Deoria, UP: If it would have been asked to name one of those all weathered politicians or rather popularly addressed as social activists who have stood and voiced for Tibet during all these decades, especially in the 80s and 90s, then it would be incomplete without including Shri Mohan Singh in the list. 

Shri Mohan Singh was a socialist leader, and a politician elected three times to the Lok Sabha from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. He served as the Convener of All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) with Shri George Fernandes as its Chairman, which resulted in the successful holding of the First World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet (WPCT) at New Delhi in 1994.

During the official visit of the ITCO Coordinator to attend the ‘A Day for Tibet’ event being organised at Udit Narayan PG College and Buddha PG College in Padrauna and Kushinagar, respectively, from 23rd to 28th November 2021, it was rather unplanned but coincidence that an effort was explored to visit Shri Mohan Singh’s residential and constituency district Deoria to re-emphasise Tibetan’s gratitude for what he has done for Tibbat Mukti Sadhana.

Shri Mohan Singh’s daughter Smt. Kanak Lata Singh was found staying at Lucknow but not in Deoria and with the assistance of Shri Vinod Jaiswal, who had shared not only his experience working under the guidance of Shri Mohan Singh but also his blessings and inspiration that he believes he can count on for the remaining days of his life. 

In addition to this, Shri Surendra Kumar, former Secretary to Gandhi Peace Foundation and AVARD and presently the National Co-Convener of Core Group for Tibetan Cause – India, suggested meeting some other distinguished members whose contributions and ideologies have also added more fuel to this journey of Tibet’s self-determination. 

Not only the Coordinator for ITCO could visit the residence of late Shri Mohan Singh but also met Shri Ramashish Rai, Former MLC; Shri Hardyanand Jaiswal – one of the renowned social activists and Shri Avanish Yadav (Former President of Allahabad Student’s Union) and others during the course of this visit who had shared their experiences of associations with Tibbat Mukti Sadhana and expectations about how much India and Indians could or should do more in amplifying the voice of Tibetan’s plight for the preservation of its identity and its struggle against Chinese Communist expansionist policy.

-Report filed by India-Tibet Coordination Office (ITCO)