On 1 October 2026, more than 40 members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) staged a peaceful protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to mark the founding day of the so-called People’s Republic of China. Following the demonstration, all participating activists were detained by the Delhi Police and taken to Mandir Marg Police Station. The protest was a powerful expression of Tibetan resistance and remembrance on a day that is celebrated by the Chinese government, but carries a profoundly different meaning for Tibetans.

The People’s Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, a date that Tibetans remember in the context of the subsequent Chinese occupation of Tibet and the profound political, cultural, and social upheaval that followed. While the Chinese government presents its expansion into Tibet under the narrative of “liberation,” Tibetans continue to question the reality and consequences of that claim. For the Tibetan people, liberation cannot mea...