New Delhi: Tenzin Tsundu, a Tibetan activist, has completed a 20,000 kilometer walk through four states and one union territory in the Himalayas in India. His 123-day ‘Walking the Himalayas’ was aimed at creating awareness about the “increasing Chinese security threats to India”.
An activist of the Tibetan independence movement for over 25 years now, Tsundu is also a writer and lives in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. He won the ‘Outlook-Picador Award for Non-fiction’ in 2001.
Tsundue says his 2021 visit made him realize how shocked and worried the people of the Himalayas are after the 2020 Galwan Valley skirmish in Ladakh between the armies of India and China – one of the worst in 45 years, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
Nevertheless, “common people in the border areas have little or no knowledge of China’s expansionist policies and its current activities across the borders”, read a statement issued after completing the visit.
Tsundue’s speech with film projector, soundbox, bedsheet-screen
From Leh, Kargil, Zanskar to Haldwani, Nathula and Spiti, Tsundu has traveled through various villages and towns in Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh to learn about “70 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet and its impact”. To spread awareness.” Indian Himalayas”.
During his visit, he screened the film ‘Escape of the Dalai Lama from Tibet’ using a projector, a soundbox and a bedsheet screen which he carried with him.
The 80-minute film from Rangrez Films was shown at least 80 times, Tsundyu says.
He also recorded his journey on video to document the people, places and history that he had seen over a distance of 20,000 kilometres.
According to him, the journey enabled him to engage with Himalayan Indians on issues of language, culture and customs.
Sundu reached Delhi on Wednesday at the end of his 123-day journey.
Talking to ABP Live, he said that he wants to reach other parts of India as well.
“I look forward to spreading awareness about Chinese expansionist propaganda and Tibet independence movement to other corners of the country, like the South, because this is an issue that pertains to the whole of India, not just one region.” phone.
Tenzin Tsundu – writer, poet, activist
According to reports, born in a Tibetan refugee family, Tsunde is known for his active work, for which he has been detained at least 16 times. He has written three books of poetry, essays and stories on Tibetan refugees.
In 2002, Tsundue began sporting a red bandana as a sign of resistance and took a vow that he would not take it off “until Tibet was liberated”.
He represented Tibet at the Sahitya Akademi’s 2nd South Asian Literature Conference held in New Delhi in January 2005, Poetry Africa in Durban in 2005 and the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2010.
In his conversation with ABP Live, Sundue also talked about the literary developments witnessed in the Himalayan region. “Youth usually move to towns and cities and have developed the norms of reading cafes there. Such practices are frequent in Ladakh, Nainital and Haldwani, from where new poets are emerging in the literary scene.”
During his travels, Tsundew organizes creative writing workshops and poetry readings to engage youth with contemporary issues.
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