All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet is Revived

By Sarah Gittleman / December 20, 2014;

Tibetan Parliamentary delegation meeting Mr HD Devegowda, former prime minister and current member of the Indian parliament
Photo: tibet.net

A ten-member Tibetan Parliamentary delegation successfully lobbied for the revival of the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) during a week-long Tibet advocacy campaign in Delhi. The campaign, which ran from December 7-15, called on more than 100 Indian lawmakers from 31 major political parties including a former prime minister, several former federal government ministers, speakers, chief ministers, and several party leaders.

The revival of the APIPFT was formally announced on December 15 at a dinner reception hosted at the Shangri-la Hotel in New Delhi, and was attended by 30 members of the Indian parliament from 28 major political parties who extended their support. The Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Mr Penpa Tsering, Tibetan Prime Minister or Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s New Delhi Representative Mr Tempa Tsering, and other members of the Tibetan Parliament-In-Exile were also in attendance. During the dinner, Tibetan delegates held extensive discussions regarding the Tibetan situation and the importance of the forum which helps to bolster support and understanding for Tibet. Mr Penpa Tsering urged Indian leaders to continue to advocate for Tibet in the Indian Parliament and various international platforms through a revitalised APIPFT. Former Union Minister and a former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Shanta Kumar, who received unanimous approval as the Convener of the Forum, also addressed the gathering with an acceptance speech.

The APIPFT, which is revived every five years following the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India’s bicameral–parliament) elections and the induction of new members, was started in the 1970s when massive support for Tibet helped lead to its formation under the leadership of prominent Indian MP Shri MC Chagla. Since then, the APIPFT has not only served to raise the issue of Tibet in various international forums including the World Parliamentarian Conventions on Tibet, but also facilitated an address given to Indian parliamentarians in the Parliament House Annexe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2005.

The current lobbying campaign by the Tibetan Parliament-In-Exile was jointly co-ordinated and supported by the Delhi based Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre, as well as the India Tibet Co-ordination Office.