Arunachal CM Pema Khandu Bats For Bharat Ratna To Dalai Lama, Says China 'Should Not Have Role' In Succession

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Amid an ongoing campaign by a group of MPs demanding the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, for the Dalai Lama , Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has also called for the same, saying that he will write to the central government to recommend the honour for the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Khandu also said it was the Dalai Lama who propagated and expanded the Nalanda school of Buddhism, which was born in India.

"Way back in the 8th century, from the Nalanda University, many gurus went to Tibet. At that time, there used to be a Bon religion in Tibet. By combining the Bon religion and Buddhism, the concept of Tibetan Buddhism emerged. So Buddhism spread throughout Tibet," the Arunachal Pradesh CM said in an interview with PTI Videos on Tuesday.

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The concept of Tibetan Buddhism spread across the Himalayan belt -- from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, he added.

All the big monastic centres that were in Tibet at that time, the different traditions like Sakya, all the old Buddhist traditions that existed in Tibet, were brought to India by the Dalai Lama, who established institutions in different places, especially in South India. These monasteries have hugely benefited the Buddhists of the Indian Himalayan region, Khandu further said.

"In that light, the demand for the Bharat Ratna... is definitely a very good step," he said.

Three foreign-born leading personalities have been awarded Bharat Ratna in the past: Mother Teresa (1980), Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987), and Nelson Mandela (1990).

In 1959, after China invaded Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama was forced to flee to India.

Since then, he has lived in Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh with other Tibetans exiled.

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Pema Khandu, who himself is a Buddhist, said: "The Dalai Lama institution has been continuous for over 600 years, from the first Dalai Lama to the current 14th. The Gaden Phodrang Trust manages the process of recognising the next Dalai Lama, which will start only after the current Dalai Lama passes away. There is no hurry, and the process follows strict rules."

"But before the 90th birthday, all heads of Buddhist traditions met and confirmed the institution will continue. China has objected to this ... China's objections are based on their own policies. But the Dalai Lama institution is recognised mainly in the Himalayan belt and by Tibetan Buddhists. China should not have a role in this matter," he commented.

Khandu added that Beijing has no locus standi in selecting the next Dalai Lama since Tibetan Buddhism is not even practised in mainland China, unlike in Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India.

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