The standoff between India and China at the Doklam plateau, near the trijunction with Bhutan, is unlikely to lead to a ‘big war’, said Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Wednesday.
Speaking at a public event, the Tibetan spiritual leader described India and China as close neighbours but cautioned against “harsh words.”
“This issue (Doklam standoff) is not serious. India and China have historically been neighbours and even in 1962, China withdrew from Indian territories after the war. This shows that there is unlikely to be a big war between the two. But, for now, they may exchange some harsh words,” said the Dalai Lama, in response to a question at an interaction organised by the Editors Guild of India on the freedom of the press.
The Dalai Lama also praised India’s role in ensuring freedom and safety for the Tibetan refugees who have been living in exile in the country since the Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1950. He criticised China’s development policy for Tibet, which led to the destruction of its cultural heritage. “Thousands of temples have been destroyed in Tibet in the last 60 years and many monks died,” he said, criticising the Chinese state’s measures to integrate the Tibetan region with the rest of the country.
“Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation for the welfare of Tibetans in exile in India. It is only in India that all the major religious traditions exist side by side. Sometimes problem takes place, not unusual as so many varieties of traditions live here. But it is here alone that all live in full freedom,” he said.
The Dalai Lama said the Chinese people are now enjoying greater freedom in comparison to those who lived four decades ago and praised President Xi Jinping for his fight against corruption.
“President Ji is hard on cleaning the country of corruption. The internal situation has also changed to some extent. Now, people can criticise their government in cafes,” he said and urged India to do more to enable more Chinese students to study in India.
He also pointed out that there is no urgency to select the next Dalai Lama now but indicated that the process of finding his successor, who might as well be a woman, will begin in the next two to three years.
“The responsibility for the institution of the Dalai Lama is also of the Himalayan region and Mongolia,” he said but emphasised that the next Dalai Lama may not have a political role to play in future and that China should not worry about his role.
