HPI
McCLOUD GANJ, INDIA, May 6, 2003: A pilgrim in McCloud Ganj hill station, home of the Dali Lama, reports that the Chinese have closed the border of Tibet, canceling this year’s Kailash pilgrimage. Hinduism Today’s reporter in New Delhi spoke to a number of journalists and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs [MEA] on the subject since yesterday and he reports the position is not clear. “Nobody is in a position to confirm that the Kailash Pilgrimage has been canceled. An official of the MEA, Mr. Thangal told me a few minutes back that the Kailash Pilgrimage is not canceled as yet. Though Mr. Thangal did say that it could be postponed by a few weeks. He told me that the Indian Government would not like to cancel the pilgrimage. He said that every year the Chinese Government gives permission for this pilgrimage and there is no reason to believe that this year the permission would not be given. If there is some impediment from the Chinese side due to SARS problem, a formal announcement clarifying the position would be made by MEA sometime in the future.” The Hindustan Times has reported on their website (source) that “Tibet meanwhile has been virtually cutoff with international air links halted and border crossings sealed to prevent SARS infiltrating one of the few places in China so far free of the killer bug.” Meanwhile, a stalwart pilgrim waits in the McCloud Ganj hill station for the border to reopen and the opportunity to pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.