When the Dalai Lama arrives in Tawang today, he will find very little has changed since he made the journey from Tibet as a young man fleeing Chinese repression in 1959.
When the Dalai Lama arrives in Tawang today, he will find very little has changed since he made the journey from Tibet as a young man fleeing Chinese repression in 1959.
Though the Tibetan spiritual leader had come back to Tawang at least four times before, this visit is special as it does amid angry Chinese protests against a backdrop of rising tension between India and China.
Tawang is a little town which has grown round the 17th century monastery built by Merek Lama Lodre Gyatso. The population in Tawang and North Kameng district of Arunachal Pradeshare mainly Buddhists and regards the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader. The sixth Dalai Lama was from Tawang.
Nobody was sure till the last moment that the Tibetan leader will finally make it. Now that he is, villagers from the interiors are flooding in to welcome the living god. People have begun the long trek to Tawang, as most villages in the district are not connected. “But it does not matter. A glimpse of the Dalai Lama is enough. We can walk not just for two days but for a month if necessary,’’ said Wange, who is already in Tawang and is expecting his entire village to join him on Sunday.
The people of Tawang are overjoyed that India did not cancel the Dalai Lama’s visit at the last moment. Many locals are critical of what they see as New Delhi’s ‘soft line’ on China. The recent tension between India and China frightened the people of the state.
Many were certain that the two Asian giants would once again go to war as in 1962.
The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) had overrun Tawang at that time. Even today many people here are keeping their fingers crossed that the Chinese army does not intrude in border areas while the Dalai Lama is in Arunachal.
The monastery has maintained the ancient 17th century structure. Built of stone and wood with panelled carvings and a serene Buddha image forming the centre piece of the temple. Incidentally when the PLA came in 1962, they did not touch the monastery, though the soldiers were billeted in Tawang.
The monastery on Saturday was the centre of activity, with the lamas busy giving it the final touches. The Indian flag as well as Buddhist flags have been hung all through the route the Dalai Lama will take to the monastery. The temple was closed to visitors as police men and the lamas went through the final drill. The courtyard had the traditional Buddhist welcome images — an umbrella, a pot, a conch, a lotus and a prayer wheel.
Over five hundred monks have gathered in the monastery sanctifying it with sacred chants. Monks have streamed in from all over the world, from Ladakh to Germany and the US.
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