Dharmasala: Over 100 Tibetan refugees, including some Buddhist monks and activists, were stopped by the police after they embarked on a march from here to Tibet Monday, the 49th anniversary of Tibet s uprising against the Chinese rule in Tibet.

The marchers were stopped at Sarahan, seven km from here. The Kangra police asked them not to proceed and said action would be taken if they continued their march. The marchers included representatives of five Tibetan NGOs based in India and about 70 monks, attired in their traditional robes.

Earlier, as the protestors set off, thousands of Tibetan refugees gathered in this hill town in Himachal Pradesh to see them off. Sergia Delia, a member of the Italian parliament, flagged off the protest march. The marchers were to reach Delhi in the next 20-25 days, said a spokesman of one of the participating NGOs. They were to take any route across the 4,000-km-long Indo-Tibet border to enter Tibet.

India is home to some 100,000 Tibetans, many of whom fled their homeland along with their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, head of six million Tibetans, has a government-in-exile based in Dharamsala.

Source : IANS