Tibetan protesters clashed with the police as the leaders of five emerging economic powerhouses in the world met at the BRICS 2012 summit in New Delhi. In an anti-China protest against the presence of Chinese president Hu Jintao in India, Tibetans unfurled their country's flags in a protest rally held less than a mile from the BRICS summit venue in the Indian capital.

The protesters were detained by the police as they attempted to march toward the BRICS venue at the Taj Palace, where the Chinese President Hu Jintao and heads of other BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and India, were gathered for the two-day summit.

India has a sizable Tibetan population and Tibetan activists were protesting against the Chinese rule in Tibet.

The summit was overshadowed by the self-immolation of a Tibetan exile Jamphel Yeshi, who died of burns just hours before the arrival of Chinese President in India. The 27-year-old Tibetan youth had set himself on fire on Monday.

The Tibetan exiles on Thursday staged a rally in memory of Yeshi at Dharamshala, one of the biggest Tibetan settlements in India.

Activists dressed as Chinese soldiers and a Tibetan perform a street drama
Activists dressed as Chinese soldiers and a Tibetan perform a street drama depicting Tibet's uprising 53 years ago against Chinese rule, in Taipei March 10, 2012. Hundreds of Tibetans and their supporters in Taiwan marched the streets to commemorate the uprising in Lhasa. REUTERS/Shengfa Lin
Tibetan exiles shout slogans during the anti-China protest in New Delhi.
The Tibetan exiles are fighting for freedom from Chinese rule. Reuters/Parivartan Sharma
BRICS Summit 2012
Police corner a protester Reuters
BRICS Summit
A Tibetan exile is manhandled into a police van Reuters
Russia India South Africa Russia