For some in China, I am a demon with horns: Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh

Itanagar: Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama, who is on a visit to Arunachal Pradesh, has reasserted he is not seeking independence from China but is only meaningful autonomy for Tibet.

“China has over 400 million Buddhist. We are not seeking independence, we want to remain within China,” he said.

Giving the example of the European Union, Dalai Lama said, “Tibet is materially backward but spiritually highly developed. There is mutual benefit.”

“The Chinese government must give us meaningful of self-rule, autonomy, and take care of the environment,” he added.

Laughing off comments from China that he is a demon, Dalai Lama said, “Yes, I am a demon with horns.”

“No problem, even if some consider me as a demon,” adding that only some narrow-minded politicians in China consider him a demon.

Expressing concern over fragile ecology of the Tibet plateau, he said, “All major rivers of Asia come from Tibet.”

He also referred to the finding of a Chinese ecologist on the effects of global warming in Tibet.

“The effect is as much as in the South Pole and the North Pole, therefore he called the Tibet plateau as the third pole,” he said.

'India may have underestimated China's resolve to protect its core interests'

India is using the Dalai Lama as a diplomatic leverage to challenge China's "bottom line", Chinese state media said today, threatening that New Delhi may have "underestimated" Beijing's determination to protect its core interests.

The Chinese reaction to the Dalai Lama's visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh came in an article in the state-run Global Times, which is part of the ruling Communist Party publications and is known for striking nationalistic postures.

"Beijing has voiced concerns over the issue, but New Delhi claimed that China shouldn't intervene in its 'internal affairs'," the article said, referring to Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju's comments yesterday.

"This is absurd," the article said.

Rijiju has said India never interfered in Beijing's affairs, has respected the "One China" policy, and thus China should not interfere in India's internal affairs or object to the Dalai Lama's visit.

"There is no political angle behind his holiness's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. It is completely religious."

Separately, External Affairs Ministry has said that no "artificial controversy" should be created about the visit.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is yet to react to Rijiju's comments or the External Affairs statement yesterday.

However, the state media asked India to "overcome its suspicion" of Beijing. "China doesn't allow India to free ride on its economic growth while jeopardising Beijing's core interests."

It warned, "New Delhi may have underestimated Beijing's determination to safeguard its core interests. Many countries have pledged not to extend invitations to the Dalai Lama. As the two largest emerging economies, China and India have great potential for cooperation."

Today's article also accused India of playing the "Tibet card" as it is dissatisfied with Beijing's stance on India's bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group membership and its attempts to add Masood Azhar, the chief of Pakistan-backed militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), to a UN Security Council blacklist.

"Therefore, Delhi attempts to play the Tibet card against Beijing," it said, adding that "unlike his predecessors, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have taken a different stance on the Dalai issue, raising public engagements with the monk and challenging Beijing's bottom line," it said.