Dalai Lama reaches Ladakh amid China's objections; gets rousing welcome [details]

Notwithstanding opposition from China, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama reaches Ladakh on Friday afternoon for over a month-long stay in the mountainous region.

The exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader was accorded a rousing reception after reaching Leh. Dalai Lama reached Jammu on Thursday from where he reached Leh on a direct flight.

Hundreds of people lined both sides of the road outside of the Kushok Bakula Rimpoche (KBR) Airport of Leh town to welcome the spiritual leader, who is touring outside his base in the Himachal Pradesh's Dharmsala for the first time since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. He will stay in Ladakh for over a month.

The Dalai Lama has made Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

This is the first time Dalai Lama is visiting Ladakh after the abrogation of article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs). Ladakh has been granted UT status after the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of J&K.

Dalai Lama's visit to Ladakh is purely religious

Rejecting China's objections, Union Government on Friday said that the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to Ladakh is completely religious, and no one should have any objections to it.

Quoting a government functionary, a news agency reported that this is not the first time that the Dalai Lama is visiting a border region as he had visited Ladakh as well as Arunachal Pradesh several times in the past.

"The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and his visit to Ladakh is completely religious. Why should anyone have objections to the tour," the government functionary said.

China criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for greeting the Dalai Lama on his 87th birthday earlier this month, saying New Delhi should stop using Tibet-related issues to interfere in China's "internal affairs."

However, India rejected China's criticism and asserted that it is a consistent policy to treat the Dalai Lama as an honoured guest of the country.

We want meaningful autonomy to preserve our culture: Dalai Lama

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Thursday said that not the people of China but some hardliners in that country are considering him a separatist and reactionary.

"Majority of the people in China realized that we are not seeking independence within China but a meaningful autonomy to preserve our tradition and culture", Dalai Lama, who arrived in Jammu from Dharamshala on Thursday said.

"We are trying to protect Tibetan Buddhist culture and most people in China have realized that we are not seeking independence. We want to preserve unique Tibetan tradition and culture with meaningful autonomy", he said.

"Some Chinese hardliners consider me a separatist and a reactionary and always criticize me. But now, more Chinese are realizing that the Dalai Lama is not seeking independence and only wishing China to give meaningful autonomy to Tibet and ensure the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture," the spiritual leader said.

The Dalai Lama has been living in India ever since he fled Tibet in 1959. The Tibetan government-in-exile operates from India and over 1,60,000 Tibetans live in the country.