05:30

“Kochi Gets Ready to Welcome the Dalai Lama”

Kochi city in the southern Indian state of Kerala is getting ready to welcome His Holines the Dalai Lama who will be on a one day visit to city on September 04, 2010. The 75-year old head of state and spiritual leader of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet will have a tight schedule in city with programmes lined up.

On September 04, 2010, His Holiness will deliver the inaugural lecture at “Beyond Conflict to Reconciliation: The Challenge of the 21st Century” organised by International Association for Religious Freedom at Catholic Renewal Center, Ernakulam. The four-day seminar on religious freedom will have social and religious leaders from all over the world to attend. About 600 peace-makers from different parts of the globe are expected to take part in the Congress to discuss issues such as religion and human rights. His Holiness the Dalai Lama will also give a private audience to Friends of Tibet and address a gathering of Friends of Tibet members.

A series of Tibet programmes are also lined up to welcome His Holiness. Friends of Tibet in association with Kashi will hold an exhibition of selected cartoons on the Tibet issue (1950-2005) and the tumultuous Indo-Chinese relations by renowned Indian cartoonists at the Kashi Art Cafe, Burgher Street, Fort Kochi from August 29, 2010 till September 04, 2010. The selected cartoons are from some of known cartoonists of our times - Shankar, Ranga, OV Vijayan, RK Laxman, Ravi Shankar, Mario Miranda, Rajinder Puri, Prriya Raj, Yesudasan, Nanda Soobben, Abe Gowda, Kaak, Madhu Omalloor, Balu, Thommy, Ponnappa, Morparia and Prakash Shetty. The introduction and text of the 'Indian Cartoonists on Tibet' are by Claude Arpi, Tibet expert, who has authored several books on Tibet. The exhibition will be inaugurated by renowned cartoonist Yesudasan on August 29, 2010 at 6pm.

The Kochi premier of the documentary ‘The Sun Behind The Clouds’ will be held at the Kashi Art Café on August 29, 2010 at 6pm. Winner of the Silver Conch Award at the 11th Mumbai International Film Festival and the Best Documentary at Trivandrum International Documentary Festival, "The Sun Behind the Clouds" had its North American premiere at the recently concluded Palm Springs International Film Festival in California where it became the focus of much media attention when the Chinese government tried to get the festival to remove the film, ostensibly for its anti-China stand. When the festival refused, two Chinese films were withdrawn in retaliation. The film had three sold-out screenings and a fourth was added when it was voted one of the Best of the Fest films.

Friends of Tibet is also organising an exhibition of historic photographs on Tibet and the Dalai Lama and artifacts from Tibet. These will also be on display at The Gatway Hotel of Taj at Marine Drive, Ernakulam on September 04, 2010. The artifacts including coins and currencies from the then Independent Tibet, a radio used by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the 60s, the Banned Tibetan National Flag from occupied Tibet, rare Photos of the Dalai Lama etc will be on display at Ernakulam city from September 1-3, 2010.

All Friends of Tibet programmes in city will remain open to public.

Friends of Tibet Contact Nos: VJ Jose (Campaigner): +91.9895103483, Appu John (Campaigner): +91.9895884379 / Email: support@friendsoftibet.org

2010-08-15T22:34:00.001+05:30

2010-08-11T22:45:00.001+05:30

Friends of Tibet (Kerala) welcomes His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Kochi

Rajiv Vora Talk (March 20, 2010)

2010-03-18T00:26:00.000+05:30

"Nature & Resolution of Interpersonal Conflicts"

a talk by eminent Gandhian Shri Rajiv Vora followed by an informal discussion

at Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy Park/Centre, Leisure Valley Park, Sector 29, Gurgaon at 11am on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

All are invited.

Rajiv Vora, writer, speaker and educator, is a preeminent interpreter of Gandhi's works and in particular his root text, Hind Swaraj. He is frequently interviewed in national and international press and is known for his lucid, fresh, insightful, and unorthodox interpretation of Mahatma Gandhi's thought and practice.

He was born into a Gandhian family in the Gujarat region of India and received his primary education in the alternative Gandhian residential rural schools. A scientist and keen student of Indian classical music, he earned his reputation as a writer, commentator, and public speaker. In the mid-seventies while he was doing his doctoral research with the late renowned Prof. Sugata Dasgupta on the subject of protest violence, a mass protest movement started taking shape in Bihar under the leadership of Jai Prakash Naryan. He left his academic career and plunged into the Bihar Movement becoming a prominent young leader organizing, guiding, and overseeing all of the various Satyagraha actions (nonviolent Protests, demonstrations, picketing, etc.) at the center of the movement.

When democracy was restored in 1977, Mr. Vora walked away from power politics and joined the Gandhi Peace Foundation. In 1992, he founded Swarajpeeth with his wife Dr. Niru Vora. Swarajpeeth brings a fresh approach to Gandhian vision, thought, and methods and is involved in dialogue on nonviolence at the community and national level. Through Swarajpeeth, Mr. Vora trains and supports Tibetan and Burmese refugees in their nonviolent struggles for justice and has worked with Muslim leaders to develop nonviolence training for a Shanti Sena (Peace Army) in the Indian Muslim community.

Mr. Vora is also the Asia Regional Coordinator of Nonviolent Peaceforce(NP), a nonpartisan professional peacekeeping force. In partnership with local groups, unarmed Nonviolent Peaceforce Field Team members apply proven strategies to protect human rights, deter violence, and help create space for local peacemakers to carry out their work. Mr. Vora helped NP launch a peacekeeping project in late 2003 in Sri Lanka where more than 64,000 people have been killed and 1.6 million displaced in the civil war that has ravaged this country since 1983. The NP Sri Lanka Team has grown to 30 members who have been recognized for their work in reducing violence in four communities.

Rajiv Vora was one of the leading music critics in 1980s and 1990s. His column on culture of music appeared regularly in the Economic Times, Jansatta and Nav Bharat Times. He has lectured on Indian classical music and was invited as a consultant by the World Music Department of Rotterdam Music Conservatory, Rotterdam the Netherlands in 1993. He helped Rev. Musicologist and Tabala maestro Late Pandit Nikhil Ghosh plan Encyclopedia of Indian music, dance and drama at the Sangeet Mahabharati Mumbai (1971-73). He lived with and received lesion from Late Ustad Amir Khan, considered to be the one of the great musicians born in the history of Indian classical music (1971-73).

“Contrast & Confluence” presentation and screening of “The Sun Behind the Clouds” (March 11, 2010)

2010-03-01T13:09:00.002+05:30

“Contrast & Confluence” a photographic presentation by Bombay-based graphic designer Sushi Karnik and the screening of “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom” by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam to be organised in Mumbai by Friends of Tibet.

The Winner of the Silver Conch Award at the 11th Mumbai International Film Festival, “The Sun Behind the Clouds” by acclaimed filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing will be presented by Tibetan poet-activist Tenzin Tsundue followed by a question and answer session. The photographic presentation and the documentary screening will be held at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, Next to Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 6.30pm. Entry is free.

Tibet

, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the

Tibet

situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course.

The film had its North American premiere at the recently concluded Palm Springs International Film Festival in California where it became the focus of much media attention when the Chinese government tried to get the festival to remove the film, ostensibly for its anti-China stand. When the festival refused, two Chinese films were withdrawn in retaliation. The film had three sold-out screenings and a fourth was added when it was voted one of the Best of the Fest films.

“In a welcome departure from many previous films about the decades-long friction between Tibet and China, "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" provides a two-sided view of the complex political and social dynamics within and outside Tibet. For the "struggle" in the film's title is not merely against China but also between competing Tibetan views regarding the best strategy: co-existence or independence. The film is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the fate of the mountain region and the legacy of the Dalai Lama.” (Variety, a leading

film trade journal)

More about the film, visit: www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com

More about the event: Call +91.22.26409612, +91.9418079832, +91.9971448216, email: support@friendsoftibet.org

Bangalore Premiere of "The Sun Behind the Clouds" (Mar 01, 2010)

2010-02-19T13:05:00.002+05:30

Acclaimed filmmakers, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam announce the Bangalore premiere of "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom" in an event jointed hosted by Friends of Tibet and Think Tibet. Winner of the Silver Conch Award at the 11th Mumbai International Film Festival, "The Sun Behind the Clouds" will be screened at the Centre for Film and Drama, 5th floor, 71 Sona Towers, Millers Road, Bangalore on Monday, March 01, 2010 at 6pm. The documentary will be presented by Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet-activist. Entry is free.

In The Sun Behind the Clouds, Sarin and Sonam take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by one of the world’s biggest and most powerful nations. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course.

To know more, visit: www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com or contact: Tenzin Tsundue at: +91.9418079832, +91.9971448216 / email: tenzin.tsundue@friendsoftibet.org

"The Sun Behind The Clouds" Wins Silver Conch Award in Mumbai

2010-02-10T15:25:00.002+05:30

The controversial documentary film from Ritu Sarin and Sonam Tenzing "The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" won the Silver Conch Award at the 11th Mumbai International Film Festival of Documentary, Animation and Short Films, which concluded on February 9, 2010 in Mumbai. The Silver Conch and a cash award Rs 1,50,000 were given in the Documentary above 30-minutes category, for ‘upholding the spirit of freedom and maintaining a sense of balance while bringing about different perspectives within the Tibetan struggle’.

Tenzin Tsundue at International Poetry Festival in Mysore

2010-02-07T22:33:00.000+05:30

(Phayul, February 06, 2010)

Mysore, India: “I am born refugee. I did not escape into exile. I was only born on roadside tent when my parents laboured on the road constructions laying roads in the Himalayas in northern India in early 1970s,” Tibetan poet and activist Tenzin Tsundue said at the fifth Kritya International Poetry Festival in Mysore, south India. The Tibetan poet and independence-activist was among international poets and artistes invited for a three-day Kritya International Poetry Festival from 3-5 February at the Central Institute of Indian languages in Mysore. The poetry festival also hosts a painting workshop where painters from different parts of India displayed painting with “exile” as the theme of Sadho, a poetry filmmaking group screened films from Argentina, Brazil, India and Holland.

The poetry festival was inaugurated by Indian littérateur giant playwright Mahesh Elchuchwar, who is also a major critic. The poet, translator and organizer of the festival said, “Kritya2010 Poetry Festival will concentrate on the poetry of exile, trauma and survival. The known poets of exile all around the world have expressed exile in different ways. The poetry of exile, here, as a concept has been stretched to include voluntary and involuntary exile not only from one's land and life but emotional, spiritual, political, social, cultural, economic and similar contexts of the term.”

Poets from Cuba, Argentina, Costa Rica, Austria, Chile, Iran Lebanon, Venezuela, Israel, Ireland, Vietnam and Norway took part in the event. Weaving stories of growing up in India and the struggle in Tibet under Chinese communist occupation Tsundue read some of his favourite poems. He was eloquent but unpredictably optimistic: “As refugees we have undergone difficult times but I have inherited from the elder generation Tibetans that we do not cry and sit there, even in the worst of times, we do not pain and suffer, we move on and collect ourselves together and live on. Exile for me is celebration. Exile Tibetans have learnt so much, so much of changes have happened, we are ready for a new Tibet.”

Tenzin Tsundue on Obama, Google and Prison Camps

2010-02-06T18:03:00.000+05:30

by Tunku Varadarajan in The Daily Beast

Photo by TenamAs the president prepares to meet with the Dalai Lama, controversial Tibetan activist Tenzin Tsundue talks about why Obama must stay strong with China, Google’s shameful history of censorship, and his time in a prison camp.

"Here is an opportunity for Barack Obama to show the world who he is, a man who does not get threatened, who keeps humanity above business and politics. He must prove that he is a president who keeps his promises. Obama now cannot turn back." These forthright words were emailed to me by a very forthright man, Tenzin Tsundue, one of the most energetic activists for independence among Tibetans of his generation.

The 35-year-old was born in India, and raised there by parents who fled Tibet in 1959. He fights the good fight—nonviolently—from his base in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama and thousands of other Tibetans live in exile. Tsundue's email to me was in response to a question I'd asked about the Chinese threats, issued this week, that Sino-U.S. relations would be severely damaged if Mr. Obama were to meet the Dalai Lama later this month.

“Google was cheating the world. This will be marked in history as an example of how a company collaborated with an authoritarian government and helped keep its people blind.”

Tsundue is adamant that the meeting should take place, as promised by the White House. "By Obama meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans in Tibet who have lost their sons, daughters and parents, and whose friends are still missing from protests in 2008, will feel they have not been forgotten by America, that America still stands with them in the dream to see freedom and democracy in Tibet and China.

"One of the secrets of China’s aggressive media strategy," Tsundue explains, "is to try winning the argument even before it has started, by making the first bold statement." When dealing with such an aggressive interlocutor, he adds, "The basic strategy should be to be calm, and hold your ground. If you panic, China will chase you."

• John Bolton: Obama’s Reckless, Ridiculous China PolicyBut what way out is there, realistically, for the Tibetans? Here Tsundue—a wiry man who always wears a red bandana—appeals passionately, some might say naively, to America. "The 2008 national uprising in Tibet was a clear Tibetan mandate for Dalai Lama's leadership. In unambiguous terms, Tibetans said that they did not want to live under Chinese occupation. The U.S. must go beyond symbolic acts like the Congressional Medal and honorary citizenship for the Dalai Lama. It can recognize His Holiness as the spiritual and political leader of Tibet and recognize his exile government.

"But I do not see the U.S. doing it. They are too self-indulgent. If Obama truly means change, here is the chance for him to prove that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize by supporting the Dalai Lama."

Tsundue, like many Tibetans, is embittered by history. The U.S. supported Tibet "right up until Nixon found friendship with China, when he shook hands with Mao." Suddenly, the military aid, training, and reinforcement stopped, leaving many Tibetan soldiers trapped in the high Himalayas with no food or arms. "Tibetans today feel used by the U.S."

How does Tsundue feel about the rise—so disconcerting to many—of China as a superpower? "I believe China can be prosperous and developed, but not in the way it is now, where 200 million elite and educated people rule over one billion workers and farmers.

"While China’s villages are still stuck with the Communist Manifesto, tech savvy businessmen in Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing are running slave labor, making young Chinese slog for 14 to 15 hours a day. And it is this cheap 'slave' labor that most multinational companies from the West are making money from. This is unfair from any angle, and there is no future for this. This will inevitably come crumbling down, which would be bad for future business. The U.S., and for that matter European countries, Canada, Japan, and Australia, could be dealing with the people of China, not with the dictatorial regime being run by Hu Jintao."

Tsundue believes that the world could one day learn to love China for its history and its rich culture, and also feel sympathetic toward the Chinese people, who have suffered greatly. But China today "is one of the most feared, if not hated, countries in the world.

'Art in Exile' screening (Feb 06, 2010)

2010-02-06T01:47:00.000+05:30

'Art in Exile' - a documentary by Nidhi Tuli and Ashraf Abbas will be screened at the Bombay Natural History Museum on February 06, 2010 at 7pm as a part of the Kala Ghoda Festival.

Art in Exile

(Directors: Nidhi Tuli and Ashraf Abbas; Duration: 37mins; Documentary)

The Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India struggles to maintain its rich cultural heritage in the midst of the continued fight to free Tibet from an encroaching Chinese government. From schools designed to teach traditional Tibetan music and dance to contemporary artists creating distinctive works that borrow from multiple influences, these artists are lending their voice and talents to the collective efforts to free Tibet and import its culture back to the homeland.

From the prolific activist poet, Tenzin Tsundue to the enigmatic, ex-Tibetan Youth congress president and poet, Lhasang Tsering, Rock band JJi Exile Brothers, to the traditional institutes like TIPA and Norbulingka, the film offers glimpses into an alternate Tibetan revolution through ‘Art in Exile’.

'The Sun Behind the Clouds' to be screened in Mumbai

2010-02-03T02:01:00.000+05:30

(2009, India/UK, 79 minutes)

Delhi-based filmmakers, Ritu Sarin and her Tibetan partner Tenzing Sonam, announce the Mumbai and Delhi premieres of their film, The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom. The film will screen in Mumbai on 7th February 2010 as part of the international competition section of the Mumbai International Film Festival and in New Delhi on 12th February 2010 at the India International Centre in an event hosted jointly by the IIC and The Foundation for Universal Responsibility.

Variety, the leading US film trade journal, said of the film: “In a welcome departure from many previous films about the decades-long friction between Tibet and China, "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" provides a two-sided view of the complex political and social dynamics within and outside Tibet. For the "struggle" in the film's title is not merely against China but also between competing Tibetan views regarding the best strategy: co-existence or independence.”

The Hollywood Reporter added: “The film is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the fate of the mountain region and the legacy of the Dalai Lama.”

Screening details:

Mumbai: 2:30 pm; Sunday, 7th February 2010, National Centre for the Performing Arts (http://miffindia.in/)

New Delhi: 6:30 pm; Friday, 12th February 2010, India International Centre

For more information, please contact Ritu Sarin at: info@whitecranefilms.com, or +91 9818265611

Links to other stories on the film:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941913.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/the-sun-behind-the-clouds-film-review-1004059395.story

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/movies/09film.html

http://www.indiewire.com/article/china_snubs_palm_springs_fest_over_tibet_doc/

http://www.moviemaker.com/festivals/article/china_pulls_two_films_from_palm_springs_film_festival_20100108/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/01/06/chinese_pull_two_films_from_palm_springs_fest/#more

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100112/EVENTS01/1110333/1050/lifestyles01/Despite-odds-controversial-Tibet-tale-told

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i015c08bd6f66cc49d7cf6decb82d9180

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013522.html?categoryid=2523&cs=1

http://news.pluggd.in/indias-sun-behind-the-clouds-declared-audience-favorite-at-palm-springs-film-festival-221/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sun_kissed_palm_springs_cranks_out_international_cinema/

THE SUN BEHIND THE CLOUDS:

Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

http://www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com

Please join the Facebook page for our new film:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sun-Behind-the-Clouds-Tibets-Struggle-for-Freedom/163986862581

WHITE CRANE FILMS

http://www.whitecranefilms.com

"Films China Never Wanted You To See"

2010-01-19T18:48:00.000+05:30

Think Tibet and Friends of Tibet invite you to
"Films China Never Wanted You To See"
Screening of documentary films on the history of Tibet and the present situation under the Chinese rule.

5pm-9pm on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Centre for Film and Drama, 71 Sona Towers, 5th floor, Above Central Bank, Millers Road, Bangalore. Admission Free.

To know more, email: info@thinktibet.org / support@friendsoftibet.org

"2010: Happy No Fear"

2009-12-27T14:35:00.001+05:30

Download high-resolution '2010: Happy No Fear' card prepared by Design & People for Friends of Tibet and World Tibet Day Foundation:

South African poet Shabbir Banoobhai to release 'Ente Tibet'

2009-12-24T01:27:00.001+05:30

Ila Books, Book Port and Friends of Tibet jointly organise a Poetry Reading by well-known South African poet Shabbir Banoobhai on December 26, 2009. Shabbir Banoobhai will release the Malayalam translation of the book "My Tibet" by HH the Dalai Lama on the occasion. "Ente Tibet" ("My Tibet" by HH the Dalai Lama) is translated into Malayalam by Yeldo, Suresh K, Anu Warrier and Bijuraj. The poetry reading and book release will be held at Kurian Tower, Banarji Road, Ernakulam, Kerala at 5.30pm.

Born in Durban on October 23, 1949 Shabbir Banoobhai is a known South African poet. A teacher at Springfield College, he was elected President of the Student's Representative Council in 1970, and became Assistant Editor of the College newspaper, Aspect, which was occasionally banned for its protests against the apartheid regime. At college, he met Fatima Meer, who, after finding out he wrote poetry, suggested he meet with the prominent poet Douglas Livingstone. While at college, he successfully studied for a Bachelor of Commerce Degree through Unisa, the correspondence university, and after a short stint of teaching, he began work as an accountant. In his own words, his work aims 'to promote a vision of a more humane society – a society that not only respects all its members as human beings but which considers them as spiritual beings and essentially divine.' His works include 'Echoes of My Other Self', 'Shadows of a Sun-darkened Land', 'Wisdom in a Jug', 'Light Mail', 'Book of Songs', 'Lyrics in Paradise', 'If I Could Write', 'Water Would Suffice' and 'Dark Light'.

To know more about the event, contact S Vasudevan of Ila Books at 9995948050 or Bijuraj at 9746322215.

"Contrast and Confluence"

2009-12-20T01:46:00.003+05:30

Friends of Tibet and Design & People proudly present "Contrast and Confluence" — a photographic journey through Chinese-occupied Tibet in June 2009 by — Sushi K, a graphic designer based in Mumbai and Chris A, an architect who lives and works in Vienna. Please visit: http://www.friendsoftibet.org/exhibitions.html to see the exhibition online.

Tibet for Burma (Delhi, Dec 12-13, 2009)

2009-12-10T11:03:00.001+05:30

Friends of Tibet in coordination with RTYC and RTWA Delhi will screen the latest film on the Burmese struggle for freedom and democracy "BURMA VJ" this weekend. The film screenings have been fixed at two places in Delhi for the Tibetan community. Burma Centre Delhi's Mr Kim, long-time Burma and Tibet supporter Miss Kerry Wright and Tibetan writer and activist Tenzin Tsundue will host the public discussion.

Screening Schedule:

1. 12 Dec, Saturday 2009 8pm Tibetan Youth Hostel, Rohini. Organised by the Students

Council 2. 13 Dec, Saturday 2009 5.30pm Samyeling Tibetan Refugee Camp Majnu-Ka-Tilla, Delhi. To know more, email: support@friendsoftibet.org or call: +91.9418079832

"BURMA VJ" (Anders Ostergaard; 84 min; Documentary)

Synopsis: Armed with pocket-sized video cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country. In 2007, after decades of self-imposed silence, Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years.

Foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down, and Burma was closed to the outside world. So how did we witness these events? Enter the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), aka the Burma VJs. Compiled from the shaky hand-held footage of the DVB, acclaimed filmmaker Anders Ostergaard’s Burma VJ pulls us into the heat of the moment as the VJs themselves become the target of the Burmese government. Their tactical leader, code-named Joshua, oversees operations from a safe hiding place in Thailand. Via clandestine

phone calls, Joshua dispenses his posse of video warriors, who covertly film the abuses in their country, then smuggle their footage across the border into Thailand. Joshua ships the footage to Norway, where it is broadcast back to Burma and the world via satellite. Burma VJ plays like a thriller, all the more scary because it is true.

Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference (Delhi, Nov 19-22, 2009)

2009-11-15T19:50:00.000+05:30

M E D I A R E L E A S E

“Hind Swaraj – Gandhi’s Manifesto of
Non-violence, Civilisation and Forms of Violence:
A 21st Century Agenda for Non-violence”

(Hind Swaraj Centenary International Conference,

Surajkund, Delhi, November 19-22, 2009)

On the behalf of eminent thinkers, intellectuals and activists, Swaraj Peeth Trust announces an International Conference from November 19-22, 2009 in Delhi, to uniquely commemorate the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s greatest work, his root text, ‘Hind Swaraj’ (1909-2009).

The four-day conference scheduled at the Hotel Rajhans, Surajkund, Delhi will bring together more than hundred visionaries, scholar-activists, practitioners of non-violence, activists and some of the best minds and teachers in the field of Gandhian thought. Instead of usual reading of papers, this congregation of people with variety of very valuable experiences, insights and foresights will review their own understanding of Hind Swaraj / Gandhian non-violence and will look at the successes, failures, limitations and challenges of various encounters with violence. What sort of vision has inspired each such attempt and what methods have been employed, discovered or innovated.

On the basis of this the Assembly will explore the possibilities and formulate a Global Action Plan to be presented to His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama on November 22, 2009 with collective request to take the leadership of a global campaign for Non-violence and Swaraj. Swaraj Peeth believes it could be no more appropriate than the guidance and leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the effort as Tibetan struggle under his leadership highlights the ideals of culture of non-violence or Self-rule, Swaraj (‘Rang-wang’ in Tibetan) that Gandhi defined as the ‘central purpose’ of his struggle. In the post-Gandhi era, HH the Dalai Lama symbolises in him and in the struggle of universal quest for non-violence, justice and peace.

In brief the conference aims at highlighting the efficacy and universality of the Gandhian vision of swaraj and methods of non-violence. Thus the conference will also try to bring in the center of debate how this vision could be translated into action under different conditions, situations and areas.

Background: “Hind Swaraj”, an unassuming book by Mahatma Gandhi holds a special place as a root text or Manifesto from among his entire corpus of work. The book is the essence of his life-long experiment with truth and it gives the correct diagnosis of the problem of humanity in modern times, the causes of it and also the effective remedy for it. Gandhi usually doesn’t care for consistency as he is always on the journey of experimentation of the truth but he did not find anything he mentioned in this book that needs to be revised even after more than two decades. It goes to show that the book carried matured findings of his persistent enquiries into the truth of human destiny.

Mahatma Gandhi wrote this book on his way from London to

South Africa

onboard SS Kildonan Castle between November 13-22, 1909, which means, the year 2009-2010 would be the Centenary Year of this great book. Hence many organisations and individuals who believe in truth and non-violence have engaged themselves to commemorate the Centenary of this wonderful work in various ways including academic deliberation and social interaction.

Swaraj Peeth undertook to commemorate the Centenary of Hind Swaraj since 2001. It has since then engaged in series of public dialogues on Hind Swaraj such as Swaraj Dialogue, Hind Swaraj study camps and discourses, and, building a community-based voluntary, non-violent social force – Gandhi Shanti Sena. Due to large number of participants from Muslim community, Swaraj Peeth brought out on the occasion of the Centenary of the Birth of Satyagraha, September 11, 2006, the first-ever Urdu translation of Hind Swaraj. Swaraj Peeth was first to initiate, since 2003 the public commemoration of September 11, ‘9/11’, as birthday of Satyagraha (Sept 11, 1906, Johannesburg, South Africa). An Urdu edition of the Hind Swaraj for people involved with Swaraj dialogue in Pakistan is also ready to be released.
Rajiv Vora
(Chairman, Swaraj Peeth Trust)

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Media Contact:

Dr Niru Vora: +91.9953513950 / Email: niru.swarajpeeth@gmail.com
Sethu Das: +91.9967021592 / Email: sethu.das@friendsoftibet.org
Postal Address: Swarajpeeth Trust, G-92 SF, South City II, Sohna Road, Gurgaon 122 018, NCR Delhi, India. Tel: +91.124.2217278, +91.124.43611132
Email: swaraj@swarajpeeth.org, swarajpeeth@gmail.com
Web: www.swarajpeeth.org / www.hindswaraj.co.cc

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HSCC Committee:

Prof Samdhong Rinpoche (Chairman), Janab Saiyid Hamid, Prof UR Ananthamurthy, Prof DL Sheth, Prof Partha Nath Mukherjee, Prof Ashish Nandy, Shri Anil Bordia, Dr Varsha Das, Shri Rajiv Vora, Dr Niru Vora (Convener)

Friends of Twibet

2009-11-08T01:16:00.000+05:30

www.twitter.com/friendsoftibet

Hey there! Friends of Tibet is using Twitter. Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Join today to start receiving Friendsoftibet tweets.

Tenzin Tsundue to present 'Angry Monk'

2009-10-05T10:20:00.001+05:30

Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet and activist to present the film "Angry Monk" by Luc Schaedler (Documentary; 90min) in Bangalore. The film which documents the life of one of the most controversial monks from Tibet – Gendun Choephel will be screened at the Alternative Law Forum, No. 122/4 Infantry Road, Opp Infantry Wedding Hall, Bangalore 560001 at 6pm. All are welcome.

About Angry Monk (By Luc Schaedler; Documentary; 90min)

Synopsis: Tibet - the mystical roof of the world, peopled with enlightened monks? Only one of them would not toe the line - Gendun Choephel, the errant monk who left the monastic life in 1934 in search of a new challenge. A free spirit and multifaceted individual, he was far ahead of his time and has since become a seminal figure, a symbol

of hope for a free Tibet. A rebel and voluble critic of the establishment, Gendun Choephel kindled the anger of the Tibetan authorities. The cinematic journey through time portrays the life of this unorthodox monk, revealing a face of old Tibet that goes against popular clichés. The film offers a fascinating insight into a country whose eventful past is refracted in the multiplicity and contradictions of everyday life. An outsider who was always open to new things, he eventually became a stranger in his homeland and homeless in foreign lands - a wanderer between worlds.

To know more, email: support@friendsoftibet.org or call: +91.9967021592

World Tibet Day (July 6, 2009)

2009-07-02T23:25:00.002+05:30

On the occasion of international observance of World Tibet Day, Friends of Tibet will screen Martin Scorscese's highly acclaimed film ‘Kundun’ on Monday, July 6, 2009 at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, Next to Jahangir Art Gallery, Bombay at 6pm. Entrance is free to all.

Kundun (1997; Duration: 120 min; Direction: Martin Scorsese): Martin Scorsese's internationally acclaimed Kundun, is based on the life of the Dalai Lama. 'Kundun' literally means 'presence.' It traces the story of Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama of Tibet, from his divine recognition as a two-and-a-half-year-old child to the day when Tibet was invaded by the Chinese Red Army in 1959, forcing him to live in exile in Dharamshala. The film charts the extraordinary growth of Dalai Lama from a giggling child into a world leader who raised the global consciousness about the Buddhist society, and the plight of Tibet and its people. The film has an evocative music score by Philip Glass. Scorsese was forced to film in Morocco after the Chinese authorities refused him permission to enter Tibet.

World Tibet Day: Founded in 1998 by Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history, World Tibet Day was created with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in Chinese occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. World Tibet Day has grown into one of the most important events on the Tibetan calendar. The event is held on July 6 - birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Friends of Tibet will observe World Tibet Day across the country with various programmes highlighting the issue of Tibet. To know more call: (022) 26409612, 9967021592 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

To know more about World Tibet Day, visit: www.worldtibetday.org

2009-06-14T16:02:00.001+05:30

The Chinese occupation of Tibet is continuing and once again World Tibet Day is approaching. As you are aware, July 6, the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is observed as World Tibet Day by Tibetans and their supporters worldwide.

We saw an Uprising in Tibet in 2008 followed by a silence. The Chinese government continues to suppress those who dare to express their opinions. We believe that World Tibet Day is an excellent opportunity for people like us living in free countries to show our support and solidarity with Tibetans living under the Chinese military rule.

Founded in 1998 by Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history, World Tibet Day was created with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in Chinese-occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. World Tibet Day has grown into one of the most important events on the Tibetan calendar. The event is held on July 6 – birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

We are asking you and/or your organisation to join us in observing July 6 (Monday) as World Tibet Day in your locality/country. Please send us a small note at: info@worldtibetday.org on what you plan to do on this day. Share your ideas and suggestions. Help us to make 2009 World Tibet Day a success.

Please check our website (www.worldtibetday.org) for helpful ideas on staging the event, and for a Message on WTD from HH the Dalai Lama.

Team World Tibet Day

World Tibet Day contacts:

Karma Yeshi Email: karmayeshi65@yahoo.com (Co-Director)

Richard Rosenkranz Email: RichardR888@aol.com (Founder & Former

Executive Director)

Sethu Das Email: sethu.das@friendsoftibet.org (Executive Director)

Virginia Balseiro Email: vikkibalseirososa@yahoo.com (Co-Director)

"World Tibet Day has opened many hearts to fundamental rights of the Tibetan people to preserve our culture and to practice our religion freely. The event had greatly raised public awareness to the present threat to the very existence of the Tibetan people.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama

2009-06-06T00:50:00.002+05:30

Monday Night Slam (June 8, 2009)

'Monday Night Slam' invitation from Bombay Elektrik Projekt and Friends of Tibet

Bombay Elektrik Projekt’s raucous, informal and super-friendly Monday Night Slam, gets a Tibetan flavour this fortnight, as acclaimed poet-activist Tenzin Tsundue reads out his works. Monday Night Slam regulars, don't miss the special night and watch him perform in the flesh! We continue to seek out the best wordsmiths from across the city, so spread the word out to poets, closet writers, spoken word artists, musicians, any one with a performer's soul. We're anticipating a big night, as and the gorgeous, Rohini Ramanathan (catch her on Red FM, where she captures a million hearts with her voice) will be in charge of proceedings as always. Big ups and loads of love and respect to our resident contributors this month. Monday Night Slam creatives designed by Sathya.

The usual FAQs for the newcomers

Who wouldn't enjoy the opportunity to watch the most controversial local poets as they go nose-to-nose while a live, whooping and cheering audience gets rolling with them. Only poets brave enough to take the heat of interactive self-expression will advance to the final round to see who scores to become that evenings Top Dog Poet.

It will get noisy, heartfelt, ridiculous, rowdy, (and who knows - political) but it always gets going.

WHO: The most daring and provocative of Mumbai poets and spoken-word presentation artists.

WHAT: Sign up for the 12 presenting poet spots for the fortnightly Poetry Slam.

WHEN: Monday at 21:45 pm poets sign up for the Poetry Slam to ensue at 22:00.

WHERE: The Mumbai Times Cafe, Fifth floor, Crystal Shopping Arcade, Off Linking Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai.

WHY: To take part in the most in-your-face fortnightly poetry competition in Mumbai.

HOW: Bring your best 3 poems and sign up for the three rounds of readings.

NEEDED: An audience.

To know more, call: 9820998790 or email: more@bombayelektrik.com

/ support@friendsoftibet.org

Face to Face: Vijay Crishna & Tenzin Tsundue (June 6, 2009)

2009-05-24T01:12:00.004+05:30

They both 'belong' to Bombay. One an industrialist and an avid mountaineer, other a poet and Tibet activist. Both visited Tibet under Chinese occupation. One explored Tibet with his family, the other crossed the border illegally to reach Tibet. One returns home safely with firsthand experiences, while other ends up in a Chinese prison for months. And what they have in common is their passion for Tibet.

Friends of Tibet invites you for a face-to-face conversation between Vijay Crishna, industrialist and Tibet expert and Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet and activist. They are coming together for the first time to present their experience and views on the Tibet issue. Do join us to listen to two interesting personalities of our times at 6pm on Saturday, June 06, 2009. Venue: YMCA, 1st floor, 12 Nathalal Parekh Marg, Near Regal Cinema, Colaba, Bombay. Entry Free. To know more, call us at: (022) 26409612 / SMS: 9967021592 / Email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Friends of Tibet & Delhi Greens

2009-03-22T12:36:00.000+05:30

Friends of Tibet (Delhi) and Delhi Greens had planned a whole new take on Tibet. Since the Olympics Torch relay, many in the University Area know about Tibet, but have no clue about the issue. So, the idea was to take a tour around Majnu Ka Tila, and also talk about the issue. Delhi Greens is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to ensure the direct participation of the citizens of Delhi in the making of decisions that impact them. Launched as a youth movement, Delhi Greens has grown to be a civil society organisation concerned with all environment and sustainable development issues in Delhi and in urban India. - http://delhigreens.org

As Friends of Tibet, we were always loooking for a way to work together. So, on Sunday, we were planning the tour around Majnu Ka Tila, to be followed up with a talk, and interaction with the local Pradhans of MT. Majnu Ka Tila is a settlement for Tibetans in exile, and has been a part of the landscape of peripheral Delhi since 1959, a few months after the Dalai Lama escaped to India, and the flood of refugees from Tibet could not be provided for in Janpath or the Ladakh Buddhist Vihar under the ISBT flyover. The land was leased out to six of the eldest Tibetan refugees, and has been with their families ever since. The little cultivation on the banks of the river is looked after by the local 'Indians', migrants from Rajasthan and Haryana.

Tour Details: Date: March 22, 2009 (Sunday)

Time: 9.30 am Starts from: Delhi University (Viswavidyalaya) Metro Station (Those who will come to DU via the Metro after a long time, please take note that the DU Metro Station is no longer the last station as the Metro now goes further ahead)

In the pipeleine: We will follow up this tour with a conference in DU, on Environment and Tibet, the repucursions of changes in the Tibetan Plateau at the Centre of Environment Sciences. To know more, writre to: aparajita.sarcar@friendsoftibet.org

Screening of Two Controversial Movies (Feb 13, 2009)

2009-02-11T09:15:00.003+05:30

Design & People and Friends of Tibet in association with Open Eyed Dreams to screen two controversial documentaries - “Sicko” by Michael Moore and “Angry Monk” by Luc Schaedler. While Micheal Moore (Director of Fahrenheit 9/11) investigates and compares American Healthcare system with that of Cuba, Luc Schaedler travels and documents the life of one of the most controversial monks from Tibet – Gendun Choephel. The documentaries will be screened at the OED Basement, Opposite Lotus Club, Warriam Road, Ernakulam on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 5.30pm. Entrance is free.

About Sicko: Opening with profiles of several ordinary Americans whose lives have been disrupted, shattered, and - n some cases - ended by health care catastrophe, the film makes clear that the crisis doesn't only affect the 47 million uninsured citizens - millions of others who dutifully pay their premiums often get strangled by bureaucratic red tape as well. After detailing just how the system got into such a mess (the short answer: profits and Nixon), we are whisked around the world, visiting countries including Canada, Great Britain and France, where all citizens receive free medical benefits. Finally, Moore gathers a group of 9/11 heroes - rescue workers now suffering from debilitating illnesses who have been denied medical attention in the US. He takes them to a most unexpected place, and in addition to finally receiving care, they also engage in some unexpected diplomacy.

About Angry Monk: Tibet - the mystical roof of the world, peopled with enlightened monks? Only one of them would not toe the line - Gendun Choephel, the errant monk who left the monastic life in 1934 in search of a new challenge. A free spirit and multifaceted individual, he was far ahead of his time and has since become a seminal figure, a symbol of hope for a free Tibet. A rebel and voluble critic of the establishment, Gendun Choephel kindled the anger of the Tibetan authorities. The cinematic journey through time portrays the life of this unorthodox monk, revealing a face of old Tibet that goes against popular clichés. The film offers a fascinating insight into a country whose eventful past is refracted in the multiplicity and contradictions of everyday life. An outsider who was always open to new things, he eventually became a stranger in his homeland and homeless in foreign lands - a wanderer

between worlds.

To know more, call: 9847044248, email: support@designandpeople.org or log on to: www.designandpeople.org

Design & People identify how design can intervene to make a contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the lives of people disadvantaged by war, disability, and political and environmental conditions. We unite and encourage graphic, industrial and architectural designers to use their experience and skills towards social and humanitarian projects. Mission: Design For People In Need.

Open Eyed Dreams, a premier art promotion venture, was launched by Dilip Narayanan in 2002. The initiative that began with a collection from eight artists has today a growing portfolio claiming exclusive representation from over 40 eminent artists in the country. It has held six major shows and a National Art Meet in Kerala. More exhibitions, tours and camps are scheduled running up to 2009. The objective: Promote art and artists, going beyond regional borders.

Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence. Friends of Tibet is also one of the principal organisers of World Tibet Day around the world.

Tenzin Tsundue Talk (Bangalore, Nov 13, 2008)

2008-11-07T18:55:00.003+05:30

Since the beginning of March this year ever since Tibet burst into a tumultuous uprising in the international media, many things went unnoticed and not aptly explained, therefore a lot of confusion has been created especially in India. Besides there are a lot of changes happening in the Tibetan struggle, but where change is expected especially in relation to China, its getting worse, the hope is found only in the inside. The Tibetan community is looking inside, and has called for an Emergency Meeting this November where hundreds leaders, activists, thinkers with meet and discuss the future of Tibet.

Tenzin Tsundue will give a talk on the current scenario of the Tibetan movement after the Olympics in China, and the recent announcement of the Dalai Lama about this withdrawal from public life at a programme organised by Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore.

Date: 13th November 2008

Time: 6 PM

Venue: Alternative Law Forum, No. 122/4 Infantry Road, Bangalore 560001

Tenzin Tsundue is an activist, poet and writer working on Tibetan freedom for many years. Tenzin Tsundue joined Friends of Tibet (India) in 1999. Since then he's been working with the organization as its General Secretary. In January 2002 his profile peaked when he scaled scaffolding to the 14th floor of the Oberoi Towers, in Mumbai, to unfurl a Tibetan national flag and a banner down the hotel's facade which read 'Free Tibet'. China's Premier Zhu Rongji was inside the hotel addressing a conference of Indian business tycoons. The world's media featured this feat and Indian police officials congratulated him in prison for standing up for his rights. In April 2005 he repeated a similar stunning one-man protest that captured the world's imagination while Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was visiting India's tech capital, Bangalore. Tenzin won the first-ever 'Outlook-Picador Award for Non-Fiction' in 2001.

To know more about the event, email: support@friendsoftibet.org

'Tibet of Our Minds' (Bangalore, Nov 15, 2008)

2008-10-18T22:47:00.004+05:30

Think Tibet and Friends of Tibet to jointly organise an audio-visual presentation by Vijay Crishna: 'Tibet of Our Minds: A Journey’s End?' at the Tibetan Youth Hostel, No: 7, SR Garden, Srinivagalu, Koramangala, Viveknagar, Bangalore 560047 at 6pm on November 15, 2008. Entrance Free.

Vijay Crishna runs light engineering and IT-related businesses in a separate company, Lawkim Ltd, within the Godrej Group, has practised theatre for many years and is a very keen trekker - a person of several facets who has also made several trips to Chinese-occupied Tibet exploring a fascination for the trade that sustained the entire area for centuries. In 1991 he established The Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research at his factory site in Satara district to research and propagate rare and endangered species of medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats. To know more, visit: http://www.tibetofourminds.org

To know more, call: 9916766931, 9886344125, 9742072824, 9886045576 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Tibet: Eyewitness Accounts (New Delhi, July 29, 2008)

2008-07-27T20:58:00.002+05:30

Sonam Dakpa and Kunsang were in Lhasa, when the capital of Tibet burst into tumultuous protest this March. Sonam, 34, monk, escaped Tibet that very day after witnessing crowds of people raising slogans expecting police clampdown, while Kunsang was in the middle of the protest shouting "free Tibet" and taking photographs. He tried to escape Tibet days after March 10 protest leaving his friends and family behind in the thick of uprising that quickly spread from town to town and reached across the occupied country. Kunsang was arrested at the Nepal border and taken back to Tibet and thrown into prison. After spending one month in jail and securing his release, losing his photography to Chinese police, he attempted another escape and this time he crossed the border and reached Dharamshala the capital of exile Tibetans and the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India.

Friends of Tibet invites you to “Tibet: Eyewitness Accounts” by the two recent escapees and screening of videos and photographs from Tibet followed by comments by Tibet watcher Serta Tsultrim, Editor of Tibet Express and Member of the Tibetan exile parliament. The programme will be moderated by Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet and activist.

Date and Time: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 6pm
Venue: India International Centre, IIC Annexe, Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi
Contact: Aprajiata Sarcar 9899086964 Tarini Mehta: 9999792638
or email: delhi@friendsoftibet.org

Tibet Of Our Minds (Kochi, July 26, 2008)

2008-07-18T01:11:00.006+05:30

Friends of Tibet invite you for 'Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End?', an audio-visual presentation by Vijay Crishna at School of Communication and Management Studies (SCMS), Pratap Nagar, Kalamassery, Kochi at 3pm on Saturday, July 26, 2008. Entrance Free.

'Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End?' – Vijay Crishna's audio-visual presentation based on his trips to Tibet shares his perspectives of Tibet's ancient and modern history and how these impact us today has been presented across the country.

Vijay Crishna runs light engineering and IT-related businesses in a separate company, Lawkim Ltd, within the Godrej Group, has practised theatre for many years and is a very keen trekker - a person of several facets who has also made several trips to Chinese-occupied Tibet exploring a fascination for the trade that sustained the entire area for centuries. In 1991 he established The Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research at his factory site in Satara district to research and propagate rare and endangered species of medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats.

To know more, call Friends of Tibet at: 9847044248, 9967021592 Email: kerala@friendsoftibet.org

World Tibet Day in Chennai

2008-07-06T11:16:00.000+05:30

We the Members of the Dhamma Forum, Chennai and the Friends of Tibet in Chennai have organized the following programmes at Chennai to commemorate the Birthday of His Highness The Dalai Lama and to observe the World Tibet Day.

July 06, 2006:
6pm-7:30pm: Screening of the film “KUNDUN” at Dhamma Forum Hall.
July 07, 2008:
4pm - 6pm: Prayer and Meditation near Memorial Hall, Chennai 600003.

Ven. Ashin Wathawa / Ven. Mourya / Ven. Maha Nama / Prof. Marx / Erimalai Rathinam / K.Chandrasekaran / Madam. Asha Reddy /Tibetan Studants

All are invited. To know more about the event, write to: : K Chandrasekaran at: kochandrasekaran@gmail.com

World Tibet Day in New Delhi (July 6, 2008)

2008-07-04T01:04:00.001+05:30

This Sunday, July 6, 2008 is the World Tibet Day. The Tibetan poet activist Tenzin Tsundue, who is recently back from The March to Tibet, is in Delhi. On Sunday, we have organised a meeting to commemorate the day. Please do take some time out to understand what Tibetans have planned for now, the future of the issue, especially after the Beijing Olympics.

Venue: India Habitat Centre, Open Air Auditorium
Time: 5.30 pm

To know more call: 9899086964 or email: delhi@friendsoftibet.org

Vijay Crishna Lecture (July 2008, Mumbai, Kochi)

2008-06-29T01:39:00.007+05:30

Mumbai
Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, Next to Jahangir Art Gallery, Mumbai at 6pm on Sunday, July 06, 2008. Contact: (022) 26409612, 9967021592, Email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Kochi
School of Communication and Management Studies (SCMS), Pratap Nagar, Kalamassery, Cochin at 4pm on Saturday, July 26, 2008. Contact: 9847044248. 9967021592 Email: kerala@friendsoftibet.org

Entrance is free.

World Tibet Day in Mumbai (July 6, 2008)

2008-06-28T13:11:00.004+05:30

On the occasion of international observance of World Tibet Day, Friends of Tibet will organise 'Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End?', an audio-visual presentation by Vijay Crishna on July 6, 2008 (Sunday) at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Kala Ghoda, Next to Jahangir Art Gallery, Mumbai at 6pm. Entrance is free.

'Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End?' – Vijay Crishna's audio-visual presentation based on his trips to Tibet shares his perspectives of Tibet's ancient and modern history and how these impact us today has been presented across the country.

Vijay Crishna runs light engineering and IT-related businesses in a separate company, Lawkim Ltd, within the Godrej Group, has practised theatre for many years and is a very keen trekker - a person of several facets who has also made several trips to Chinese-occupied Tibet exploring a fascination for the trade that sustained the entire area for centuries. In 1991 he established The Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research at his factory site in Satara district to research and propagate rare and endangered species of medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats.

World Tibet Day: Founded in 1998 by Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history, World Tibet Day was created with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in Chinese occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. World Tibet Day has grown into one of the most important events on the Tibetan calendar. The event is held on July 6 - birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Friends of Tibet will observe World Tibet Day across the country with various programmes highlighting the issue of Tibet. To know more call: (022) 26409612, 9967021592 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org

World Tibet Day in Kerala (July 6, 2008)

2008-06-26T11:20:00.003+05:30

Friends of Tibet and Design & People to join the international observance of World Tibet Day on July 6, 2008 (Sunday). The groups plan to discuss the Tibet issue and screen the film ‘Dreaming Lhasa’ (90 min) by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam at Lumirere, Opposite Andhra Cultural Centre, 13th Main Road, Panampilly Nagar, Cochin at 4pm.

The Dalai Lama praised the worldwide event, saying, "World Tibet Day has helped greatly in spreading awareness and gaining support for the Tibetan cause." He added that the event has brought to light basic and essential rights of the Tibetan people including their right to preserve a rich culture and the right to practice their religion freely.

According to Suku Dass, Friends of Tibet Campaigner from Kochi, this event strongly supports the restoration of basic freedoms for the Tibetan people, whose religion and culture is presently threatened with extinction due to genocidal policies of the Chinese government. He also says "World Tibet Day is celebrated on the same day we honor the birthday of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama," and added that the event also celebrates the unique and irreplaceable beauty of Tibetan culture and thought.

Founded in 1998 by Richard Rosenkranz, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in history, World Tibet Day was created with three main goals: first to create an annual worldwide event to help restore essential freedoms for those living in Chinese occupied Tibet; second to increase awareness of the genocidal threats to the Tibetan people; and third, to celebrate the unique beauty and value of Tibetan culture and thought. World Tibet Day has grown into one of the most important events on the Tibetan calendar. The event is held on July 6 - birthday of His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Friends of Tibet will observe World Tibet Day across the country with various programmes highlighting the issue of Tibet. To know more call: 9847044248 or email: kerala@friendsoftibet.org.

Dr Nirmala Deshpande (1929-2008)

2008-05-02T06:13:00.000+05:30

Friends of Tibet is sad to hear the demise of Dr Nirmala Deshpande (1929-2008), a prominent Gandhian who was also a true friend of Tibet. As a social-activist Dr Nirmala Deshpande devoted all her life to serve the marginalised sections of the Indian society and supported causes such as Tibet in whatever way she could. Not so many people are aware of the amount of work she has done in troubled; riot affected areas in this country, as she too believed that ‘peace is no news, but war.’

Our heartfelt condolences. She will remain an inspiration to all of us to continue our struggle for Tibetan independence.

Sethu Das
May 1, 2008

Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End (Bombay, May 4, 2008)

2008-05-01T19:28:00.005+05:30

You are invited to: "Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End" - an audio-visual presentation by Shri Vijay Crishna, industrialist, theater personality, an avid mountaineer - a person of many facets has done many exploratory trips to the Chinese-occupied Tibet. Vijay Crishna will share his perspectives of Tibet's ancient and modern history and how these impact us today.

Time and Date: 5pm, Sunday, May 04, 2008
Venue: St Andrews College AV Auditorium, Bandra West, Bombay 400 050

Candle Light Vigil in Chennai (Apr 17, 2008)

2008-04-17T10:35:00.000+05:30

Friends of Tibet (Tamil Nadu) to hold a candle light vigil in memory of hundreds of Tibetans inside Tibet who sacrificed their lives for an independent Tibet an open discussion on the Chinese aggression on Tibet and a since the 49th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising on March 10, 2008. The event will be held at 6:30pm at 6 Buddha Street, United India Colony, Kodambakam, Chennai on April 17, 2008.

To know more about this event, you may call Anto V at: +91.9842363777 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Kerala Groups to Protest Olympics Torch (Apr 17, 2008)

2008-04-16T15:17:00.002+05:30

Kerala-based Human Rights and Social organisations have come forward to protest the ‘Olympics Torch of Shame’ which will be on the Indian Soil on Thursday, April 17, 2008.

Friends of Tibet, Design & People, Human Rights Law Network (Kerala), Periyar Riverkeeper, Kashi, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, World Tibet Day, Samajwadi Jana Parishad are some of the organisations participating in Thursday’s protest meet which will be held at the Theresa Square, Opposite Vanitha Police station, Ernakulam on April 17, 2008 at 5:30pm. Organisations are also planning to hold a candle light vigil and the screening of a documentary film on the Tibet issue at Theresa Square. The candle light vigil is organised to protest the Chinese aggression on Tibet and in memory of hundreds of activists who gave up their lives for an independent Tibet since the 49th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising on March 10, 2008.

Meanwhile massive 25-feet high ‘Olympics Torch of Shame with No Flame’ conceptualised by Kashi Art Gallery is being erected at the Fort Kochi beach on April 13 (Photos and a report: http://peoplefortibet.blogspot.com/). The protest torch is attracting hundreds of people and will be kept unlit till the Olympics Torch leaves India.

Friends of Tibet is joining and organising protest marches and public meets at various places in India on April 17, 2008 to highlight the serious situation inside Chinese-occupied Tibet. To know more about the organisation and its activities, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org. To know more about events in India, you may call: +91.9967021592, +91.9895884379 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

'Torch of Shame with No Flame' (Apr 13-17, 2008)

2008-04-13T10:44:00.000+05:30

A 25-feet high 'Torch of Shame with No Flame' will be erected at the Fort Kochi beach in Kerala on April 13, 2008 till the People's Olympics Torch guarded by Chinese thugs reaches India on April 17. Please do join us on April 13 at 5pm.

"Stop The Olympics Torture" (April 17, 2008)

2008-04-07T11:15:00.006+05:30

To download the Design & People poster "Stop The Olympics Torture" in vector and PDF formats, go to: www.designandpeople.org

Though People's Republic of China has taken all security measures to crush people, protests are bound to follow the Olympics Torch throughout its 137,000 km-long journey - across five continents and twenty countries. On April 17, 2008 the torch carrying the 2008 Beijing Olympics flame will reach New Delhi. Friends of Tibet will join and organise nation-wide protests in India on April 17 to condemn the Chinese occupation on Tibet and the crackdown on the Independence activists since March 10, 2008. Declare loudly that "Humanity Is Much More Sacred Than Olympics Torch."

To Join or support Friends of Tibet in organising protests, kindly write to: support@friendsoftibet.org or call: +91.9967021592, +91.9418079832 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Open Discussion on Tibet (Cochin, March 29, 2008)

2008-03-25T13:13:00.006+05:30

Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama says more than 130 people were massacred and thousands injured by the Chinese army since March 10, 2008, the 49th Anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day. The Chinese government claims the death toll is only 22 and accuses the Dalai Lama for masterminding the recent violence inside Chinese occupied Tibet. Is China using the People's Liberation Army to crush the Tibetan people's movement?

Join an open discussion organised by Friends of Tibet in association with Design & People. The Discussion will be held on March 29, 2008 at Lumirere, Opposite Andhra Cultural Centre, 13th Main Road, Panampilly Nagar, Cochin at 11am. Panelists:

Dr Sebastian Paul (Member of Parliament)
Dr KS Radhakrishnan (Vice Chancellor, Sanskrit University)
Dr Venugopal (Editor, Bashaposhini)
Yesudasan (Political Cartoonist)
Adv Joshi Jacob (Samajvaadi Jana Parishad)
Adv N Nagareshan (Swadeshi Jagran Manch)
Geo Jose (NAPM)
Fr Prasanth (CMI)
Lhakpa Phanthok (Tibetan refugee living in Kochi) and many others.

Please do join us.
To know more about this event, call: 9847044248 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Tibet of our Minds: A Journey’s End? (Dharamshala, Mar 27, 2008)

2008-03-08T16:21:00.007+05:30

Please note the change in the programme timing. The lecture will begin at 9am instead of 5:30pm.
We cordially invite you to attend “Tibet of our Minds: A Journey’s End?” a talk by Shri Vijay Crishna, industrialist, theatre personality and an avid mountaineer who has made many exploratory trips to the Chinese-occupied Tibet. This event jointly organised by the Friends of Tibet and the Tibetan Administration will be inaugurated by Kalon Tripa Prof Samdhong Rinpoche on March 27, 2008 (Thursday) at 9pm at the Lhakpa Tsering Hall of DIIR, Dharamshala. The lecture is free and open to public.

Vijay Crishna’s audio-visual presentation is based on his trips Tibet where he shares his perspectives of Tibet’s ancient and modern history and how these impact us today. Vijay Crishna is the Managing Director of Godrej Upstream, a subsidiary of the Godrej Group. In 1991 he established Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research in Satara district which researches and propagates rare and endangered species of medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats. He has been active in theatre since 1965, taking occasional bit role in films such as Gandhi and Devdaas.

‘Indian Cartoonists on Tibet’ (Pondichery, March 14-31, 2008)

2008-02-23T13:42:00.008+05:30

'Indian Cartoonists on Tibet', a travelling exhibition from Friends of Tibet will be on display at the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture, (next to Bharat Nivas) Auroville from March 16-31, 2008. The inaugural presentation will be done by Claude Arpi (French Tibetologist and the author of 'The Fate of Tibet') and Sethu Das (President, Friends of Tibet) on March 16, 2008 (Sunday) at 5:45pm.

This exhibition of selected cartoons on the Tibet issue (1950-2005) and the tumultuous Indo-Chinese relations will feature the following cartoonists: Shankar, Ranga, OV Vijayan, RK Laxman, Ravi Shankar, Mario Miranda, Rajinder Puri, Prriya Raj, Yesudasan, Nanda Soobben, Abe Gowda, Kaak, Madhu Omalloor, Balu, Thommy, Ponnappa, Morparia and Prakash Shetty.

Indian Cartoonists on Tibet (Details) / The Pavillion of Tibetan Culture (Details) / To know more about the event, you may call us at: +91.9443006381, +91.9833191592 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org

Tibet at TISS (Bombay, Feb 15, 2008)

2008-02-02T11:31:00.000+05:30

Tenzin Tsundue (Tibetan poet and General Secretary of Friends of Tibet) to speak on 'Tibetan Independence Movement in the Era of Globalisation' at a function jointly organised by Friends of Tibet and TISS Students Union in Bombay. The talk and at the screening of the BBC documentary: 'Conflicts: Tibet' will be held at the Conference Hall of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Bombay on February 15, 2008 (Friday) at 4pm.

More about Tenzin Tsundue: http://www.friendsoftibet.org/tenzin/

About the BBC documentary 'Conflicts: Tibet' (30 min):
Directed by Oliver Clark, the documentary combines archive footage with the views of both the Tibetans and the Chinese. Personal stories from Tibetans in exile tell of the Chinese policy of patriotic re-education under which monks have been persecuted and have had to renounce the Dalai Lama. Yet the Chinese honestly believe that China has saved the Tibetans from feudalism, They say that they have built schools, hospitals and roads, and that 50 years after it 'liberated' Tibet, there has been 'great social progress' in the region, a view contested by the Tibetans in exile.

To know more, call Friends of Tibet: (022) 26409612, 9833191592 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

Reflecting on a Dying Culture (Bombay, Jan 29, 2008)

2008-01-23T01:03:00.000+05:30

Vijay Crishna to talk on "Tibet: Its Complex Past and Present" at the Oxford Bookstore, Apeejay House 3, Dinsha Vacha Road, Churchgate, BombayJanuary 29, 2008 (Tuesday) at 6.30pm.

Vijay Crishna is an industrialist, theatre personality and an avid mountaineer – a person of many facets has done many exploratory trips to the Chinese-occupied Tibet. He is the Managing Director of Godrej Upstream, a subsidiary of the Godrej Group. In 1991 he established Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research in Satara district which researches and propagates rare and endangered species of medicinal plants endemic to the Western Ghats. ‘Tibet Of Our Minds: A Journey's End’ – Vijay Crishna’s audio-visual presentation based on his trips to occupied-Tibet where he shares his perspectives of Tibet's ancient and modern history and how these impact us today has been presented across the country. He has been active in theater since 1965, taking occasional bit role in films – like Gandhi and Devdaas.

Your Right to Have the Right Map

2008-01-13T17:52:00.000+05:30

On the occasion of World Human Rights Day, on December 10, 2007, Friends of Tibet launched 'The World With Tibet' campaign with a world map showing Chinese-occupied Tibet as an Independent country. The first copy of the map was released by Venerable Geshe Lhakdor, Official Translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This map with the primary aim of education also illustrates Turkistan, Manchuria and, unified Inner and Outer Mongolia as separate countries along side China.

To receive a free World Map anywhere within India, simply send your complete postal address to: support@friendsoftibet.org or write to: Friends of Tibet, PO Box: 16674, Bombay 400050. More: http://www.friendsoftibet.org/global/campaigns.html

Black Hat Dance (Bombay, Feb 2, 2008)

2008-01-07T01:07:00.001+05:30

For the first time in Bombay, monks from the Menri Monastery of Bon to perform the "Black Hat Dance" during the inaugural day of the exhibition of photographs, thangkas by Li Gothami at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum of Western India), MG Road, Fort, Bombay on February 2, 2008. To know more, call: 9833191592 / 26409612 or email: support@friendsoftibet.org.

The Black Hat Dance: Most masked dances that can be seen today in the monasteries of the Tibet or Ladakh, contain complex religious and philosophical themes. How ever, these plays may derive from the ritual dances of Bon. Which were originally performed as means of venerating nature and protective deities and also as New Year celebrations? These last took place at the time of winter solstices; they celebrated the victory if the spring season with its fertility over the crippling season of winter.

The religious dimension of these dances is shown by the fact that they are performed in the monastery courtyards and by the fact that the masks, with the exception of the clown masks, may only be worn by monks. Since the Cham dances are the crowing conclusion of a ritual lasting several days. The actions, dance steps and movements of the protagonists are exactly prescribed. Masks that are inhabited during the dance by the more important protective deities are accordingly treated with great deference. They are kept in a special- usually dark-room, the gonkhang. Entry into this room is often prohibited to lay persons and women. Since these masks symbolize the divine presence, they are the object of regular ceremonies.

The black hat religious dance is also called the “dance of Tshog of mother tantra” forms a part of complex bonpo esoteric rituals which it self, like all other rituals of this type, is primarily conceived as a means of attaining spiritual realization. The dance is particularly connected with the cutting of the Tshog in the rite as indicated by its name. The Tshog is an offering to the tutelary divinities and literally means “assembly”. Its ingredients are parched barley flour, butter, cheese, dried fruit and Tibetan brewed ale. The dance therefore was not conceived in the beginning as a public spectacle and was attended only by the adepts who were performing the rituals. It was thus a totally private ritual. However, from about the fifteenth century it gradually became more public and formed a part of the annual festival along with other traditional religious dances in the monasteries.

Menri Monastery: The first Menri Monastery was built in the 14th century in Central Tibet. It remained the main monastery of Bon (The Bon Religion Bon is the ancient indigenous religion of Tibet. It was founded by Buddha Tonpa Shenrab eighteen thousand years ago in western Tibet and continues to the present day by an unbroken lineage.) and a premier centre of religious teaching and practice until the Chinese army destroyed it in 1959 and during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. During that time, many Tibetans fled to India as refugees. His Holiness the Menri Trizin, the 33^rd Abbot of Menri Monastery, after many hardships reestablished the present Menri Monastery in exile at Tibetan Bonpo Settlement, Dolanji (near Solan), to preserve this unique and ancient tradition.

The monastery offers advance religious training in Dialectical Studies. The nine-year course of study includes philosophy, logic, poetics, astrology, medicine, ritual and meditation, and the languages of Zhang-Zhung and Sanskrit. The monks also studies and practices the Bon tradition of Sutra, Tantra and Zogchen. The training in Zogchen includes the highest meditation practices such as the dark retreat and the visionary practices. On the successful completion of the studies, the monks are awarded the Geshe Degree, the most advanced degree in the Tibetan religious traditions. Most of the Geshes become teachers, serving the educational needs of both the monastic and lay communities. Some of them enter meditation retreat after their studies or focus on rebuilding old monasteries or developing new Bon centre.

Human Rights Day (Bombay, Dec 10, 2007)

2007-12-02T17:45:00.000+05:30

On the occasion of World Human Rights Day and the 18th anniversary of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, rights groups will come together on December 10, 2007 to organise various programmes in Bombay city. A function at Sharda Mangal Karyalaya at Dadar organised by the Tibetan Residents Association in association with Dharma Rain Centre and Friends of Tibet will be addressed by Venerable Geshe Lhakdor, former official translator of the Dalai Lama who will be on a week-long lecture series on Buddhism, in connection with "Buddha Dharma Week". The function will be held at the Sharda Mangal Karyalaya, Sharda Talkies, Lane adjacent to Dadar Fire Brigade Station, Dadar from 9am onwards.

In the evening, Dharma Rain Centre, Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Friends of Tibet will jointly organise a Panel Discussion on "Human Rights: Tibet, Burma and India" at the MC Ghia Hall, Rampart Row, K Dubash Marg, Kalaghoda, Bombay at 6.30 pm. The speakers are Venerable Geshe Lhakdor (Official translator of HH the Dalai Lama), Dr Ramu Manivannan (Burma Expert), Yogesh Kamdar (National Vice President, People's Union for Civil Liberties) and other panelists include Vijay Crishna (Industrialist and Theatre Personality), and CA Kallianpur (National Coordinator, Friends of Tibet). The panel discussion will be moderated by Aspi Mistry of Dharma Rain Centre.

About Speakers & Panelists:
Venerable Geshe Lhakdor has served His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama as his official translator and religious assistant since 1989. He has translated numerous books by His Holiness from English to Tibetan and from Tibetan to English. He is also the Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamshala.

Yogesh Kamdar is a Bombay-based writer and the National Vice President of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Dr Ramu Manivannan is reader in political science at the Chennai University, Dr Ramu is also the founder of Buddha Smiles, a program on education, peace and development of children in India and the Burmese refugee community living in India. He is a peace researcher and an activist.

Vijay Crishna is an industrialist, theatre personality and an avid mountaineer - a person of many facets has done many exploratory trips to the Chinese-occupied Tibet. He is the Managing Director of Godrej Upstream and has been active in theater since 1965, taking occasional bit role in films.

CA Kallianpur is a researcher on Tibet issue and the National Coordinator of Friends of Tibet.

About Organisations:
The Dharma Rain Centre is contemplated as a resource centre that offers a supportive environment to all those who are interested in exploring Buddhist thought and practice. Presenting all the major Buddhist schools and traditions, in a non-sectarian and non-denominational manner, its vision includes dialogue and understanding between different schools of Buddhism and interaction with other religious and scientific traditions.

Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom (ICCF) was founded in 1951 as a non-party organisation of scholars, writers, artists and scientists to defend intellectual liberty, to cultivate a spirit of free enquiry and an appreciation of the arts. Among its founding members were Jayaprakash Narayan, Minoo Masani, Khushwant Singh, Tarkateerth Laxmanshastri Joshi and Asoka Mehta.

To know more about the event, call: 986927904 / 9833191592 or email: dharmaraincentre@gmail.com / freedom@vsnl.com / support@friendsoftibet.org

Buddhadharma Week (Bombay, December 8-16, 2007)

2007-11-30T10:50:00.000+05:30

December 8, 2007 (Sat) 6.30pm
Ven. Geshe Lhakdor - Public Talk
"The Art of Living & Dying" at Gita Mandir, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chowpatty
Sponsored by: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Dharma Rain Centre, LTWA and ICCF (Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom)

December 9, 2007 (Sun)
This day for meetings with group members and private audiences. Please send in your requests by e-mail.

December 10, 2007 (Mon) 9am
World Human Rights Day
Function at Sharda Mangal Karyalaya, Sharda Talkies, Lane adjacent to Dadar Fire Brigade Station, Dadar.
Organised by Tibetan Residents Association in association with Friends of Tibet and Dharma Rain Centre to commemorate the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Lhakdor-la to address audience in Tibetan. (Translation provided too)

6.30pm
Panel Discussion on "Human Rights: Tibet, Burma and India"
MC Ghia Hall, Rampart Row, K Dubash Marg, Kalaghoda, Bombay
Ven. Lhakdor-la "Human Rights in Tibet – 50 years of ' Liberation' Through Cultural Genocide."
Dr. Ramu Manivannan: "Human Rights in Burma and India 's Role"
And other speakers (to be confirmed later) on "Human Rights – India "

Organised by: Dharma Rain Centre, Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom and Friends of Tibet.

December 11, 2007 (Tue) 6.30pm
Public Talk at Manuski Centre, Deccan College Road, Yerawada
"The Wheel of Life (Bhava Chakra)"
Ven. Lhakdor will unveil of a tracing of the Wheel of Life and give a talk on its significance. The tracing was made in 1948 by Li Gotami from the Tsaporang Caves in Tibet.

December 12, 2007 (Wed) Morning/Afternoon
Interaction with college students

6.30 pm
Screening & Discussion
Max Mueller Bhavan, Rampart Row, Kalaghoda. Screening & Discussion on "Travellers and Magicians", a film by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (Khyentse Norbu) whose first film was "The Cup". Sponsors: Max Mueller Bhavan, Dharma Rain centre

December 13, 2007 (Thu) 2pm
Film Screening & Interaction with students of XIC (Xavier Institute of Communications)
On the college campus, open only to the students of the college.
6.15 pm Talk and Discussion at P.E.N. All India Centre, Theosophy Hall .
Ven. Lhakdor - "Faith and Reason in the Dharma"
This will be the inaugural talk in a monthly series titled "spiritlevel@PEN".

December 14, 2007 (Fri) 6.30pm
Interaction with college students. Public Talk - Chunabhatti Buddha Vihara
Ven. Lhakdor will address a mainly Buddhist audience from the local area, and other members of the Vihara community. His talk will be translated into Marathi.

December 15-16, 2007 (Sat) 10am-6pm
Workshop/Retreat

To know more, email Dharma Rain Centre at: dharmaraincentre@gmail.com, dharmaraincentre@vsnl.net or call Aspi Mistry: 986927904; abmistry@vsnl.com / Supriya Rai, 9821050797

November 22: "Anti-Colonialism Day"

2007-11-22T10:47:00.000+05:30

The Resolution number "49/89 Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples" of 7th February 1995 adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations as follows: "Having examined the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1/Recalling its resolution 1514(XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all its subsequent resolutions concerning the implementation of the Declaration, most recently resolution 48/52 of 10 December 1993, as well as the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, Recognizing that the eradication of colonialism is one of the priorities of the Organization for the decade that began in 1990, Deeply conscious of the need to take, speedily, measures to eliminate the last vestiges of colonialism by the year 2000, as called for in its resolution 43/47 of 22 November 1988."

The above-cited resolution, ratified even by China, makes it the moral responsibility of the UN and the member nations of this body to call a special meeting of the General Assembly and impress upon China that in view of this Resolution, China must restore full independence to whole of Tibet i.e. all the three provinces and its people.

Call upon the United Nations to fulfill its obligation in view of its 1993 UN Declaration that there should remain no colonised country in the world by the year 2000. Remind the United Nations to implement its resolutions on Colonialism.

Solidarity with Ronggye A'drak (Calcutta, Nov 24, 2007)

2007-11-22T10:02:00.000+05:30

Friends of Tibet (Calcutta) will be holding a candle light vigil in Solidarity with Ronggye A'drak, the Tibetan detained and sentenced for calling for the reuturn of the Dalai Lama and speaking out for Tibet's Independence at a peaceful solo demonstration at the annual Lithang horse race festival in Kardze, Tibet on 1 August 2007. A public meet and candle light vigil will be held at the Mahatma Gandhi statue, Mayo Road, Calcutta on November 24, 2007 (Saturday) at 5.30pm. All are invited.

To know more, call Dhondup Gyarong +919830627648 or email: friendsoftibet.calcutta@gmail.com.

"Theatre of the Oppressed" (Dharamshala, November 19-24, 2007)

2007-11-16T21:17:00.000+05:30

When Brazilian theatre activist Augusto Boal created this new interactive theatrical mechanism and called it "Theatre of the Oppressed" who would have imagined that one day it would be brought to Dharamshala by two Indian Tibet supporters for the use of young exiled Tibetans?

Friends of Tibet organises a five-day theatre workshop in Dharamshala for a mix of 20 Tibetan and Indian youngsters living in Dharamshala from November 19-24, 2007. "We don't have to shout our lungs out all the time, we can act and demonstrate our pain and give voice to our frustration through drama. Theatre is also a process of self introspection for the self and to the society and it becomes a collective expression at the time of public performances", says organiser Tenzin Tsundue, who is himself a theatre freak. "Some times we can just come out into the streets and laugh at giant China's paranoia and fear of one Buddhist monk" he added.

For the purpose of training, Friends of Tibet has roped in two of the most experienced and active India theatre activists Jaya Aiyer and Ishtiaq who are especially experienced in the Theatre of the Oppressed. Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Opressed is studied and used in many places in India for both social and political causes like communalism, environment protection and AIDS awareness.

Founding director of the Center for the Theatre of the Oppressed, University of Nebraska Prof Doug Paterson says "Boal's explorations were based on the assumption that dialogue is the common, healthy dynamic between all humans, that all human beings desire and are capable of dialogue, and that when a dialogue becomes a monologue, oppression ensues. Theatre then becomes an extraordinary tool for transforming monologue into dialogue."

In the five-day theatre workshop the participants will learn voice modulation, body language, sense of space and whole gamut of theatre languages and mechanics. There is also an active yoga training every morning.

A group of Indian and Tibetan youngsters will undergo the theatre training camped at an Indian village called Garoh seven Kilometres down the valley from Dharamshala. The Indians and Tibetan youth will later give a performance at the end of the workshop in Dharamshala.

This event of Friends of Tibet is supported by Foundation for Universal Responsibility, New Delhi. To know more, email: tenzin.tsundue@friendsoftibet.org or call: +91.9418079832

36-hrs Fast in New Delhi (Oct 13-14, 2007)

2007-10-12T20:38:00.000+05:30

Two members of Friends of Tibet will observe a 36 hours fast from October 13-14 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi from 9am. The fast is in protest against China's State Administration of Religious Affairs' so-called "Order No: 5" - measures for the reincarnation of "Living Buddhas", which was put into effect on September 1 this year, and also to show solidarity to Tibetan Youth Congress activits who are currently in Tihar Jail for peacefully protesting at the Chinese Embassy on October 10, 2007.

To know more or to join the hunger strike, call Shibayan Raha at: +91.9891849844 or email:
shibayan.raha@friendsoftibet.org

'Missing' Tibet Activist Returns (Sept 20, 2007)

2007-09-20T22:12:00.000+05:30

The Mumbai-based National Coordinator of Friends of Tibet, CA Kallianpur, returned to the city on Wednesday after the Mathura police arranged for his journey back home. Kallianpur had gone missing on September 12 when he was en route to Delhi by the Paschim Express to attend a seminar on India's policy regarding China.

"He has returned but is in an extremely poor physical shape after being drugged," said a colleague. Kallianpur's mobile phone had been traced to Jaipur where it was being used by one Jeetendra - a resident of Alwar village, also in Rajasthan. Jeetendra told police that the phone had been "gifted" to him by his father Kailash Chand. Police said that Chand was probably Kallianpur's co-passenger on the train.

The Rajasthan police - assisted by officials of Reliance Telecommunications - had questioned several people who had received calls from Kallianpur's mobile number to try and get to the bottom of the case.

"Kallianpur may have been in Mathura all this while. A lot of loose ends still need to be tied up in this case," said Sethu Das, Friends of Tibet founding president. Even as Kallianpur's colleagues believe that a planned robbery may have been the reason behind his "mysterious disappearance," the organisation does not rule out a "larger conspiracy" behind the entire episode. "We can afford to discount other possibilities, especially in view of the fact that Kallianpur had been dealing with sensitive issues concerning Tibet, China and India," said Das.

Organisation members said that the Friends of Tibet office had recently received an e-mail from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China which said authorities had no information about Kallianpur.

Friends of Tibet has also drawn attention to the fact that his name was missing from the list of passengers on the Paschim Express on September 11.

(Report by Anupam Dasgupta, DNA)

Mystery Deepens Over Kallianpur's Disappearance (Sept 18, 2007)

2007-09-18T13:32:00.000+05:30

CA Kallianpur in his reading room in Bombay (Photo: Shibayan Raha)

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of CA Kallianpur, National Coordinator of Friends of Tibet deepens as the officials go clueless. The 54-year old Tibet Activist and Researcher was travelling from Bombay to New Delhi on September 11, 2007 to organise a panel discussion on "India's Foreign Policy on China" at the India International Centre on September 13, 2007 and never reached New Delhi.

Kallianpur's mobile which was traced to Jaipur Circle in Rajasthan was found with Jeetendra, a young boy in Kishenganj village, near Alwar in Rajasthan, who was gifted the handset by his father Kailash Chand who happened to be travelling on the same train on September 11, 2007. The police in Alwar managed to get Kallianpur's phone call record list from Reliance Mobile September 11-13, 2007 and have questioned those who received calls from this mobile number.

While questioning, Kailash Chand admitted that he found the phone lying under a seat in the compartment in which he travelled from 11pm, 11sept till 7am on 12 Sept, when he got down at Mathura Junction. Kailash Chand said he asked co-passengers whom the phone belonged to and for the answer they said, "It might be that of the person who fell down in the train" he was shown the photograph of the missing person, but he said he had not seen him on the train at all and refused any role in the disappearance of the person. Though there is a breakthrough by the Rajasthan police, the police in Bombay are clueless.

According to the Railway officials, there are no cases of any passenger having fallen ill or meeting with an accident at any of the stations between Bombay and Amritsar on Paschim Express route on that day. What is also mysterious is that according to railway officials no person by the name CA Kallianpur had travelled on the train on September 11, 2007 as his name doesn't appear anywhere on the list. Though strangely his mobile phone was found on the same train on September 12, 2007 around at 7am, about 19 hours train journey from Bombay.

Though Friends of Tibet believe that robbery was the reason behind his disappearance, the organisation does not rule out other possibilities due to the seriousness of the work he is involved with. Meanwhile on September 14, 2007 one of the Friends of Tibet campaigners received an email from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in India informing "Sorry. WE DON'T have anything in this regard yet."

Any information regarding Kallianpur would be appreciated, please call: 9833191592 (Sethu Das), 9971448216 (Tenzin Tsundue), 989184984 (Shibayan Raha), 9810205217 (Chaman Sharma) or email: support@friendsoftibet.org

Tibet Activist Goes Missing (Sept 14, 2007)

2007-09-14T15:47:00.000+05:30

Tibet Activist and Researcher Mr CA Kallianpur (54) has gone missing since September 11, 2007, and there has been no news of him up to now. Kallianpur, who is the National Coordinator of Friends of Tibet, was travelling from Bombay to New Delhi to organise a conference on "India's Foreign Policy on China" at the India International Centre, New Delhi to be held on September 13, 2007. He was travelling by Paschim Express (2925) with his Tatkal ticket but never reached the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi, where he was supposed to reach by 11:30am on September 12, 2007. Family and friends of Kallianpur have been frantically searching for him since then. Both the Railway Police Station at Bandra in Mumbai and New Delhi refused to accept missing person reports, saying that they are not duty bound to do so in this case. However, the police stations agreed to keep personal details of the missing person and the search party's contact details.

Through our efforts, we could trace the mobile number, which Kallianpur was carrying at the time of travelling, to Jaipur in the Rajasthan circle and which was picked up by someone named Jeetendra on September 12, 2007 at 6:39pm and at 6:49pm. We could also hear the voices of some other people in the background. The mobile is switched off since yesterday.

Though we believe that robbery was the reason behind his disappearance, we do not rule out other possibilities due to the seriousness of the work he is involved with. He was on his way to New Delhi to coordinate a panel discussion on "India's China Policy- Need for an Overhaul" organised by Friends of Tibet on September 13, 2007. It was conceptualised by Kallianpur himself with speakers like: Prof Bharat Karnad (National Security Studies, Centre for Policy Research), Dr Mohan Guruswamy (Centre for Policy Alternatives Society) Dr Shrikanth Kondapalli (Chinese Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University) and Dr LL Mehrotra (Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs).

What further fuels the suspicion of foul play and motives beyond robbery, is that in a similar case, only about 18 days ago (August 24, 2007) Geenpeace and Friends of Tibet Campaigner VJ Jose was drugged on a train while returning from New Delhi to Kerala was found unconscious at Jhansi railway station in Madhya Pradesh. There were marks of severe beatings on his feet.

Personal details: Height 5.3 feet, wheatish complexion, speaks Hindi, English, Marathi and Konkani. He was carrying a brown suitcase while travelling. Usually wears trousers and full-sleeved shirts. He has streaks of gray hair though he keeps it short. He wears spectacles all the time.
Any information on Kallianpur would be highly appreciated. Please contact: 9833191592 (Sethu Das), 9418079832, 9971448216 (Tenzin Tsundue) / 9810205217 (Chaman Sharma) or email: support@friendsoftibet.org

News Items on Kallianpur's Disappearance:
Times of India (Sept 15, 2007) / Hindustan Times (Sept 15, 2007) / IANS (Sept 15, 2007)

India's China Policy- Need for an Overhaul (Sept 13, 2007, New Delhi)

2007-09-05T10:44:00.000+05:30

Date: 13th September 2007, Thursday
Time: 9am to 2pm
Venue: India International Centre, Commitee Room 3, Annexure Building, 40 Maxmueller Marg, New Delhi 110003.

Though India had fought and continues to fight western colonialism and Gandhi even gave his entire life to get rid off and not preserve colonialism, Gandhi's successors have given fillip to eastern especially Chinese colonialism as a result of which even sixty years after the formation of the United Nations there are large parts in Asia that do not have feedom and there still remain many remnants of colonial rule in need of decolonisation like Tibet, Manchuria, Inner ie. Southern Mongolia, Eastern Turkestan, Yunnan and Guangxi-Zhuang.

In spite of new evidence surfacing about the political status of Tibet, India continues to wallow in old thinking.

To critically examine this and put a nail in the coffin of Chinese colonialism, Friends of Tibet is holding a panel discussion ''India's China Policy- Need for an Overhaul'' at the Annexure Building of the India International Centre, New Delhi.

The topic will be addressed by: Prof. Bharat Karnad: Research Professor, National Security Studies, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
Dr. Mohan Guruswamy: Chairman, Centre for Policy Alternatives Society, New Delhi
Dr. Srikanth Kondapalli: Associate Professor, Chinese Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Dr. L.L Mehrotra, Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs will be the Chairperson.

To know more, call: Aprajita Sarcar: 9899086964 / Tarini Mehta: 9810513969 / Sethu Das: 9833191592 or email: friendsoftibet.delhi@gmail.com

'Revisiting Tiananmen' (Calcutta, June 3, 2007)

2007-05-30T10:20:00.000+05:30

On June 4, 1989, hundreds of peaceful democracy activists were massacred by the Chinese Government at Tiananmen, Beijing, China. The Tienanmen Massacre became one of the most atrocious attack on democracy and human rights in the modern era.

On June 3, 2007, Friends of Tibet (Calcutta) is organising an interactive-session where we will revisit Tienanmen and the massacre of that fateful day. The session will be followed by the screening of the documentary film: "Tienanmen: Gateway to Heavenly Peace." Please join and share your views with us.

Venue: Chitrakoot Art Gallery, 55 Gariahat Road, Near Ballygaunje Phari, Calcutta 700 019, West Bengal. Date and time: June 3, 2007 at 4pm

To know more about the event, email: friendsoftibet.calcutta@gmail.com