India keeps promise to China, Olympic torch has a safe passage
BS Reporter / New Delhi April 18, 2008
India kept its promise to China on the safe passage of the Beijing-bound Olympic torch as some 70 athletes and actors, outnumbered by policemen, carried it across the most-guarded stretch in the capital without any untoward incident.
The Tibetans and their Indian supporters, however, took out parallel marches and staged sporadic protests across the capital to highlight the Chinese repression in Tibet. Police have rounded up at least 60 protesters ever since the arrival of the Olympic torch in New Delhi past midnight.
China was particularly apprehensive of the Indian leg of the event as the country is home to some 150,000 Tibetans and their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. It became more paranoid about the security of the torch after the Tibetans entered the Chinese embassy in the city and similar protests were witnessed in Paris, London and San Francisco.
Chinese think-tanks had accused Washington of being behind the Tibetan protests while also alluding to a US-India nexus against China.
However, today, in the process of pleasing its neighbour, New Delhi had to put up with the embarrassment of keeping the venue of the Olympic torch relay out of bounds for the public, curtailing the march from 9 km to 2.3 km and throwing a thick security blanket that threw life out of gear in the capital.
Participation by sportspersons like Milkha Singh, PT Usha, Leander Paes, Dhanraj Pillay, Mahesh Bhupati, Anju Bobby George and film stars like Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan raised the profile of the event after the last-minute boycott announced by shooter Jaspal Rana and musician Ayan Ali Bangash.
India keeps promise to China, Olympic torch has a safe passage
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