Dalai Lama visits disputed monastery, angering China
TAWANG TOWN, India: The Dalai Lama will address devotees at the monastery near India’s border with China where he took shelter on his flight from Tibet, drawing protests from Beijing which claims the Himalayan area as its territory.
Huge crowds are expected to turn out for the 81-year-old monk on what may be his last ever visit to Tawang, a remote, high-altitude corner of northeast India that is home to one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism.
But even before he arrived at the monastery in the disputed state of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday evening, the exiled spiritual leader was at the centre of a diplomatic row between China and his adopted homeland, India.
Beijing this week lodged an official protest with the Indian ambassador, accusing New Delhi of arranging a platform for the Dalai Lama to “hold anti-China and separatist activities”.
The Indian government has insisted the visit is purely religious and pointed out that the Dalai Lama has been to Tawang before, accusing China of creating an “artificial controversy”.
But some analysts say New Delhi has adopted a firmer approach to China since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014 and invited the head of the India-based Tibetan government-in-exile to attend his swearing-in ceremony.
“The Dalai Lama has always been welcome to travel wherever he wants in India. But this government has been a bit firmer on issues of sovereignty,” said Jayadeva Ranade, head of the Delhi-based Centre for China Analysis and Strategy.
New Delhi is currently
The Dalai Lama has always been welcome to travel wherever he wants in India. But this government has been a bit firmer on issues of sovereignty. — Jayadeva Ranade, head of the Delhibased Centre for China Analysis and Strategy
pushing to expand its infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh, building new roads and conducting a feasibility study for a railway.
India and China fought a border war in 1962 over the region, which has a large ethnic Tibetan population. — AFP