The Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) recently held a one-hour prayer service in the north Indian Himalayan city of Dharamshala to pay homage to those peaceful Tibetan protesters who participated in the 1989 demonstrations against the Chinese government.
The CTA holds special prayers every year to mark the occasion.
Cabinet Secretary Tsegyal Chukya Dranyi reflected the importance of the prayer service.
In 1989, thousands of Tibetans had assembled on the streets of Lhasa to oppose the oppressive and unjust policies imposed by the Chinese government while also marking the 29th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.
The Chinese government retaliated by imposing martial law and opening fire on the protesters.
Tibet is a region covering much of the Tibetan Plateau in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa, and Lhoba peoples and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui people.
China took control over Tibet in 1950.
Armed conflict between Tibetan guerillas and the People’s Liberation Army(PLA) had started in 1956 in the Kham and Amdo regions, which had been subjected to socialist reform. The guerrilla warfare later spread to other areas of Tibet and lasted through 1962. The anniversary of the uprising is observed by Tibetan exiles as the ”Tibetan Uprising Day”.
In early 1959 during the Tibetan uprising,their spiritual leader (Nobel Peace Winner) the Dalai Lama and his retinue fled Tibet with the help of the CIA’s Special Activities Division, crossing into India on 30 March 1959. He is based in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh since then.
