When Sethu Das reached Dharamsala on the way to Srinagar for a casual visit, he hadn't even planned on visiting Dharamsala—an accident of nature got him there. In fact, he had no idea that he would be so moved by the scenes of Tibetan suffering he saw in front of him that he would take action on their behalf.

Mr. Das, who graduated from the MS University in Baroda with a Fine Arts Degree, says he was "moved by the stories of Chinese atrocities in Tibet related to him by Tibetan political prisoners." He founded the Friends of Tibet organization a few months later in 1999. Friends of Tibet "now has 21 national and six international chapters," according to Mr. Das.

In addition to founding Friends of Tibet and director of the World Tibet Day Foundation, Mr. Das has worked with The Economic Times, India's premier business newspaper, as well as Netscribes (India) Limited, a consulting firm. In 2003, Sethu Das co-founded Design & People, a design company that is focused on helping non-profit organizations, NGOs, and human rights organizations get their message to the public.

We reached Sethu Das by e-mail when he was in Cochin, India, traveling across the country with Friends of Tibet to raise awareness of the persecution in China.

ET: What do you believe is the background for the protests in March?

Das: There seem to be a lot conspiracy theories around about the origin of the recent protests in Tibet. The Chinese government blames His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his Tibetan government-in-exile in India for "masterminding" the Lhasa protests.

However hard the Chinese government tries, I do not think they can influence the minds of the thinking people in this world. The protests in Tibet are only a sign of a larger issue China is facing today, not only from occupied Tibet, but also from Taiwan, East Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, and other minority areas. The suppression of Falun Dafa practitioners is another serious concern.

Most human rights violations in China go unnoticed as most people and governments are comfortable doing business with one of the most brutal governments in the world, rather than exposing its crimes against humanity.

ET: What do you think really happened on March 14? Do you think there were really "riots" as the Chinese government says?

Das: I have strong objection to the usage of the word "riots" to describe the recent happenings in Tibet. There was a deliberate attempt from China to reduce the Tibetan people's uprising to mere "riots." The uprising of a people cannot be seen as a riot.

And what has happened and continues to happen in Lhasa and other areas of occupied Tibet is not a riot between two communities. The Tibetan protesters in Tibet are not fighting the ordinary Chinese people on the streets of Lhasa. Instead they are rising up against a regime which illegally occupied their country and ruled for the last five decades.

ET: Why is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cracking down on the Tibetans now? What is your view?

Das: We have only seen the CCP cracking down on the Tibetans. In the days to come, we'll witness the CCP hunting the dissidents in Xinjiang. The Uyghurs have already started an armed uprising following the death of Mutallip Hajim, a prominent Uyghur philanthropist who died in the police custody.

The Chinese government will crackdown on everyone including the Falun Dafa practitioners before the Olympics on the pretext of national security. The CCP has already branded Muslims and Tibetans as terrorists. The coming days will be crucial for both China and all those freedom loving people inside and outside China.

ET: We have read that young Tibetans do not accept the Dalai Lama's "middle way" approach of trying to negotiate for autonomy in Tibet along the lines of "one country, two systems." What approach to the future of Tibet does the Friends of Tibet take? Why?

Das: It is true that most Tibetans do not agree with the Dalai Lama's middle-way approach to the issue of Tibet. I think it is only the Tibetans in exile and some Tibet support groups confused about the terminologies—Middle Way and Independence. There is absolutely no confusion inside Tibet.

Everyday Tibetans are dying and being imprisoned for demanding "independence." I am not aware of any individual Tibetan inside Tibet either killed or imprisoned for demanding a genuine Autonomous Tibet.

As an organization, Friends of Tibet has always stood with the people of Tibet and continues to demand Independence simply because independence is the demand of six million Tibetans living and suffering under a brutal regime. I do not think it is the duty of any Friends of Tibet member or a supporter to make Tibet a part of the PRC, simply because, Tibet is already a part of China—at least officially. You may check the webpage on 'Conference for an Independent Tibet' organised by Friends of Tibet.

ET: Do you have any comments about the Indian government's attitude towards the Tibetan issue? Do you believe that the Indian Left is being influenced by the Chinese Communist regime and putting pressure on the government?

Das: I feel proud of what a developing country like India has done for refugee communities in general. Though legally we do not recognize the term "refugee," we have done more than refugee status can for all those who were seeking asylum in this country. We have refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, Sudan, Iran, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and many other countries. And we have our own people from Kashmir and Sri Lanka living here as refugees.

This support of the Indian government is only at a monetary level, not at a political level. Our foreign policy is only to appease brutal governments. Our government spends millions to maintain good relations with the military junta in Burma, military regimes in China and Musharaff-led Pakistan.

Once democratic governments come into existence, naturally the Indian government will change its stand. This is the double standard most governments follow. Most governments prefer to be with the rulers than with the people—regardless of whether its a military regime or a democratically elected government.

The left in India is bankrupt and influenced by China. Their relationship is of mutual benefit as they see each other as the last communists in the world. But things are changing. Just two days ago, in a discussion on Tibet organized by Friends of Tibet in South India, a very prominent communist Member of the Indian Parliament openly criticized China's recent aggression on Tibet. He even stated that the ongoing violence in Tibet has nothing to do with the upcoming Olympics but is a genuine people's movement for freedom. So there is hope. There is a webpage on Friends of Tibet with more about the discussion .

ET: Despite the Indian government's kowtowing to its election allies, the Indian Communist Parties, and the Chinese Communist Party, it appears that the Indian media and general public have come out strongly in favor of the Tibetans' rights and are supportive of boycotting and protesting the Olympics Torch that is coming to India soon. Given your recent travel across the country for the Tibetans, what reactions have you seen to the Tibetan issue and the Olympics Torch?

Das: First of all we should not underestimate the willingness and power of the ordinary people in this country. This is one of the reasons why Friends of Tibet spends more time speaking to ordinary people in India about the issue of Tibet than to decision-makers. The Indian public and the media were always sympathetic to the Tibetan cause, except in the case of few communist mouthpieces published from Kerala and West Bengal and with The Hindu Daily.

Perhaps The Hindu is the only national newspaper which uses the language of the Chinese Communist Party. If you look at the previous editions of The Hindu you can see the editor of the newspaper calling the Falun Dafa ... and the Dalai Lama a "Devil." This is not the language of Indian media and Indians. We do not use this language even to describe terrorists. The language adapted by The Hindu is the language of Chinese Communist Party.

Fortunately, in spite of all these attempts by our fellow leftists, the people in this country remain untouched by the Communist propaganda.

India has a history of boycotting Japanese goods during Japan's aggression on China and today there are thousands of Indians boycotting Chinese goods to protest China's Tibet occupation. What I am trying to say is that the people in this country have always responded to political situations in a responsible manner. And they will continue to do so.

Regarding the Olympic torch, I must admit that there is a mixed feeling. A parallel torch is being viewed as anti-sports by sports personalities and sports lovers. At the same time most thinking people look at the event as a repetition of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which was used by the Nazis for their propaganda. For the host country, the Beijing 2008 Olympics has nothing to do with sports but their propaganda—the one and the only chance to show a united China to the international community.