Ladakh L-G, BJP Leaders Wish Dalai Lama on 85th Birthday
His birthday celebrations come during the worst escalation of hostilities between India and China in decades.
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Amid tensions between India and China in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clash that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead, Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama is celebrating his 85th birthday on Monday, 6 July.
His birthday celebrations come amid the worst escalation of hostilities between India and China in decades, as the standoff between the two forces in eastern Ladakh along the LAC continues. India's messaging on his birthday is being closely watched, and BJP leaders have been at the forefront to do so.
BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav participated in two separate programmes held to mark the Dalai Lama's 85th birthday as well as the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Leh on Monday, ANI reported.
Madhav also tweeted that he used to visit Dharamshala to pay his respects to the Dalai Lama, but as the festivities were not happening this year because of the coronavirus outbreak, he was sending a video message to him. He also spoke to the Dalai Lama on video chat, and shared a photo captioned “Blessed to be blessed by the Blessed Soul”.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was also among those who wished the Dalai Lama, saying "I offer my deepest reverence, prayers, and wishes for his long and healthy life. His values and ideals are the guiding light towards love, peace and compassion for entire humanity," he wrote on Twitter.
Notably, the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, RK Mathur, also wished the him, saying, "In these difficult times, his spiritual leadership gives strength."
Other BJP politicians and functionaries to wish the Dalai Lama include National General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao, Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane and Madhya Pradesh Minister Bhuppendra Singh.
Meanwhile, the exiled leader is celebrating his birthday with a special online screening of a film about physicist David Bohm, calling him “one of my ‘science gurus’.”
The COVID-19 pandemic across the world has led to restrictions on movement and gatherings of people.
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, assumed the position of the Dalai Lama in 1940.
His birthday – on 6 July – is also celebrated as ‘World Tibet Day’ in an attempt to generate greater awareness about the problems being faced by the Tibetan population.
He sought refuge in India in 1959, and has been living here, along with a large Tibetan community, ever since.
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