Written on August 7th, 2007 in Majnu ka tila, Delhi....

It's still about 33 degrees in Delhi tonight, and the lanes of Majnu Ka Tilla are uncomfortably damp and steamy as they cope with the influx of many thousands of Tibetans from all over India. Huddles of older mountain folk in traditional dress standing around piles of bags as they seek some place to sleep, in this little colony where virtually every room is overflowing. Packs of roaming Tibetan youths - some of them monks and nuns, carrying Tibetan flags and newly bought tee-shirts with Free Tibet slogans, occupy every lane and street corner. The atmosphere is quite electric - everyone is excited and worried by what tomorrow will bring.

The old-school phone ring cut the silence of my room a few minutes ago - Sonam was looking for his uncle Dawa (my friend Tenzin Choegyal's youngest brother) who I happened to run into at the internet cafe earlier this evening. He told me that all the people (around 400 people) from his massive Tibetan Hostel in Western Delhi, and many others, were planning to meet at Jantar Matar at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning to await the announcement from the Indian Gov't regarding approval for the protest, and said I should come too. Jantar Matar holds the motivation for tomorrows massive demonstration - organised by the dynamic Tibetan Youth Congress.

14 members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (not all of them are young by the way - some are quite elderly) have been on an indefinite hunger strike since July 8th (at Jantar Matar) to try to force 5 demands from the Gov't of China and the International Olympic Committee. An indefinite hunger strike. Indefinite. That means that they are all willing to die for this. Tomorrow marks one month of no food in the stifling Delhi heat.

The Tibetan Youth Congress are building a renewed push in the Tibetan movement and in recent years they have made some great advances in stirring their people back into hopefulness. Tomorrows planned demonstration will be the biggest gathering of displaced Tibetans since the 1952 invasion, and the Indian Government are reluctant to allow permission. They need China, you see. They need the economic potential that a healthy relationship with China can bring. They are already in the bad books for accepting the Tibetans in the first place. If they don't crush the demonstration tomorrow, it could get really ugly. And well, if they DO crush the demonstration tomorrow, it'll definitely get really really ugly.

I don't think the Indians have noticed the subtle shift occurring in the Tibetan community. The Tibetans are getting restless, and an element of radicalism is entering the struggle. Their culture is being blasted to smithereens by this displacement and they really just want to go home and pick up the pieces and try to pull their people back together. Not that the Tibet they left will be anything like Tibet now. Anyways, they have such a strong sense of community, these people, and there is a real sense of challenge in the air - if the Indian Gov't forces the cancellation of the demo, I am quite sure there will be a lot of blood spilt.

The Indian police are not shy about their use of force, they all carry big sticks and guns and are not afraid to use them. I've seen them use their sticks and it ain't pretty. But the Tibetan community is angry and frustrated. They all have horrible stories, and they tell them with such a sense of matter-of-factness that it seems as if they just accept these beatings and hardships as a part of every day life for modern Tibetans. And then they'll say something, show a little sign, that actually, they've really had enough.

What are the 5 demands of the hunger strikers?

1. To produce concrete evidence that Gendun Choekyi Nyima, XIth Panchen Lama, is alive

2. To produce convincing evidence that the judicial proceedings of Tulku Tenzin Delek and other current Tibetan political prisoners have taken place in a fair manner.

3. To produce concrete evidence that the human rights of Tibetans are respected in Tibet.

4. To produce evidence that the railway lines in Tibet benefits Tibetans economically.

5. International Olympic Committee (IOC) to produce conclusive evidence that the human rights situation inside Tibet is acceptable.

Wanna act?