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For Tibetans in exile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Dharamsala beginning Thursday has sparked fervent hopes of meeting their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in northern India for more than six decades.
The expectation stems from Modi’s recent phone call with the Dalai Lama, in which he wished him a long and healthy life on his 86th birthday.
The probable meeting — the first publicly with the globetrotting aging Buddhist monk feted by some of the world’s top leaders since he took over as Prime Minister in 2014 — is seen by Indian functionalities as an attempt with spiritual, political, and diplomatic ramifications.
The engagement can be seen as a stern warning in the context of worsening relations between India and China in recent months, as well as a strategic shift that India is behind the Dalai Lama in any decision he makes regarding his reincarnation.
In addition, India will try to signal to the US its intention to raise the profile of the Tibet issue at a time when the US administration passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act in 2020, stating that only the Dalai Lama should have control over his reincarnation, not complying with China’s laws to impose its sanctioned successor.
To avoid upsetting Beijing, Indian leaders and officials have generally avoided public contact with Tibet’s spiritual leader. Beijing regards the spiritual leader as a dangerous “splittist,” or separatist, and frowns on any engagement with any political leader.
In response to Modi’s gesture, the Dalai Lama wished him a happy birthday on September 17, 2021, saying, “As the world’s most populous democratic nation, India’s success benefits not only the people of India, but also the development of the world as a whole.”
Even after the 2014 parliamentary elections, Modi thanked the Dalai Lama for his message of congratulations.
Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala are optimistic about the Dalai Lama-Modi meeting, with the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) led by democratically elected Penpa Tsering clarifying last year that His Holiness expects to meet Modi after the Covid-19 situation stabilizes.
According to the CTA, His Holiness has visited 60 countries on 300 occasions and met with over 490 world leaders, including presidents, prime ministers, chief ministers, judges, political party leaders, and spiritual leaders from various religious traditions.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has also spoken at over 60 prestigious universities and research institutes and has received over 140 awards, including 50 honorary degrees in the United States alone.
The Dalai Lama has also received over 150 global honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize UN Environment Award, US Congressional Gold Medal, John Templeton Award, etc.
In India, he met with BJP leaders several times, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Presidents Ram Nath Kovind and Pranab Mukherjee, and Congress leader and Prime Minister (2004-14) Manmohan Singh.
Manmohan Singh referred to His Holiness as a gift from God to the world at an event commemorating the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday in January 2016.
“My encounters with him have always left me more at peace with my life,” he had said. “Ours is a land of rishis and he is one of them helping guide the country on a righteous path. In these turbulent times, he teaches us to combine our spiritual values with our use of science and technology for material development. I can only pray that he lives long so the people of India, of Asia and the world may benefit from his blessings.”
However, a scheduled meeting on May 2, 2015, in Dharamsala between BJP president Amit Shah and the Dalai Lama, who has always enjoyed the status of a “holy leader” since his arrival in India in 1959, was canceled at the last minute because Modi did not want to upset Beijing with the meeting.
The elderly monk, known for his simplicity and jovial demeanor, prefers to attend meetings with religious leaders and lecture businessmen on new millennium ethics and the art of happiness. Throughout his speech, he chuckles and frequently slaps visitors on the back.
The Dalai Lama and 100,000 Tibetan exiles live in India. This northern hill town is home to the Dalai Lama.
On July 6, 1935, the 14th Dalai Lama was born in a small village in Tibet’s remote Amdo region.
Source:OCN
