Dharamshala — In December 2025, Indian activist Sandesh Meshram, known by his Tibetan name Samten Yeshi, launched his sixth cycling campaign, "Free Tibet-Save India ", to draw attention to the dire situation in Tibet under the Chinese Communist Party regime and call on China to release all political prisoners, including the 11th Panchen Lama.
Sandesh Meshram, Regional Convener, Core Group for Tibetan Cause - India launched his sixth cycling campaign, "Free Tibet-Save India " on December 9, 2025, ahead of the 36th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize upon His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Human Rights Day, on December 10, 2025, in Bumla (India-Tibet border) in Arunachal Pradesh, India.
Sandesh Meshram will cycle through Tawang, Dirang, Bumdila, Rupa, Itanagar, Tuting (Tibetan border), Tezhu, Mehu, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Tezpur and Guwahati, ending his journey in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, on February 9, 2026. He will organise rallies, distribute leaflets " Why Tibet Matter to India", "Tibet: A Fact" in Hindi and give public speeches to raise awareness of Tibetan issues, emphasising that this is the border between India and Tibet, not the border between China and India. The journey covers approximately 2,604 kilometres and will last 62 days. It will pass through three states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The objective of this mission is to raise awareness among the Indian public about the dire situation in Tibet under the repressive policies of the Chinese Communist regime. It will also call for the release of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, who was kidnapped by the Chinese government (CCP) in 1995, as well as all Tibetan political prisoners imprisoned in China, who have been unjustly convicted and tortured in prison.
Sandesh Meshram met many Indians and Tibetans during his journey. Upon arriving in the Tibetan settlements, he received a warm welcome and organised talks on his mission.
The free-Tibet campaigner previously had organised three such cycle Yatras. The first voluntary bicycle rally took place in 2014 with the core message of "Save Tibet Cycle Campaign". It started in Nagpur and covered a distance of 4,000 km, crossing five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Followed by his second cycle yatra in 2016 with a slogan of "Bicycle Rally to Save Tibet" which began at Nagpur, traveling through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and ended in Bodh Gaya, Bihar covering over 1,200kms in total.
The third bicycle rally was on October 20, 2017, to mark the Sino-Indian war, started from Bodh Gaya to Nathu-La Pass, Sikkim covering over 1,270kms.
Sandesh’s fourth voluntary bicycle rally was in 2019 and covered around 7,500kms passing through 12 states of India beginning from Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala of Himachal Pradesh, the official seat of Central Tibetan Administration and the residence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
His 5th Janjagaran Cycle Yatra entitled "Free Tibet, Save India" begins in Kolkata, West Bengal, with the message "Free Tibet, Save India", including the campaign for the release of Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup. The journey covered a distance of approximately 2,500 km, passing through towns and villages in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, ending on December 10, 2023 in New Delhi, the Capital of India.
