DHARAMSALA: Himalaya Pariwar, a Tibet support group based in Dharamsala, today organised a speech competition on Tibet at Dayanand Model Senior Secondary School in Dharamsala.

The students from three Indian schools presented speeches on a wide-range of Tibet-related issues such as Tibet’s independence, security of India, Indo-Tibetan relations, Tibet’s history, environment, culture and religion. The Dayanand Model Senior Secondary School won the competition.

Mr Rohan Chand Thakur, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kangra was the chief guest at the function. He said India is an independent nation and we need to support the issue of Tibet transparently without any fear.   
 
He spoke about minor problems and misunderstanding arising out of some communication gaps between the Indian and Tibetans. “We must organise more events like these to bridge that gap and strengthen friendly relations between the two communities”, he said.
 
Mr Lobsang Rinkartsang, Additional Secretary of Tibet Policy Institute of the Central Tibetan Administration, was one of the guests at the function. He mentioned about the special bond between India and Tibet in the field of religion, culture, language and history for thousands of years. 

Representatives from Tibetan NGOs like Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Women’s Association attended the event.

The Tibet Museum of the Department of Information & International Relations (DIIR) organised a photo exhibition on the glimpses on the history of Tibet on the occasion. The circulation desk of the DIIR distributed books and pamphlets on Tibet to the participants.