New Delhi

Tibetan groups in India on Tuesday marked the 67th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising with protests and remembrance programmes, renewing calls for a peaceful resolution to the Sino-Tibetan conflict.

In the national capital, Delhi Police detained 24 protesters demonstrating outside the Embassy of China in New Delhi. Officials said additional police personnel were deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

The commemorations were also held in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the Tibetan government-in-exile.

In a remembrance programme organised by the CTA, several international leaders attended the event, including former president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering, Vice President of the Senate of the Czech Republic Jiri Oberfalzer and German MP Michael Brand.

According to the CTA, the anniversary commemorates the 1959 uprising in Lhasa against Chinese rule, during which thousands of Tibetans lost their lives.

Speakers at the event emphasised the need for continued international advocacy for human rights and a peaceful solution to the long-standing dispute between Tibetans and China.

Pöttering, who attended the programme as chief guest, condemned what he described as “demographic aggression and cultural genocide” in Tibet and expressed confidence that freedom and peace would eventually come for the Tibetan people.

He also urged the international community to stand firm in defence of democratic values, saying Tibetans represent universal ideals such as dignity, freedom and the rule of law.

Oberfalzer said that despite China’s annexation of Tibet in the 1950s, the territory could not be regarded as a legitimate part of China under international law, arguing that territory acquired through military aggression cannot be recognised as lawful.

Brand said that although Chinese communist forces had succeeded in occupying Tibetan territory, they had not been able to “conquer the spirit and soul of the Tibetan nation”.

Meanwhile, members of the Tibetan community and their supporters gathered near the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi and raised slogans marking the day.

The protest was organised by the Tibetan Youth Congress, one of the largest Tibetan organisations in exile, to draw attention to the situation in Tibet.

Demonstrators held placards and chanted slogans calling for justice, freedom and respect for Tibetan rights, while also criticising the Chinese Communist Party.

A senior police officer said 24 people were detained from the protest site and taken to different police stations.

“It is the 67th Tibetan National Uprising Day. This is not just a number for us. We have been fighting since the very beginning and have been in exile for the last 67 years,” one protester said, adding that Tibetans were striving to preserve their culture and identity.

The CTA said the anniversary is marked each year to remember the sacrifices made during the 1959 uprising and to highlight what it described as continuing restrictions on political and cultural freedoms in Tibet.

At the same time, the administration reiterated its commitment to the “Middle Way” approach, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within China through peaceful negotiations.

The organisation also warned against misinformation campaigns aimed at disrupting the commemorations.

According to the CTA, 2026 marks the 90th year of the 14th Dalai Lama, which it has designated as the “Year of Compassion”. It urged people to follow the Tibetan spiritual leader’s four core commitments: promotion of human values, religious harmony, preservation of Tibet’s culture and environment, and revival of ancient Indian knowledge.

The remembrance programme was also attended by Indresh Kumar, a senior leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and founder of the Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, who expressed hope for dialogue and paid tribute to those who lost their lives during the uprising.

During the event, CTA President Penpa Tsering also launched a new publication titled “A Chronicle of Tibet's Foreign Relations and Policy (7th–21st Century)”, published in the Tibetan language by the Department of Information and International Relations.

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The CTA said March 10 remains a powerful symbol for Tibetans around the world, representing not only the memory of the uprising but also their continuing struggle to preserve their language, religion and cultural identity.