Tibetan refugees in Ladakh come out in India's support

As the situation is unfolding along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, a groundswell of support for India has come from a small group of Tibetan refugees in Leh.

The Tibetan refugee market in Leh is run by the displaced people from Tibet whose ancestors had migrated from there in the sixties.

Yagchin is one among the few hundred running a shop of readymade goods in Leh. She says she wants to return to Tibet and she is hopeful that one day her dream will be realised.

"I was born in India, my parents came from Tibet. They have died now, but we are hopeful that we will return to Tibet one day," she said.

Yagchin says China is an expansionist power and an epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic.

"China has spread coronavirus to the world, now they are inflicting cruelty on small countries like Hong Kong," she said.

She added that it is time that the world takes notice of all that is happening in the region and helps in the liberation of Tibet.

She said Indian soldiers have suffered a big loss in the Galwan Valley, which has made everybody sad. "We should seek revenge from China," she said.

Lupsang, who also runs a readymade garment outlet, said it is time to boycott Chinese goods and products.

"China did very wrong, they stabbed India from the back. We must boycott the products and goods of China," she said.

The market of Tibetan refugees started in the 1980s. It has 145 shops, but most of them are closed after the coronavirus outbreak.

Sonam, the President of the Tibetan Market Association, said that the government must work towards realising the idea of ‘Make in India' by focussing on local production and discouraging Chinese products.

"We appeal to the government, please work on the idea of ‘Make in India'. The reality is that 80 per cent of the materials in this market are Chinese. It is very difficult for us to get Indian goods," he said.

He said Chinese transgressions are nothing new. These have been happening every year, but the Indian reaction is always subdued.

"Every year China takes a few kilometres, but India does not react. Now India has realised the gravity of the situation by losing 20 soldiers," he said.

"We consider India as our mother. We are born and brought up in India, we are Indians first. If we are asked to defend the Indian borders, we will gladly do that," he said..