China Scolding Dalia Lama and Indian PM

Dharamsala, August 21 – China has objected to a recent meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, reported Times of India. China has conveyed its opposition to the meeting through diplomatic channels.

However, the New Delhi based representative of the Tibetan leader told IANS that there was nothing unusual about the meeting between the two leaders on August 11 saying it was a courtesy call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to thank him for the hospitality shown in the last five decades. "He has been living in India for the past 50 years. There was nothing special about the meeting. He thanked the prime minister for good care India has taken of him during this period," Kalon Tempa Tsering, was quoted as saying.

This was the first meeting between the two since the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power over a year ago.

"He met Vice-President Hamid Ansari a year ago. Foreign secretaries have visited Dharamsala to meet Dalai Lama," he said.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao called on the Dalai Lama at his residence here last month.

Tsering said there was nothing unusual in China's criticism. "The moment he opens his mouth, they start criticising him," he said.

China last year objected to the Tibetan leader’s visit to the Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as its territory and refers to as “Southern Tibet”. The Indian Prime Minister defended his government’s position to allow the Tibetan leader’s visit saying he was India’s guest, and that he had the right to visit anywhere in India.

China regularly warns world leaders against meeting the Tibetan leader whom it reviles as a “separatist”. From Dharamsala, his exile home in the northern India, the Dalai Lama travels extensively around the world promoting human values, teaching Buddhism and, advocating for Tibetan rights and their struggle for greater autonomy for the Himalayan country. He often meets with world leaders to present the case of Tibet.

Beijing however accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to split Tibet from China, which sent military troops to occupy the predominantly Buddhist Himalayan country in 1949, and has regularly protested against countries that host him.

The Dalai Lama says he is only seeking a “real and meaningful” autonomy for Tibetan people within China and opposes the use of violence.