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In this rally, Narendra Modi stated, “I frequently talk with the Dalai Lama; the Dalai Lama is the being who guides our entire universe,” which, according to some, is an indication that Narendra Modi, may have some positive plans to Tibet with a meeting with His Holiness Dalai Lama seemingly in line. With several exit polls indicating that the BJP and its NDA alliance will once again form the government, some even go as far as mentioning that the incumbent Prime Minister would invite the Dalai Lama for his oath to office ceremony. Tibetans in the past have been invited, with the then Sikyong (President) and Kalon (Minister) of the Tibetan Government in Exile Lobsang Sangay la and Gyari Dolma la both attending the oath to office ceremony of 2014.

Narendra Modi has already met the Dalai Lama when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat; however, he has yet to meet him since assuming the role of Prime Minister.

Since the BJP’s formation as a separate political party in the 1980s, it has had two Prime Ministers: Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. The former frequently met with the Dalai Lama even during his tenure as Prime Minister of India. The Dalai Lama stated, “His eloquent support of the Tibetan people began in the late 1950s. Since then, he regularly took Indian governments to task in parliament, prompting them to take a stronger stand on Tibet,” highlighting the firm support that Atal Bihari Vajpayee had towards Tibet and the Tibetan people.
There are various movements and instances indicating that a possible meeting between Narendra Modi and the Dalai Lama is on the cards:

1. Narendra Modi and the Dalai Lama attended the same event last year; the Global Buddhist Summit organised by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), with the former being the Chief Guest on the 1st Day and the latter being the Chief Guest on the 2nd Day. They were so close yet did not meet, most likely due to pressure from Beijing in my opinion. However, with India advancing and taking great strides forward, including positioning itself towards achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047, there will come a time when Beijing will not be able to pressure New Delhi anymore.
2. Furthermore, Narendra Modi has frequently been publicly wishing the Dalai Lama on his birthday through his social media handles in the last few years.
3. In December 2021, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with its Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and National Executive Indresh Kumar (founder of Bharat Tibbat Sahyog Manch), met the Dalai Lama at his residence in Dharamshala. Considering the strong and firm linkages between RSS and BJP, there is a high possibility of the BJP leadership including Narendra Modi also meeting the Dalai Lama.

 
The Indian National Congress (INC) the other national political party of India that has formed the government several time, has had its leaders including its Prime Ministers, meeting with the Dalai Lama. One can refer to FNVA’s recent policy brief ‘2024 Election: Tibet in INC’s Election Manifesto’ for more detail on this.
With the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh going to the polls several notable Indian political leaders have arrived to Dharamshala and met the Dalai Lama recently. Many of them also had events with the Tibetan publics, where both the BJP and INC (from the NDA and India Alliance respectively) engaged with the Tibetans in Dharmshala in the lead up to the election.

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“Someone who has little knowledge,

Will find fault with those who understand.

All look with awe on expensive belongings,

But who would notice a piece of burning wood?”

An excerpt from ‘The Elegant Saying of Sakya Pandita’, Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen who was a prominent Lama in the Sakya sect of Tibetan tradition of Buddhism and was the teacher of Goden Khan (Grandson of Genghis Khan) during the 13th Century.

This proved out to be true in light of the recent viral doctored clips of His Holiness the Dalai Lama interacting with a child. This clip was created by vested interest groups, individuals and even from Beijing according to some credible sources. This whole incident opened a Pandora’s box about Tibetans and His Holiness at large with it having geopolitical significance but hitting closer to the heart this time. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stated “A man sees in the world, what he carries in his heart” This very heart which we all hold close and dear was deeply hurt and ravaged by the slippery slope that saw us prioritize sensationalism over good research.

It was at 10th April early Monday morning, when I received a call from a friend in Dharamshala who told me the seriousness of this edited and modified video of His Holiness, leading me to look into this. While confirming its validity through Tibetan media sources who had released this video on 28th February (with Voice of America Tibetan being the video source which was then doctored by groups who had vested interest in it) an apology letter by His Holiness through his social handles was released to quell down the unwarranted furore this was generating. However, instead more people jumped in and band wagoned on this false narrative, with Cardi B, Joe Rogan and many others joining the fray – making the heart weep. In my lifetime I have personally not seen such huge numbers of my fellow sisters and brothers weep both publicly and privately. “We are so hurt as a community because when it comes to His Holiness, it’s a matter of life and death. I wish I could just put the past few days away into oblivion, but I can’t. It will haunt me forever. All I can muster at the end is that I am Tenzin Thinley, a Tibetan raised under His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s grace, I will hold onto that with unending gratitude. I wish to make him proud.” Says Tenzin Thinley, a Tibetan refugee born and brought up in India.

Since Monday, it was not only Tibetans but millions of people who had found courage, inspiration, motivation, love, peace, belief, happiness and compassion through His Holiness were thrown in complete disarray not because the doctored video was released (the original video including interviews with the child and his parents was released on the day of the event itself, on 28th February) but because various news outlets and social influencers in our contemporary world without a second thought rushed to criticize His Holiness and his actions here. Many even took to liberty in naming him a “Pedophile” notwithstanding its ramifications. Venoms were spewed here and news outlet and individuals sensing that they could make a quick buck out from it spun various narratives on it without taking any due insights from the very people who were there and present during the event. I even witnessed how a public media personality in USA was saying that this incident had happened in Tibet, illustrating how little these very proponents questioning His Holiness knew about the current plight of Tibetans. 

Since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China (PRC) starting invading Tibet illegally – grosses of Tibetans were forced to fled their own country with 1959 being a watershed year when His Holiness along with thousands of Tibetans given asylum in India by the Government of India. Tibet continues to remain illegally occupied by the PRC even now, with Tibetans facing duress and suppression day in and day out. It is the least free region of the world according to the latest 2023 report by Freedom House.

Millions of people have been traumatized, etching an everlasting scar, possibly passing it onto generations to come. A recent video by a Tibetan student in Belgium, Tenzin Nordon who is 14-year-old has become viral. In the video she confesses that she was publicly humiliated by her own teacher in front of her class mates who not only stated that The Dalai Lama is a “Pedophile” but even went to length to show the doctored clip to her class mates drawing more jeers and racist slurs to her. This highlights the need of accepting heterogeneity in our world. “I feel like the need of the hour is for the world to not restrict inclusivity to trying cross-culture food & traveling new places. It is equally important for people to be more inclusive of cross-culture traditions and customs” says Tenzin Saldon, who is one among many Tibetans bringing the truth about this whole incident in the social media platforms.

People from around the world especially in India, where His Holiness has been residing since 1959 have come out in huge numbers, calling out for the truth. Many have utilized social media as an agency while a plethora of them have also taken to the streets and called out those who instigated and disseminated this misinformation. People from the Himalayan belt bordering Tibet occupied China from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh to Sikkim to Himachal Pradesh, all the way from Leh to Tawang – stretching 1000’s of KM, have come out demanding the truth to be told and be accountable for deceiving the people. A particular slogan that has been synonymous with this movement is “Shame Shame, Media Shame” particularly targeting NDTV which was synonymous with Tibetans then but not anymore now. The Tibetan diasporic community throughout the world with India having the largest demography of this Tibetan community also demonstrated and sought truth and justice by holding peaceful protest in varying means utilising every agency they could. I only wonder if this were to happen with any other Community or Religion what would the consequences be then? Peace protest? Certainly not.

Being a Tibetan I felt wronged, even questioning my existence as a Tibetan and whether being a Tibetan mattered in this world. However, the overwhelming solidarity shown by my fellow sisters and brothers of this beautiful and magical world made it clear to me that we are not alone, making me remember this quote by Marcus Aurelius “We are each of us Stronger than we think”. 

People who researched and looked into this incident have come forward apologizing, verifying and even bringing out statements, the latter which even included the Government officials of the Indian government. “The victim here is His Holiness the Dalai Lama” said the Sikyong (President) of the Tibetan Government in Exile, Penpa Tsering La at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia. Mr. O.P. Tandon, who is a founding trustee of FNVA and former Registrar of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) made it clear to me how people are “Finding sinful action out of a divine person”. 

The full article can be accessed at https://www.tibetrightscollective.in/op-eds-commentaries/an-anguish-an-everlasting-trauma-the-dalai-lama-is-a-leader-of-the-world 

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Blinken met briefly with Ngodup Dongchung, who presented him with a scarf from the Dalai Lama, a senior State Department official said. Dongchung serves as a representative of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan government in exile.

“The Dalai Lama obviously is a globally revered spiritual leader and so the gesture was gratefully received and appreciated,” said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The meeting was one of the most conspicuous contacts between U.S. and Tibetan officials since President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama in Washington in 2016.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chinese troops seized Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a “peaceful liberation”. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The CTA and Tibetan advocacy groups have received a boost in international support in recent months amid rising criticism of China’s human rights record, particularly from the United States. In November, Lobsang Sangay, the former head of the Tibetan government in exile, visited the White House, the first such visit in six decades.

A month later, the U.S. Congress passed the Tibet Policy and Support Act, which calls for the right of Tibetans to choose the successor to the Dalai Lama, and the establishment of a U.S. consulate in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

INDIA TIES

In his first visit to India since joining U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, Blinken met his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and other officials on Wednesday before calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two sides also discussed supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and the human rights records of both countries, the ministers told a joint news conference, as well as the Quad alliance, a security group that also includes Australia and Japan and has also angered China.

Asked about China taking umbrage at Indo-pacific security cooperation and the Quad, Jaishankar told the news conference: “For groups of countries to work together is not strange…. People need to get over the idea that somehow other countries doing things is directed against them.”

Speaking to a group of civil society leaders at a New Delhi hotel, Blinken said that the relationship between the United States and India was “one of the most important in the world”.

“The Indian people and the American people believe in human dignity and equality of opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms including freedom of religion and belief . . . these are the fundamental tenets of democracies like ours,” he said.

“And of course, both of our democracies are works in progress. As friends we talk about that.”

Modi’s government has faced allegations of suppressing dissent, pursuing divisive policies to appeal to its Hindu nationalist base and alienating Muslims, the country’s biggest minority.

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