Thirty members of Parliament in India met in New Delhi on May 6, 2002 to reorganize the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum For Tibet (APIPFT).
The meeting elected Mr. T.N. Chaturvedi as a Convenor and Mr. Satyavrat Chaturvedi and Mr. Bashistha Narayan Singh as the Co-Convenor from Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament) and Rajya Sabha (Upper House) respectively. A Steering Committee was also set up comprising members from various political parties.
APIPFT was first established in 1970 under the leadership of Mr. M.C. Chagla. Subsequently, Mr. George Fernandes and Mr. Mohan Singh took over the Forum.
The forum will raise the issue of Tibet at proper forums for both governmental and non-governmental level. There are today forty such parliamentary forum already active all over the world. The Tibetan Parliament Speaker, Mr. Pema Jungney, and the Deputy Speaker, Mrs. Gyari Dolma, were also present. Tibetan members thanked the Government of India for their support in spite of many difficulties at home during the forty years in exile and appealed for continued support.
Speakers felt that the strategic interest of India and the issue of Tibet are interdependent. They underlined the fact that after the occupation of Tibet by China, India’s security has been jeopardized by bringing Chinese army right up to the border of India.
Those who spoke included Mr. Amar Singh (Samajwadi Party); Mr. T.N. Chaturvedi, (BJP); Mr. Satyavrath Chaturvedi, (INC); Mr. P.T. Gyamtso, (SDF); Hansan Khan, (NC); Ms. Jayshree Banerjee, (BJP); Shri Ram Das Athawale, (RP) and Mr. Bashistha Narayan Singh, (Samata).
The meeting was Chaired by Mr. Rabi Ray, former Speaker and organized by the Core Group for Tibetan Cause.
The contact address for the forum is Dr. N.K. Trikha, Convenor, B-5, Press Enclave, Saket, New Delhi-110017, Phone: 6862557 Mobile 9811293497