An air of disquiet pervades this picturesque town since the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece slammed the Dalai Lama’s visit.
An air of disquiet pervades this picturesque town since the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece slammed the Dalai Lama’s visit and quoted a hard-line scholar as saying that India may have forgotten the lessons of 1962, when Arunachal Pradesh was overrun by the People’s Liberation Army.
Many people here fear that China may make mischief at the border, less than a three-hour drive from Tawang, as a mark of protest against India’s refusal to yield to pressure over the Dalai Lama’s visit.
The Chinese foreign ministry followed up the warning with another missive on Tuesday, saying it was “strongly dissatisfied” with India’s decision to let the Dalai Lama visit the “disputed” region.
“The Indian side allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the disputed eastern section of the China-India border regardless of China’s grave concerns, and China is strongly dissatisfied with this,” spokesman Qin Gang said at a news briefing, adding that the visit “fully exposes the Dalai Lama’s separatist nature… (But) his attempt will not succeed”.
China’s strong reaction may have led to some nervousness but did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people here for their spiritual leader. All Buddhist shops remained closed for the second day as devotees gathered once again to listen to his sermons.
The Dalai Lama stuck to protocol and concentrated on his religious duties. After his censure of China on Sunday, the state government is making sure that he does not get an opportunity to speak to reporters, who have been hounding him since he set foot in the state. A senior government official said he was taken aback by the Dalai Lama’s political statement after his arrival. More so, after the recent attempt by India and China to better relations. “This (the Dalai Lama’s statement) was completely unnecessary,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.
But the Dalai Lama’s followers have no such qualms. Slamming China for protesting against the visit, Dorji Lama of the Tawang monastery said: “Why are the Chinese so bothered about the Dalai Lama, a person they say has no followers in Tibet? The fact that they watch his every move and condemn everything he does shows Beijing’s nervousness.”
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