Tibetan Youth Congress Marks 56th Founding Anniversary
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 7 Oct: The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) marked its 56th founding anniversary in McLeod Ganj on Wednesday, reaffirming its commitment to Tibetan unity, the preservation of Tibetan identity and the restoration of Tibet’s independence.
The anniversary programme was held at the Tibetan Settlement Office Hall, with Gagya Gyaltsen Choekyi, a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, as the chief guest, and Tashi Targyal, Vice President of the Tibetan Youth Congress, as the special guest.
Speaking at the ceremony, Targyal said the organisation’s founding vision was centred on following the aspirations of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, strengthening unity among Tibetans beyond regional and religious differences, preserving Tibetan culture and religion, and working towards the restoration of Tibet’s independence.
Founded in Dharamsala on 7 October 1970, in the presence of the Dalai Lama, TYC has since combined political activism with social welfare and community programmes. Over the past 56 years, its chapters across India and abroad have organised demonstrations, political campaigns, international outreach and community mobilisation in support of the Tibetan cause. For Choekyi, TYC’s significance was apparent even before she came to India. Recalling her arrival in 2011 following the 2008 uprising in Tibet, she said she was unfamiliar with many institutions of the Tibetan exile community, including the Central Tibetan Administration, but already knew about TYC from her time in occupied Tibet.
She recalled that while attending school and college in Tibet, the formation of youth organisations was prohibited, which she attributed to the existence of TYC in exile. She said the organisation’s presence was known inside Tibet because of its political work for Tibetan independence and freedom, adding that even its name was not permitted to be used.
Choekyi said this demonstrated the significance TYC had acquired among Tibetans inside Tibet, while also expressing concern over what she described as a decline in participation in the organisation.
The anniversary comes as TYC continues to organise political campaigns, including the Black Hat March from Dharamsala to New Delhi, the campaign following the self-immolation of Pawo (Martyr) Lobga Rangzen outside the United Nations in New York, and the Chalo Delhi and Chalo D.C. campaigns during Xi Jinping’s visits to India and the United States.
In its anniversary statement, TYC reaffirmed its commitment to the restoration of Tibet’s complete independence and sovereignty and called on Tibetans to strengthen unity, national consciousness and collective determination in carrying forward the Tibetan national cause.
