Zeenews Bureau
Tawang: Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama on Tuesday played down his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying his trip has unnecessarily been politicised.
Speaking to a TV news channel, the Dalai Lama said he was saddened by political overtones being attributed to his Tawang visit.
The spiritual leader, whom Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as India’s “honoured guest”, said he was in Tawang to repay his debt to the local people who had helped him escape from Tibet in 1959.
Describing India as his home, the Dalai Lama said he feels happy to be in the country as Buddhism is spiritually rooted here.
The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived on Sunday on a week-long visit to this strategic Indian border state Sunday. Upon arriving in Tawang, the Dalai Lama had raked up a controversy by hitting out at China during two separate interactions with journalists on the first day of his trip.
The Dalai Lama said the Chinese opposition to his visit to Arunachal Pradesh was "totally baseless" and was on expected lines and nothing "unusual".
He also charged Beijing of unnecessarily trying to accuse him of encouraging a "separatist movement" in Tibet.
Beijing had opposed the Dalai Lama`s visit to Arunachal Pradesh as it lays claim on the territory.
India and China fought a border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian troops. China has never recognised the 1914 McMahon Line agreed between the British and the then Tibetan rulers and claims 90,000 sq km of territory, which includes nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh.
