One event has been cancelled.
According to multiple media reports, Tibetan government in exile has scrapped one programme and shifted another from Delhi to Dharamshala after Indian government urged high-profile functionaries to stay away from it. Indian government's stance is believed to be taken keeping in mind the current volatile equation with China.
According to reports, Tibetan government has scrapped an inter-faith meeting scheduled to be held on Gandhi Samadhi at Rajghat on March 31, whereas Thank you India" campaign function which was slated to be held on April 1 in Delhi has been shifted to Dharmashala. The 'Thank You India' event was to be held at Thyagaraj Sports Complex, New Delhi. Dalai Lama was scheduled to be part of both the events, one of which has been cancelled now. According to reports, Dharamshala event will be considerably low-key.
Sonam Dagpo, spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration, confirmed the development to Indian Express.
On March 2, media reports had quoted a note sent by the cabinet secretary on the advice of Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to ask ministers and officials to skip Tibetan functions, lest they raise hackles in Beijing. Gokhale had particularly mentioned 'Thank You India', said the reports. However MEA said that, no restrictions have been placed on the Dalai Lama in the wake of rising tensions along Indo-China border, The assertion came in response to reports that said that senior government functionaries had been asked to "skip" year-long events organised by the exiled Tibetan government as part of its 'Thank you India" campaign to mark the 60th year of the arrival of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
The Ministry of External Affairs denied there has been any change in India's position on Tibet and that the Dalai Lama was free to travel and attend programmes across the country. "He [Dalai Lama] is a revered religious leader and is deeply respected by the people of India. There is no change in that position. His Holiness is accorded all freedom to carry out his religious activities in India," said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
The spokesperson, however, didn't mention the note or the advice to the government. It is believed that Gokhale's advice to the government was aimed to avoid any Doklam like escalation and to mend fences with China. His advice had come last month a day before went to Beijing to hold talks with China's Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, Foreign Minister Wang and State Councillor Yang Jiech.
Gokhale's visit came close to the exiled government of Tibet announcing the year-long campaign. "It was in exile that he [the Dalai Lama] found freedom thanks to the compassionate underpinning of the hospitality and generosity extended by India and such virtuous offerings have set the foundations for the noble, benevolent and magnanimous work he continues to do for the world at large," Dr. Lobsang Sangay, president of Central Tibetan Administration, organiser of the programme. As many as 60 Indians from Arunachal Pradesh, where from Dalai Lama entered India on March 31, 1959, will kick-start a peace march on March 17 to signify the date.
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