Tibetan protester dies of self-immolation in Delhi

New Delhi, Mar.29 (ANI): A Tibetan protester, Jamshel Yeshi, 27, has succumbed to his burn injuries.

Yeshi died on Wednesday, two days after he set himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule of Tibet.

He was protesting against Chinese President Hu Jintao's arrival in India for the fourth BRICS Summit.

Thirty Tibetans, mostly Buddhist monks and nuns, have set themselves on fire, mostly in southwestern China, since 2009. Yeshi was the 31st. At least 20 have died.

Yeshi was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital with 98 percent burns and breathed his last after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Bereaved family members arrived at the hospital on Thursday and took possession of the body.

They have said that the body will be taken to Dharamsala for last rites.

Born in Tibet but living in exile in India, Yeshi was an activist with the youth organization that seeks independence for Tibet, which has been under Chinese rule for over six decades.

The youngest of four siblings, Yeshi bribed his way into India in 2007 at the age of 22.

In India, he joined a four-year course at the Tibetan Transit School in Dharamsala. As a part of the course, he came to Delhi to learn computers at an academy

Indian police have arrested a number of Tibetans in recent days, which activists claim is an apparent bid to prevent protests marring Hu's visit.ndia hosts large community of Tibetans - including exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama - one of the main sources of friction with China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of stirring unrest.

China has ruled Tibet since Communist troops marched in 1950. It rejects criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

For China, the self-immolations are a small, but potentially destabilising challenge to policies toward minority groups and the region. The government has branded the immolators as "terrorists".

The Dalai Lama has blamed the self-immolations on "cultural genocide" practiced by the Chinese, but has not directly called for them to stop. (ANI)