SLIC conducts interactive session on legal rights of Tibetans living in India

January 20, 2018 SLIC and the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) organised a one-day interactive session on legal problems faced by Tibetans living in India at the Asia Health Resorts, Dharamshala. The session was attended by 37 Tibetan college students studying in Dharamsala, Delhi and Bangalore. The session’s objective was to enable participants to openly discuss their problems with legal experts and to equip them with the rights that they, as Tibetans in India, are entitled to according to the Indian Constitution. The first session of the meeting discussed problems that Tibetan activists face from the Indian police and was led by Tenzin Tselha, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet. The second session -- on refugee issues -- was led by Sonam Dechen, Associate Director at the Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution. The third session was centred on the problems faced by Tibetan women and their rights. This was led by Dechen Wangmo of the Women’s Empowerment Desk at Central Tibetan Administration. Each discussion was followed by a response from Dr Colin Gonsalves, Supreme Court senior advocate and SLIC founder, and advocate Olivia Bang. In the latter half of the day, the participants were addressed by Vinayak Narayan, an advocate at the District and sessions court of Dharamshala. Discussion some common problems faced by Tibetans in India, he discussed at length negligence on the part of the Tibetan community in getting their registration certificates made and stressed on the importance of such documentation. Finally, Dr Gonsalves and advocate Olivia Bang conducted an hour-long session on human rights and the specifics of filing public interest litigation in Indian courts.