DHARAMSHALA: Mr Mohan Singh, a senior member of Indian Parliament and leader of Samajwadi Party, who has unflinchingly advocated the cause of Tibet in the Indian Parliament and other international forums over the past many decades, has passed away.

Mr Mohan Singh breathed his last at AIIMS in Delhi on Sunday after prolonged battle with cancer. He was 68. 

On hearing the sad news, we met Mr Singh’s family members to express our prayers and heartfelt condolences, said a senior official at the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Delhi. 

Mr Singh played a vital role in the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPT), which has consistently raised the issue of Tibet in the Indian Parliament and other international platforms since its inception in 1970s.  The APIPT supported dialogue process between His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese leadership to resolve the problem of Tibet. 

During his efficient tenure of Convenor of APIPT, His Holiness the Dalai Lama honoured us by delivering a speech to the Parliamentarians in Parliament House Annexe which witnessed participation from 110 senior Parliamentarians including Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who later became prime minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, the current Convenor of APIPT and former cabinet minister, had said. 

The first World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet (WPCT) was held in Delhi in 1994 after Mr Mohan Singh took over the responsibility of APIPT’s Convenor. He took part in the second WPCT in Lithuania in 1995.

Mr Mohan Singh was appointed as one of co-convenors following the reconstitution of the APIPT in May 2002. 

He visited Dharamsala to express his solidarity with the Tibetan people in March 2008 when the Chinese government cracked down on the widespread protests by Tibetans inside Tibet. Addressing a press conference at the time, he said: “Any struggle for human rights preservation is a matter for the whole humanity.” He said he supported the statement made by India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to US that the Chinese government should start dialogue to resolve the issue of Tibet.