India stage-managed torch relay meets protests

In the financial hub of Mumbai, Tibetan protesters shouted slogans and waved Tibetan flags near Chinese consulate offices. Police had detained at least a dozen by Thursday morning.

The torch has been beset by protests through Europe and the Americas, over Chinese rule in Tibet. In some places, protesters tried to snuff out the flame and organizers extinguished or hid the torch to keep it safe.

Fearing similar protests, India trimmed the route to a third of the original 9-km (5-mile) distance, restricting it to a high-security stretch used for the annual Republic Day parade in the Indian capital.

India has been a center of regular protests for weeks and exiles even scaled the walls of the Chinese embassy.

Office workers struggled to get home, with many streets in the center closed to traffic. Several metro stations in the capital were closed.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, has voiced his support for the Beijing Games. He has urged Tibetans to desist from disrupting the torch relay.

But protests have continued unabated. India had to assure China of adequate security for the torch after the Chinese foreign minister called his Indian counterpart this month.

The Indian government has been reluctant to criticize China over Tibet, despite some public support for the exiles as well as criticism in the media of New Delhi’s soft line.

The controversy reached parliament on Thursday.

“The Olympic torch is a symbol of brotherhood and harmony but Delhi has been turned into a prison,” said Mohan Singh, a member of India’s parliament.

Despite years of mistrust and a border war in 1962, a booming India is seeking closer relations with China, which is now one of its biggest trading partners.

Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Olympic torch in protest against China’s response to the unrest in Tibet.

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