Shimla: True to its reputation, The Ridge road, situated along the Mall Road, Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, India was indeed the hub of cultural activities as evidenced by the Thank-you event on October 15, organized by Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Tibetan people in Shimla.
The celebratory event started with a special video message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in which, he thanked the government of Himachal Pradesh and its people for facilitating him and the Tibetan people over the past 60 years.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Speaker Ven. Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok expressed his gratitude to the people and the government of India, on behalf of Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, for hosting and facilitating the Tibetan people, he elucidated on the centuries-old relationship between India and Tibet.
‘India-Tibet shares various aspects of relationships, from the two countries’ shared geographical borders to its sociocultural, language and tradition to commerce. Pandits from India and Lotsawa (translators) from Tibet traveled to and fro from the two countries from the 7 to 17 century. The relationship shared between the two is etched deeply in the history, especially with Himachal Pradesh. Tibet and Himachal have especially shared commercial relationship for over 333 years. The Shimla Accord in 1913-14 between China, Tibet, and British India was another testament to the undeniable relationship between India-Tibet,’ said the Deputy Speaker.
He further talked about Tibet’s journey into exile and the resettlement project that followed including the establishment of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala where His Holiness residence is situated. Deputy Speaker also talked about the grave situation inside Tibet. He, therefore, thanked the people and the government of India for their generosity and hospitality rendered to the Tibetans specifically by India’s first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad to the incumbent President Sh. Ram Nath Kovind; from first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to the incumbent Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and especially from the first Governor of Himachal Pradesh Sh. S. Chakravarti to the present Governor Sh. Acharya Dev Vrat and the state’s first Chief Minister Sh. Y.S. Parmar to the present Chief Minister Sh. Jai Ram Thakur.
After his speech, the event continued with its program and saw beautiful cultural performances by artists from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA).
-Filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat
