Indian govt gears up for Olympic torch relay

Swati Maheshwari

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 ( New Delhi)

Indian security establishment is in a tizzy. In two days, the Olympic torch is coming to Delhi and the government has done everything to ensure that nothing goes wrong during the torch relay on Thursday, April 17.

Home Ministry sources have said that the torch relay will start at Rashtrapati Bhawan and end at India Gate.

Apart from the torch bearers, only 5,000 schoolchildren will be allowed to participate in the relay.

NSG and para-military commandos dressed in track suits will also be part of the relay for extra security.

All roads in the vicinity of torch relay will be sealed off from 12 noon. At least 15,000 policemen will guard the route.

The police said some Tibetans have already been arrested and Delhi police spotters will check the movement of Tibetans.

Meanwhile, India has assured China that the torch relay in Delhi wont be hijacked by the protesters like in London and pairs, Tibetans in the capital are getting ready for the big battle.

There are fears that they might resort to drastic measures to embarrass the Chinese.

China's crackdown on protests in Tibet has strengthened radical voices in the Tibetan movement for freedom. There is a section in the Tibetan youth that is increasingly questioning the Dalai Lama's policy of non violence.

The Dalai Lama has asked the protesters to exercise restraint but two days before the Olympic torch lands in India there are growing fears that some Tibetans might resort to drastic measures to embarrass the Chinese.

A small group of Tibetans at Rajpath caught the Delhi police by surprise. The group was to protest with what it called the Tibetan Independence torch. But even before the march could begin, policemen clamped down detaining all the protesters.

Over the next couple of days the relay route in Delhi will be sanitised for the Olympic torch relay on the April 17.

Dhondup Dorji from Tibetan Youth Congress, the architect of the attack on the Chinese embassy earlier this month is not ruling out further violence during the Olympic run.
''The youth is becoming more aggressive,'' said Dhondup Dorji, Tibetan Youth Congress.

Tibetan protesters have planned a parallel march on the April 17.

''We are planning a procession from rajghat to jantar mantar and want to do it following the law of the land,'' said Penpa, Tibet Solidarity Group.

The focus of the security forces is Delhi. But as an option Tibetans are considering to attack Chinese Consulates in other Indian cities to get heard.

An increasingly radical and desperate section in the Tibetan youth also does not rule out attempts to immolate themselves.