The Dalai Lama on Monday said that ahe prefers to live in India and that there's "no point to return to China". His statement came days after clashes were reported between the Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.
"Things are improving in Europe, Africa and Asia. Now, China is more flexible. But, there's no point to return to China. I prefer India. It's the best place," the Dalai lama told reporters in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district. The Tibetan spiritual leader added, "Kangra, Pandit Nehru's choice, this place is my permanent residence..."
The title of Dalai Lama is given to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India disguised as a soldier in 1959 after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. He, since then, has lived in exile in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharmshala, News 18 reported.
The link between Tawang, Dalai Lama and China
Now, Tawang is culturally important to China as the sixth Dalai Lama was born there. "During the sixth Dalai lama,
Tawang was part of Tibet," said Dr Jagannath Panda, a Research Fellow at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), said. China annexed Tibet and also claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
The area is also strategically important to China because its monastery "is one of the hubs of power play in Tibetan internal politics – and it is the Dalai Lama that appoints the head of this monastery", CNN reported.
What happened in Tawang
On December 9, 2022, the Indian and Chinese armies clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, i
njuring personnel from both sides.
China said the situation was now "stable" and claimed Indian troops had crossed the border "illegally," while India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the "PLA soldiers have retreated to their own locations."
India and China share a 3,488-km unmarked border — the LAC — that spans across Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir. The border is not entirely demarcated, hence making it difficult for both countries to clarify and confirm the LAC.
