Indian, Tibetan children hold peace prayer at Rajghat

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) Hundreds of Tibetan and Indian children today held peace prayers at Rajghat for the Tibetan children reportedly killed and maimed during the anti-China uprising.

The Indian children -- former child labourers -- were mainly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Tibetan children belonged to families who have taken political asylum in India.

Before the peace prayers, they took out a street march holding banners demanding rights for children in Tibet.

The demonstrators claimed that several school students in Tibet were killed or detained while on way to school. A girl's bullet-ridden body with the school bag on her shoulders was found in the troubled area. Her teachers claimed that the 16-year-old was the brightest student of the school.

Child right activists present on the occasion lamented that while children in war torn regions are never responsible for violence, they continue to suffer the most.

On one hand China is considered as the fastest developing economy, on the other Tibet -- a part of the country -- is placed at the bottom of development and education parameters, they added.

Quoting a Chinese 'white paper', they said Tibet ranked last in China's 31 provinces.

The march and prayer was organised by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

UNI NAB SP HT1750