Tibetan Leaders Interact With Students Of Bhubaneswar’s SOA

Bhubaneswar: Three members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who are on a visit to Odisha, interacted with students of Siksha ‘O’ Ausandhan Deemed to be University (SOA-DU) here on Thursday.

Youdon Aukatsang said Tibet always shared strong ties with India which transcended religion and language.

“Buddhism, the religion of the Tibetans, had its roots in India as also our language,” Aukatsang told the students.

Aukatsang and Ven. Geshi Monlam Tharchin spoke about the present situation in Tibet, which has been under Chinese occupation since 1959. Many Tibetans including spiritual leader Dalai Lama had shifted to India and are living here for the last 64 years, they said.

“The Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile is located at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and we have been trying to create awareness about the situation in our country,” Aukatsang said. She informed students that the Tibetan government-in-exile has its own currency and passport.

Ven. Tharchin said Tibetan people were thankful to successive Indian governments for supporting them and allowed their religion and culture to flourish here, adding that the Dalai Lama was highly impressed by the vibrant democracy in this country.

Ven. Tharchin and Tashi Dhondup spoke on ‘India and Tibet — Shared Heritage and Shared Future’.

Prof. Nachieketa K Sharma, SOA’s Director for University Outreach Programme, spoke about high-quality Tibetan paintings and aspirations of Tibetan people to have democracy in their country. Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare) proposed the vote of thanks.