CTA remembers Tibetan writer Gudrup, raises concerns over China’s Tibet policy

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 5 (ANI): The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has remembered Gudrup, a 43-year-old Tibetan writer and blogger who died after self-immolating in protest in Driru, Nagchu, Tibet, on October 4, 2012.
In a post on X, the CTA’s Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) recalled Gudrup, who wrote under the pen name “Youth of the Snow Realm”. The post also shared an image commemorating him as part of its series remembering Tibetan self-immolators.
According to the CTA, Gudrup had studied in Dharamshala, India, before returning to Tibet in 2005. It said he dedicated his writings to Tibet’s history, its people and their right to live in freedom.
The CTA said that during his final moments, Gudrup called for “Freedom for Tibet” and for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. It also quoted him as saying, “Wherever We Go, We Have No Freedom.”
According to the CTA account, Tibetans who found Gudrup took him to a county hospital following the self-immolation. The administration alleged that Chinese authorities subsequently took him into custody and that his body was not returned to his family.
The CTA said it was honouring Gudrup’s memory by recalling his appeal for Tibetans to unite for equality and freedom and urging the international community to “uphold the truth” about Tibet.
Self-immolation has remained one of the most extreme forms of protest reported among Tibetans since 2009, with cases involving monks, nuns and laypeople across Tibetan areas of China. According to the International Campaign for Tibet, 159 Tibetans had self-immolated inside Tibet and China as of July 2026, with 127 known to have died. 
The issue has been linked by Tibetan exile groups to concerns over religious freedom, cultural identity and political rights under Chinese rule. 
China, meanwhile, has maintained tight controls over information and access to Tibetan areas, making independent verification of individual cases difficult. The issue remains a major point of contention in discussions over Tibet and China’s policies toward Tibetan communities. (ANI)