Tibet students display China's oppression through photo exhibition

The Tibetan students of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad University in Gujarat held a photography exhibition with an aim to make people aware of the prevailing conditions in Tibet and that of its people.

"The exhibition is in three parts. The one part is the India and Tibet relations. We want to say that India and Tibet has a very long-tide since from 7th century," Vangdu said.

"Second part of the exhibition is the self-immolation in Tibet that has been taking place since 2008. And then the third part of the exhibition is the three commitments of Dalai Lama. We are exhibiting these three parts to the Indian students to make aware of the Tibet issue, Tibet culture and what's going inside Tibet due to the Chinese repressive policy," he added.

The Central Tibetan Administration in-exile in Dharamsala has repeatedly urged the Chinese authorities in Tibet to address the genuine grievances of the Tibetan people to alleviate their sufferings and to end its political repression, religious persecution, cultural assimilation, economic marginalization and environmental destruction in Tibet, which remain the main causes of the Tibetan self-immolation protests.

In 2008, months before the Olympic Games in Beijing, demonstrations about the perceived lack of freedoms for Tibetans broke out across the region, eliciting a brutal crackdown. In 2012, more than 80 Tibetans staged such fiery protests, according to rights groups. Most of them are believed to have died.

Meanwhile, a student at the exhibition, Uday Bhatt, said with the exhibition they want to bring their fight for peace and freedom in front of the world.

"In the exhibition we saw the present situation of Tibet and the relation between India and Tibet," said Bhatt.

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing a failed uprising against Chinese rule of his homeland in 1959.

Human rights activists say China tramples on religious freedom and culture in Tibet, which it has ruled strictly since People's Liberation Army troops "peacefully liberated" the region in 1950.

China rejects such criticism, saying its rule ended serfdom in Tibet and brought development to a backward, poverty-stricken region.