DHARAMSHALA: A Tibetan woman burned herself to death on the night of Thursday, 5 March, following the celebration of Chotrul Monlam, the 15th day of the Tibetan lunar calendar, according to information received from Kirti monastery in India.
Norchuk, 47, set herself on fire in her village of Trotsuk, Ngaba County (incorporated into China’s Sichuan Province). She was the fifth Tibetan woman to set herself ablaze from Ngaba County, where most of the Tibetan self-immolation protests against the Chinese government had taken place.
Norchuk is survived by her parents Tsedak and Youdon, her husband Palzel and their three children. Norchuk had also taken a vow recently to become a lifelong vegetarian for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Norchuk’s body was cremated the next day early in the morning to avert the Chinese authorities from seizing her body.
Her self-immolation took the total self-immolation protest inside Tibet since 2009 to 136. Out of which 117 died while the rest were critically injured or their whereabouts remain unknown to this day. (See Fact-sheet)