India police stop immolation bid by Tibetan exile

Dawa Dhondup, 30, was marching with hundreds of Tibetan exiles through the streets of Dharmsala, the home of Tibet's government-in-exile, when he consumed and poured gasoline over himself, police constable Sanjeev Kumar said. Police stopped him from setting himself on fire and took him to a hospital.

Every year, Tibetan exiles in India mark the anniversary of the failed March 10, 1959, uprising with speeches and marches.

China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history.

More than 100 self-immolations have been reported in Tibetan areas of the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu since 2009, with the protesters calling for the return of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' spiritual leader.

A Tibetan exile in Nepal self-immolated last month, and another did so last year in New Delhi, India's capital.

Beijing has accused the Dalai Lama of inciting the self-immolations, a charge the religious leader denies.

The Dalai Lama also denies China's charge that he is pushing for Tibet's independence, saying that he only wants China to grant Tibetans cultural and religious freedoms.