ABSTRACT
This essay studies the 2008 Tibetan protests in Delhi over the Olympic torch relay as a case study to understand the political and social symbolism attached to the rituals of the Olympic relay. It analyses the impact of the political tightrope walked by the Government of India as it sought to balance its diplomatic priorities, in pursuing the recent thaw in Sino-Indian relations, with the imperatives of a democratic public culture. India has been host to the Dalai Lama since the 1950s and the Beijing Olympics provided the trigger for a renewed focus on the Tibetan question. The Delhi leg of the Olympic flame relay emerged as an important cog in the global chain of pro-Tibetan protests that the Games ignited. This essay studies the local manifestations of the Delhi protests, the organization and mechanism of the agitation, the counter-measures adopted by the state, the national and international implications of the protests and its broader meaning for the institution of the flame relay itself.
