Tibet families and members of the Indo-Tibet Friendship Society on Thursday celebrated ‘Thank You India’, an expression of gratitude by the Tibetians to let the refugees live in the country for more than five decades.
With the winters setting in, the group of Tibetans traders from the hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh who descended to Steel City in order to earn a living today closed their shutters and celebrated the day.
Tibetans marked the International Human Rights Day keeping in mind the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Tibetans in exile come with stocks of woolen garments and jackets and earn a decent livelihood during their four to six months of stay. Members have come from Bangalore, parts of South India, HP, Uttranchal and Odisha.
Tenzing Namkha, president of the Tibet Market Association said, “We are thankful to India for allowing us to stay here. We have completed 55 years of exile in India and we have emerged as the most successful and peaceful refugees in the country. Therefore, we wanted to thank the Indian Government for letting us live in the country for five decades without any disturbance”.
“We have been coming to the city since 1968 and have many friends who are known to us for years. I was a young boy at that time and there were not so many vehicles or people then. The city was also not congested and there was a lot of greenery. Now with many things have changed, but the people are the same and our friendship has matured over the years,” said another trader Damdul.
“This is one place where we stay in winter. During summers, we stay in Himachal. We earn our living by selling clothes here,” said lenzin, a Tibetan shop owner.
With passage of time, the market shifted to Golmuri from Sakchi from the last eight years, the Association has claimed lesser profits due to the place. Even then it was important for the Tibets to celebrate the Dalai lama’s achievement and expressing gratitude towards India. From this year onwards, the Tibet Market has put up stalls at the Aambagan ground in Sakchi owing to the fact that the existing place in Golmuri is at one corner of the city. The new Tibet Market has started from Dec 8.
As part of the celebrations, the Tibetans along with the members from the Indo Tibetan Friendship Society conducted a prayer service to start their programme in front of the Tibet Market, Golmuri. The members then at last expressed their gratitude towards India, where they have been successful in living for years now.
The Tibetans in exile come with stocks of woolen garments and jackets and earn a decent livelihood during their four to six months long stay.