Veteran Tibetan Activist Continues 6th Solo Cycle Rally from Dharamshala to Delhi
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 27 May: Veteran Tibetan activist Jamyang Tenzin departed from Dharamshala today to continue his sixth “Tibet awareness solo cycle rally” from Dehradun to Delhi via Dharamshala.
The solo rally aims to draw urgent attention to the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet and garner support from the government of India, its people and the international community.
Tenzin started his sixth cycle rally for Tibet from Dekyiling Tibetan Settlement in Dehradun on 25 April– coinciding with the birth anniversary of the 11th Panchen Lama. He cycled through Paonta, Nahan, Solan, Shimla, Rewalsar, and Kullu-Manali, finally arriving in Dharamsala on 25 May.
Throughout the month-long journey, the veteran activist has engaged in grassroots activism through people-to-people diplomacy by introducing Tibet to non-Tibetans and distributing leaflets on the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama.
He stated that on the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama on 17 May, he distributed press statements to tourists in Himachal’s Kullu-Manali region, known for its popular tourist attractions.
Even before Tenzin wraps up his current rally in Delhi, health permitting, he has already planned his seventh cycle rally for Tibet, from South India to Dharamshala, the headquarters of the Tibetan people in exile.
He stated that after concluding his current rally in Delhi, he plans to begin the next from the seats of the three Gelug Schools of Tibetan Buddhism in South India to mark the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama this year and to offer his gratitude to the government of India for supporting the exiled Tibetans.
Tenzin, who is now 65, stated that it will probably be his last rally, reflecting on the promise he made to his late father to continue his advocacy for the Tibetan cause until he turned 65 and as long as his health permits.
A man true to his word, Tenzin has completed five cycling rallies across the Indian subcontinent, covering a total distance of 9,550 kilometres.
Tenzin said that for his first rally, from Dharamshala to Bodh Gaya, he covered 3,000 km, followed by another 3,000 km during his second rally from Bylakuppe in Karnataka to Dekyiling in Dehradun.
His third ride, a shorter one, stretched 250 km from Dekyiling to Delhi. For the fourth rally, he cycled 800 km from Khardung La in Ladakh to Dharamshala. The fifth began in Tawang at Urgenling—the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama—and concluded in Delhi, covering 2,500 km.
