And the need to change the title was?
To expunge South Tibet.
Homage to 'living god' at Tawang
- Dalai thanks followers for their faith in him
PRANAB KUMAR DAS and UMANAND JAISWAL
The Dalai Lama eats traditional Tibetan cookies at Tawang monastery on Friday. (PTI)
Tezpur/Guwahati, April 7: The Dalai Lama's followers came out in thousands at Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh this afternoon to welcome their "living God" despite China's vehement protests to the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the area which it claims to be an extension of south Tibet.
Tawang, about 25km from the McMahon Line that marks the boundary between India and China, was all decked up to receive the Dalai Lama. All roads and lanes in the Buddhist-dominated town, leading to the 336-year-old Tawang monastery, were decorated with religious flags, prayer scarves and festoons. Followers, admirers and monks lined up both sides of the roads for a glimpse of the spiritual leader and to seek his blessings.
It took the Dalai Lama over seven hours to reach Tawang from Dirang, a distance of about 140km, because of the traditional welcome accorded to him on the way and bad roads. People lined up all along the 90km stretch from Sela, the entry to Tawang district, to Tawang town, assistant protocol officer Sangey Tsering told
The Telegraph over phone from Tawang monastery.
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On his arrival at the monastery, world's second largest after Potala Palace in Tibet, a little before 4pm, an emotional Dalai Lama told a group of monks that he was overwhelmed by the love and respect showered on him. "You all waited for me all day long. I cannot forget the faith you and the people have reposed in me but sadly I have not been able to do anything," a senior monk, quoting the Dalai Lama, told
The Telegraph.
Among those who came to meet him were followers and monks from the US, England, Germany, Bhutan, Nepal and, closer home, from Sikkim, Assam and Himachal Pradesh, which reflects the reach of the spiritual leader.
What the Dalai Lama's visit means to his followers can be gauged from the reaction of Jamphel Tsewang, a senior citizen from Tawang Old Market. "There is a lot of excitement and expectation because we don't know when the next visit will be. He is a living God to us. We consider ourselves lucky to have him among us. The weather has also greeted him," he told
The Telegraph this afternoon.
The 81-year-old leader has travelled about 550km since he left Guwahati for Arunachal Pradesh by road on Tuesday morning. He drew huge crowds as he travelled from Guwahati to Tawang via Bomdila and Dirang.
He has been accompanied by Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu, who is from Tawang, and Speaker T.N. Thongdok, besides senior officials and MLAs since they left Guwahati. The state government, according to those associated with the visit, has been involved in the visit like never before.
Tawang was supposed to be the first stop on his Arunachal itinerary but it had to be rescheduled because of inclement weather. Today, however, the sun beamed mildly as His Holiness reached Tawang.
The spiritual leader has throughout the tour said he has a special connect with Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang as it was through the frontier state that he entered India after he escaped from Tibet in 1959. He has thanked India and Arunachal Pradesh for facilitating the visit.
China sees the monk as a separatist leader and Tawang remains a bone of contention between the two countries.
The Dalai Lama, in his reactions to China's protests, has said this is a religious and spiritual visit. He has said he is seeking autonomy for Tibet, not independence, and that the situation in his homeland was tragic.
According to Tsering Chedon, a government official, the Dalai Lama will stay in Tawang till April 10, preaching and praying.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170408/jsp/frontpage/story_145224.jsp#.WOkE5YiGPDc
