The Central Tibetan Administration led by officiating Sikyong Tharlam Dolma Changra, Kalon (minister) of the Education Department, held an official ceremony today at Gangchen Kyishong to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi Jayanti).

The celebration was attended by officiating Sikyong Kalon Tharlam Dolma Changra; Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang, Tibetan Parliament in Exile; Kalon Dolma Gyari, Department of Security; Kalon Norzin Dolma, Department of Information and International Relations; Justice Commissioner Tenzin Lungtok, Tibetan Supreme Justice Commission; Tibetan Parliamentarian Tsering Yangchen; and Election & Public Service Commissioner Wangdue Tsering Persur, along with secretaries and senior officials of the various departments of the Tibetan administration.

The ceremony began with officiating Sikyong lighting a butter lamp and paying homage to a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi followed by addressing the media.

Speaking to the media, the officiating Sikyong said Mahatma Gandhi’s adoption of non-violent and truthfulness as a genuine method to attain freedom has “set a wonderful example for we Tibetans about how to regain our country through non-violence.” She also said His Holiness the Dalai Lama deeply appreciates the philosophy and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi while stressing that Gandhi’s ideologies are more relevant than ever in the today’s world.