Cricketing legend and former West Indies cricket captain Vivian Richards wished Tibet on its independence day writing on microblogging site Twitter: “Happy Independence Day, Tibet” Wat To Go.
Tibetans around the world celebrate February 13 as the ‘Tibetan Independence Day’. On this day in 1913, the 13th Dalai Lama issued a five-point proclamation which guides the working of the Tibetan administration.
Tibet is currently controlled by China. And, China has been consistently refusing to grant any autonomy or freedom to the Tibetan people.
Fearing for his life, the 14th Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living here since. He runs the Tibetan’s spiritual and political activities from Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
Lakhs of Tibetans have been killed and thousands of monasteries destroyed by the Chinese government. From time to time, China has termed Dalai Lama ‘evil’.
China, which has a history of occupying other country’s territory, has been aggravating boundary disputes with many neighbouring countries.
Under its ‘One China’ policy, the Chinese government does not recognise the sovereignty of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet. And doesn’t let any government around the world deal with these areas.
US lawmaker Scott Perry presented a bill in Congress last year to recognise Tibet as an independent country.
The 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 “for advocating peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people.” He was also awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2006 for his efforts.
