DHARAMSHALA: Dorjee Tsering, a sixteen-year-old Tibetan boy set himself on fire at Herbertpur near Dehradun in Northern India on 29 February to protest against the Chinese government and highlight the Tibet issue. He is currently hospitalised in Safdurjung Hospital in New Delhi, undergoing critical treatment for burn injuries.

On behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration, Representative Tempa Tsering from the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi visited the boy and his parents at the hospital. He consoled the boy and his grieving parents, and assured every assistance required from the Central Tibetan Administration.

Tibetan Homes Foundation, the school where Dorje Tsering is a student, has also sent its Education Officer and another senior staff to meet the boy. The school will bear the entire cost of treatment for the boy.

Dorjee Tsering set himself ablaze around 8:30 am on 29 February at the Home for elderly in Doegu- Yugyalling Tibetan settlement in Herbertpur. His family hails from Manali and is currently a tenth standard student at Tibetan Homes Foundation in Mussoorie. He is the youngest among his five siblings.

In a video circulating on social media, a boy in intensive medical care believed to be Dorje Tsering, is seen saying “This act I think will evoke shock from anyone who hears of it. People will think that a boy has burned himself for his country and it will create awareness. Countries like England, America and Africa will know of Tibet and support for us will strengthen. Free Tibet and I pray that His Holiness lives for many thousand years. ”