New Delhi: Legendary West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards lent support to Tibet’s freedom movement Saturday, as Losar (the Tibetan new year) coincided with a date marked by Tibetans as independence day. His tweet went viral, gaining over 73,000 likes and 19,000 retweets in 10 hours.
“Happy Independence Day, Tibet" Way To Go #FreedomForTibet
— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) February 13, 2021
The date 13 February is observed as Tibetan Independence Day. It is on this day in 1913 that the 13th Dalai Lama issued a five-point proclamation meant to reassert Tibetan independence, and outlined its protection as a duty of all citizens. The day assumed added significance after China’s occupation of Tibet in 1950, with exiled Tibetans marking the day every year.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wished the Tibetans on their new year, but didn’t refer to the independence movement. Instead, he said the Biden administration is committed to “preserving, protecting and honouring this linguistic, religious and cultural heritage” of Tibetans.
Sending warm wishes to all those around the world who are celebrating Losar. May Tibet’s rich traditions symbolizing love, compassion, justice, forgiveness, tolerance, and peace live on in those who celebrate today, just as they have for centuries. pic.twitter.com/kmPoWgrpaw
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 13, 2021
Several BJP leaders use hashtag
Prominent users who employed the hashtag #FreedomforTibet included Kanpur BJP MP Satyadev Pachauri, who said the world is coming together against “expansionist” China.
चीन से कब्जे वाले तिब्बत की आजादी के लिए आवाजें पिछले दशकों में मजबूत हुई हैं। तिब्बत के साथ और विस्तारवादी-कब्जे वाले चीन #FreedomForTibet के खिलाफ पूरी दुनिया खड़ी है।
— Satyadev Pachauri (@sdPachauri1) February 13, 2021
Other BJP leaders tweeted with the hashtag too.
World governments MUST take immediate multilateral action against Beijing’s authoritarian rule by challenging China’s illegal occupation of Tibet and by rejecting the ‘One China Policy’ in theory and practice. #FreedomForTibet
— Dinesh Chaudhary MLA (@dineshbjp09) February 13, 2021
India officially recognises Tibet Autonomous Region as a part of Chinese territory, even as exiled Tibetans — including the Dalai Lama — have found a home in the country. The tweets by the BJP leaders on Tibetan freedom come amid strains in India-China ties on account of the stand-off in Ladakh.
In an interview to ThePrint last year, Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, had warned that China’s expansionary policies will also hurt India.
“We have been saying for the last 60 years after the occupation of Tibet that what happened to Tibet could happen to all neighbouring countries, including India, and now it is happening. Since Doklam it has been happening and border incursions have been increasing every year. This is the pattern and expansionist design of the Chinese government,” he had said.
Also read: How US bill on Tibet can check Chinese excesses, but why India’s hands are still tied