Udhagamandalam: Over 200 Tibetan refugees took out a peace procession in the town on Sunday to commemorate the 60th ‘Uprising day of Tibet’.

Clad in their traditional dress and armed with placards, the refugees took out a peace procession covering over 4km starting from the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) gate to Ooty main bus stand. In a bid to pay respect to more than 152 people, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet through self-immolations, since February 27, 2009, the Tibetans chanted prayers during the procession.

“Every year, we organize a peace march on March 10 wherever we live”, said Chimey Yougyal, a member of the Nilgiri Tibetans’ Association. He said, “Over 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed by the Chinese rule in Tibet since 1959.” The marchers also lamented that Tibet once a peaceful buffer state between India and China has been transformed into a vast military base.

About 74 Tibetan families are living in the hill town for the past over thirty years. And they have been allotted 74 tiny shops for their business by the government near GBG. Almost all the Tibetan families are engaged in their traditional trade of woolen garments business in the town.

