New Delhi, July 9: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said the Dalai Lama should be honoured with the Bharat Ratna, adding that he will write to the central government to recommend India’s highest civilian award for the Tibetan spiritual leader.
In an interview with PTI Videos on Tuesday, Khandu also said that Beijing has no locus standi in the selection of the next Dalai Lama since Tibetan Buddhism is not even practised in mainland China unlike in Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India.
Asked about a campaign by a group of MPs favouring the Bharat Ratna for the Dalai Lama, he 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,” he said.
He said the concept of Tibetan Buddhism spread across the Himalayan belt — from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
The 14th Dalai Lama was forced to flee to India in 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet. He has lived in Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh since then with other Tibetan exiled.
Khandu said 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 benefitted the Buddhists of the Indian Himalayan region, he said.
“So our monks go there to study, then come back and bring those practices to their own lands, their own places. So in that sense, if we look at it from that perspective, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has played a very vital role in preserving and promoting the ancient Nalanda tradition which is from our own country,” Khandu said.
“In that light, the demand for the Bharat Ratna… is definitely a very good step,” he said.
The chief minister said he will soon write a letter to the central government recommending the Dalai Lama’s name for the Bharat Ratna.
Three foreign born leading personalities have been awarded Bharat Ratna in the past: Mother Teresa (1980), Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990).
Asked about the 90th birthday celebration of the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala on July 6, which he attended, Khandu said he had visited the hill station in Himachal Pradesh many times and interacted with His Holiness several times in the past but this 90th birthday was very special.
He said the event saw people from all over India and across the globe, including diplomatic representatives. There was international participation and video messages from those who could not attend and it was a historic moment for everyone, he said.
“His Holiness is mentally very alert even at this age, and his health is good except for a recent knee operation,” he said.
Asked about the Dalai Lama’s successor, the chief minister, who himself is a Buddhist, said it was always a topic of discussion.
“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,” he said.
He said there was speculation about whether the Dalai Lama institution would continue, and if the next Dalai Lama could be a woman.
“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 said.(PTI)
