A protester at the Tibetan rally in Siliguri. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, March 18: Exiled Tibetans living in the eastern and north-eastern parts of India plan to march towards their homeland through Nathu-la in North Sikkim to join the fight against China.

The plan was mooted at the end of a rally organised by the North-East Tibetan Youth Congress (NETYC) and several other associations here today to express support for the ongoing protests in Tibet.

“We are thinking of heading towards Tibet through Nathu-la and joining the protests,” said Ugyen Tsewang, the secretary of the NETYC. “The decision will be finalised in a couple of days.”

“We are aware that the border is guarded by the Indian and Chinese armies,” Ugyen added. “Nevertheless, we will march ahead and enter Tibet through Nathu-la.”

The NETYC secretary, however, did not disclose the number of people who would march to the India-China border.

Currently, around 80,000 Tibetans live in India, 20,000 in Nepal, 2,000 in Bhutan and 30,000 in the rest of the world, the association leaders said.

“We have been living in exile since 1959 and generations of us, including me, have never seen our motherland,” said the 30-year-old Ugyen.

“We want to return to our own country and want the Indian government and the people to take up the issue with the Chinese authorities.”

About 3,000 people marched through the streets of Siliguri today, raising slogans for “Independent Tibet”. They also burnt effigies of the Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Several youngsters participating in the rally, including Ugyen, said it was necessary to mount pressure on the Chinese government for complete independence instead of trying to earn autonomy for Tibet through non-violence and dialogue.

“His Holiness the Dalai Lama has conceded a week ago that there has been no concrete results at all despite several rounds of dialogues,” Gompo Tenzin, a Tibetan living in Darjeeling, said. “We insist on total independence.”

Dhemey Pasang, another Tibetan from Kalimpong who participated in the rally, echoed Tenzin.

“We are at the crossroads and yet to decide on future course of action. But it is a fact that Tibetans residing in and outside Tibet have run out of patience,” he said.

The other organisations that participated in today’s rally included the Tibetan Women’s Association and the Himalayan Buddhists’ Association.