Damdul being stopped by Tibetan volunteers as he attempts to set himself on fire. (AFP)

Rangpo, March 26: A Tibetan from Shillong tried to set himself on fire here today to protest against “Chinese brutality” in Lhasa, but marchers accompanying him managed to douse him with water in the nick of time.

However, the march to Tibet through Nathu-la in East Sikkim was called off and so was the hunger strike after a plea from Sherad Tharshing, an emissary of the Dalai Lama, the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile at Dharamshala. “He told us that the Dalai Lama desired that we call off the hunger strike and return home in the name of peace,” said Dawa Gyalpo, the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress for the Northeast.

Thirty-one-year old Kalsang Damdul said his “inner voice” had driven him to end his life. Damdul, who runs a small restaurant at Barabazar in Shillong, had taken kerosene from a nearby tea stall. “But before I could light up, others started pouring water over me,” said Damdul.

“Ever since I saw the pictures of Chinese brutality, I became emotional. I got to know about the march from Salugarah to Tibet and readily agreed to be part of the protest. However, on reaching here, I was frustrated by the Sikkim government’s refusal to let us in. Today, at the diktat of my inner voice I tried to set myself on fire,” added Damdul.

The Tibetans had been on hunger strike at Rangpo, on the Sikkim-Bengal border, for three days after they were stopped from entering the hill state.

Tharshing said he has been in Siliguri for the past two days to form the West Bengal-Sikkim chapter of the Tibetan Solidarity Committee in India.

“I received a message from our government-in-exile that the Dalai Lama wanted both the fast and the protests in Rangpo to end because we respect the confidence that the Indian government has in us and do not want to create law and order problems,” he said.

The protesters disbanded at 7pm and started heading either to Siliguri or Kalimpong. They had set off from Siliguri on March 20 to protest against the recent Chinese crackdown in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

The TAR has been periodically restive since Chinese troops invaded it in 1950. Nine years later, the Dalai Lama staged a failed uprising against the Chinese rule and fled into exile in India. Buddhist monks had taken to Lhasa’s streets around 15 days ago to mark the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising against the Communist rule, triggering a crackdown.

The march from Siliguri was part of the “back to Tibet” programme.

Police, however, said they were not aware of any self-immolation bid.