Guarded by 15,000 police officers, runners carried the Olympic flame through central New Delhi Thursday.

The city's colonial area centre, home to the presidential palace and government buildings, was sealed off to traffic and pedestrians, who were prevented from entering the district by some of the tightest security ever seen in the city.

With roughly 100,000 Tibetan exiles in the country and near-daily protests since the Chinese crackdown in Tibet in March, the Indian government had good reason to worry about demonstrations during the relay.

Public sympathy in India lies with the Tibetans, who have maintained a sizable population in the country since their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Beijing.

There were no reports of any incidents other than peaceful demonstrations.
Protesters staged a counter-torch relay in another neighbourhood in New Delhi, with about 2,000 people showing up. That run began Thursday morning with a Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh prayer session at the site where Indian icon Mohandas Gandhi was cremated.

Several dozen prominent Indians, including former defence minister George Fernandez, joined the pro-Tibet march.

Demonstrations were also held in other Indian cities, including the financial centre Mumbai. About 25 people there were arrested after they tried to storm the Chinese consulate. Some could be heard shouting "Free Tibet" as they were dragged into police vehicles.

Protests even took place in Ladakh, an isolated Himalayan region that borders Tibet. At least 5,000 Tibetans and local Buddhists declared a strike that closed all businesses and schools.  About 7,000 Tibetan exiles live in Ladakh.
Only several hundred members of the public got a chance to get close to the relay, mostly members of India's Chinese community and some young people wearing the logo of the Olympics' sponsor, Coca-Cola.

The New Delhi relay was scaled back significantly, from nine kilometres to about three kilometres. With 70 runners, that meant that the torch was only held by each participant for only a few seconds.

They were followed by several police buses of additional security as they moved from the presidential palace to the India Gate monument, where they lit an Olympic cauldron.

Indian authorities advised workers to keep a low profile on Thursday and to keep off roofs and stay away from their office windows.

India has a fine line to walk with the Tibetan protesters, as they do not want to offend the Chinese government, but they have a strong human rights record to uphold when it comes to the treatment of Tibetan exiles.

The Chinese government said it was pleased with India's security preparations for the relay.