The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress had called for a boycott of Loser celebrations close on the heels of a similar unofficial protest in Tibet against the killings of Tibetans in an uprising last March.

A few weeks from now, it will be the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising in 1959 against Chinese rule, which also led to the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetans, to flee to India. The Dalai Lama said celebrations would be “inappropriate”.

Nyima Woeser (21) said, “China has captured our country. We will not celebrate. We will fight.” Gelak Sangpo, a young Tibetan born in Bangalore, has never been to Tibet but has for long been involved in protests and rallies against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. “It’s natural. And we stand by our brothers and sisters in Tibet, who live a life of hardship,” Sangpo said. “We want to show them we have not forgotten. We will not let go.”